Books and Arts – 14 March 2019
From our UK edition
The Spectator
Thursday
to 2396: Reader …,
From our UK edition
Unclued lights were husbands (40A) of Jane Austen’s heroines. First prize Alison Hinder, Sholing, Southampton Runners-up Janet Dibley, Polegate, East Sussex; C.G.
The full list: the MPs who voted to delay Brexit
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MPs have voted by 412 to 202 in support of a government motion which will seek to extend the Article 50 deadline. Under its terms, if Theresa May's deal passes by 20 March, she will ask the EU for a short extension, in order to pass the necessary legislation to leave. If May's deal does not pass by 20 March, then the government will ask the EU for a longer extension. If the UK cannot agree an extension with the EU before the 29 March, then Britain will still leave without a deal.
School portraits | 14 March 2019
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Merchant Taylors’ School One of the country’s ‘great nine’ schools, Merchant Taylors’ School, near Rickmansworth, was founded in 1561 by the Merchant Taylors’ Company. Catering for boys from the ages of three to 18, it is highly academic but also well known for its extracurricular provision and pastoral care. Activities range from Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh Award to Greek and Mythology Club. It has a tutorial system, with each boy assigned a tutor who looks after him throughout his time at the school. Merchant Taylors’ also has a campus of 285 acres of parkland, and there is easy access from the Metropolitan line. More recently the school has excelled in sport, becoming under-17s national cricket champions in 2017.
School report | 14 March 2019
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Should we scrap GCSEs? A senior MP has suggested getting rid of GCSEs and reshaping A-levels altogether; but not everyone agrees. Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Select Committee, wants to rewrite the exam system so that A-levels include a mixture of vocational, academic and arts subjects, arguing that ‘all the concentration should be on the final exam before you leave’. ‘All young people should have access to the technical and creative subjects that will give them the skills that employers are looking for,’ says Halfon. ‘We must move from knowledge-rich to knowledge-engaged.
Wednesday
Full list: The Tory MPs that voted to keep no deal on the table
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Theresa May has just been dealt another blow after the House of Commons voted decisively against a no-deal Brexit. MPs voted by 321 to 308 for a motion which rejects the UK leaving the EU without a deal, under any circumstances. The motion did not force the government to either revoke Article 50 or to request an extension, and so the UK will still leave without a deal on 29 March, until other arrangements are put in place.
Full list: The Tory MPs who voted to reject a no-deal Brexit
From our UK edition
The big news tonight is that MPs have voted by 321 to 308 for a motion which rejects the UK leaving the EU without a deal, under any circumstances. The motion did not force the government to either revoke Article 50 or to request an extension, and so the UK will still leave without a deal on 29 March by law, until other arrangements are put in place. A dozen government ministers defied the government whip by abstaining on the motion, including work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd. The others are Claire Perry, Greg Clark, David Gauke, Stephen Hammond, Robert Buckland, David Mundell, Tobias Ellwood, Richard Harrington, Alistair Burt, Margot James, and Anne Milton.
Tuesday
Full text: Theresa May reacts to her Brexit deal defeat
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I profoundly regret the decision that this House has taken tonight. I continue to believe that by far the best outcome is that the UK leaves the EU in an orderly fashion with a deal, and that the deal we have negotiated is the best and indeed the only deal available. Mr Speaker, I would like to set out briefly how the Government means to proceed. Two weeks ago, I made a series of commitments from this despatch box regarding the steps we would take in the event that this House rejected the deal on offer. I stand by those commitments in full. Therefore, tonight we will table a motion for debate tomorrow to test whether the House supports leaving the European Union without a deal on 29 March.
The full list of Tory MPs that backed May’s Brexit deal
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Theresa May has suffered another thumping defeat on her Brexit deal. This time, she lost by a margin of 149. But she did manage to whittle down the number of Tory rebels significantly. In tonight's vote, 235 of May's fellow Conservative MPs backed her Brexit plan.
The Tory MPs who voted against May’s deal
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Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement has once again been defeated in the House of Commons, by 391 to 242 votes.
Full list: The Tory rebels who have changed their minds on May’s deal
From our UK edition
When Theresa May's Brexit deal last came before the Commons it was voted down by 202 votes to 432 – a historic defeat. A total of 118 Tory MPs rebelled against the Government in the January vote. To avoid a repeat, the Prime Minister needs to persuade those rebels that her deal has changed for the better.
Thursday
Barometer | 7 March 2019
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Trolley dollies Virgin Atlantic dropped its requirement for air hostesses to wear make-up at work. What was required of the first air hostesses? — United Airlines introduced hostesses in 1930 on its multi-leg flights from California to Wyoming. They had to be registered nurses, aged 25 or under, weigh no more than 8st 2lb and be no taller than 5ft 4in. — The first UK airline to introduce hostesses was Air Despatch in 1936. They were expected not only to be able to cook and mix cocktails but also to be able to type letters for businessmen on the flight. On a knife edge Is knife crime rising everywhere?
Letters | 7 March 2019
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The point of Article 50 Sir: I read Paul Collier’s article in your 23 February issue, which has just reached me in la France profonde, with interest. The principal author of Article 50 was John Kerr, aka Lord Kerr of Kinlochard. I have known John for quite a long time, and enjoyed his company: when I became chancellor in 1983 he was my principal private secretary. He explained to me some time ago, before the referendum, that the purpose of Article 50 was to make it as difficult as possible for a country to leave the European Union. A clever man, he did a good job.
Close the deal
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It is becoming painfully clear that on Tuesday the House of Commons will be asked to vote on an EU withdrawal bill that is almost entirely the same as the one defeated by 230 votes in January. Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, is seeking to guarantee that Britain will never be trapped in the backstop. If he succeeds, Brexiteers, whatever their wider misgivings, should hold their noses and vote for Theresa May’s deal. It will be tempting for MPs who are seeking a proper break with the EU to repeat their rebellion. May’s deal means Britain will, for two years, be an EU member in all but name: paying all of the money and obeying the directives while undergoing (at least) two more years of Brexit talks.
Portrait of the Week – 7 March 2019
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Home Two 17-year-olds were stabbed to death in London and Manchester, bringing the number of teenagers killed in knife crime this year to ten. Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said that there was ‘no direct correlation between certain crimes and police numbers’. Next day, Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said: ‘There is some link between violent crime on the streets obviously and police numbers, of course there is.’ The owners of Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner are to close 27 of their 87 restaurants. The family that has owned the British sports-car maker Morgan for 110 years is selling it to an Italian venture capitalist firm, Investindustrial. The philosopher A.C.
Books and Arts – 7 March 2019
From our UK edition
2395: Concise Crossword
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The seven concise clues lead to: heALth centre (3,31), HEARTbreak (9), midrIFf (26), last of alL (40), out of afRIca (14/2), wild WEST (21) and false DAWN (7,24). First prize Margaret Lusk, Fulwood, Preston, Lancs Runners-up G.H. Willett, London SW19; E.C. Wightman, Menston, W.
Dangerous liaison
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From ‘She was a child and I was a child’ by Kingsley Amis, 6 November 1959: The only success of the book is the portrait of Lolita herself. I have rarely seen the external ambience of a character so marvellously realised, and yet there is seldom more than necessary for the undertone of sensuality… She is a ‘portrait’… devotedly watched and listened to but never conversed with, the object of desire but never of curiosity. What else did she do in Humbert’s presence but play tennis and eat sundaes and go to bed with him? What did they talk about? What did they actually get up to? Apart from a few sentences of elegant hot-book euphemism, we are not even told that.
Saturday
We need local news if democracy is to thrive
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The announcement this week that Capital, Heart and Smooth radio are cutting back their local news shows might not in itself seem important — they have loyal audiences keen to know what’s happening outside London — but it’s part of a worrying trend. Over the past two decades, important powers have been devolved to regions and local areas, a process that began with Tony Blair’s regional assemblies and picked up with David Cameron’s ‘localism’ agenda. We now have several elected mayors, while local authorities have more responsibility over the NHS. The decisions that affect our lives are more likely to be taken locally than nationally. And yet at the same time the local media that once held local government to account has atrophied.
Thursday
Letters | 28 February 2019
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It’s now or never Sir: I read with great interest Paul Collier’s suggestion (‘Take back control’, 23 February) that Britain should withdraw Article 50 and remain in the EU as a means of obtaining a better exit at some point in the future. This would be a UK humiliated by the inability of parliament to carry out the clear direction of the voters after nearly three years. A UK so abjectly defeated it would hardly be in any position to build alliances. What EU country would want to endanger its reputation by supporting the country which has been taught such a salutary lesson by the European Commission?
