The Spectator

NEIL SEDAKA (anagram of LEEK/NAIADS 23A/7D), who was a fine COMPOSER (1A), SINGER (4A) and PIANIST (36A), died on 27th February 2026. Two of his best-known works, ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’ and ‘Stupid Cupid’, are cryptically suggested by DHOOTIS (39A), an anagram of IS H (sym) TO DO, and AMOUR FOU (21D/17D). First prize D.V.

To go or not to go? Would Andy Burnham be wise to call a general election? The record of PMs since 1945 who took office mid-term: Anthony Eden called an election straight away and increased the Conservatives’ majority to 60. Alec Douglas-Home waited almost a year after taking office. Lost his majority. James Callaghan didn’t call an election until three years after taking office, when he lost to Margaret Thatcher. John Major didn’t call an election for 16 months, when the parliamentary term was nearly up. Won on a reduced majority of 21. Gordon Brown blinked when he might have called an election in autumn of 2007. Didn’t do so until 2010. Lost his majority. Theresa May called an election roughly nine months after taking office.

Unjust William Sir: It is a bad idea for schools to be recommending their pupils listen to William Dalrymple’s podcast Empire (‘Striking back’, 4 July), without also suggesting they listen to, for example, Niall Ferguson on the same subject. Dalrymple does not prize the British Empire, but many of us who have studied it in detail admire the many benefits it conferred on its subjects. Balance is essential in educating children and from Dalrymple they will get an unduly pejorative view. Hearing his analysis, one might wonder how such an inefficient and corrupt entity succeeded in governing about a third of the world for a long period. There were two main failures.

Home Andy Burnham, who was expected to become prime minister on 20 July, took off his tie and put on a dark T-shirt for a speech in which he said he would establish a ‘No. 10 North’ in Manchester as the ‘nerve centre of a rewired Britain’. He promised council houses, welfare reform and ‘good growth in every postcode’ by means of ‘Manchesterism’. He took no questions. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, presented the delayed defence investment plan, and said that spending would rise by £15 billion by 2030. He landed his successor with £4.7 billion of the sum being left unfunded. The Ministry of Defence would also have to find £10.7 billion in efficiency savings in the next four years.

Absolute mayor Andy Burnham wants more devolution and elected mayors. Do voters want that? – Since 2001 there have been 55 referendums on whether to establish the post of elected mayor. Only in 17 cases was there a majority in favour. – The towns and districts keenest on having an elected mayor were Middlesbrough (84% in favour), Croydon (80%) and Mansfield (70%). – The areas least keen on an elected mayor were Guildford (81% against), Bath (79%) and West Devon (77%). Ratings game Which attracts the biggest TV audience in Britain: Wimbledon or the World Cup? – England’s opening match in this World Cup, vs Croatia, attracted a peak audience of 15.4m. England’s quarter-final defeat to France in 2022 had an audience of 19.4m. – This compares with the 8.

Telling stories Sir: As a filmmaker by training and a marketer by profession, I couldn’t agree more with your leading article (‘Northern soul’, 27 June) on the absence of narrative in our politics. The appeal of figures such as Burnham and Nigel Farage lies in the storyworld they build around themselves – be it via pints shared down the pub, off-the-cuff honesty, or a Monty Python line landing in the Commons. But the PM who stays the course, as any brand-builder learns the hard way, must know two things: their own story, well enough to tell it plainly; and the people they speak to, well enough for them to make it their own. Aim a dull narrative at everyone and you reach no one; tell a story worth sharing and both left and right will see themselves in it.