The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 23 August 2018

From our UK edition

Cultured tastes Dawn Butler accused Jamie Oliver of ‘cultural appropriation’ for coming up with his own recipe for jerk rice. Some other culturally appropriated dishes she might find hard to swallow: Chop suey is said to have been invented in 1896 — during a visit to New York by China’s US ambassador Li Hung Chang — to appeal to American and Chinese tastes. Balti was invented in Birmingham in the 1970s by restaurants to appeal to a clientele beyond the local Pakistani population. Fish and chips were first recorded in the East End in the 1860s, derived from the Jewish method of frying fish.

The Spectator

When fear fails

From our UK edition

Economies run on confidence — as Franklin D. Roosevelt observed when he told Americans, in his first inaugural address during the depths of the Great Depression in 1933, that they had ‘nothing to fear except fear itself’. If that confidence is lost, if people collectively start drawing in their horns, squirrelling money away because they fear turbulent economic times ahead, then recession can all too easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. No serious economist would dispute this theory. The puzzle is why the UK economy, riddled with Brexit anxieties, is in such good health. The Dutch prime minister said we were ‘collapsed’. The New York Times publishes frequent reports saying that Britain is falling apart, even that our country has ‘vanished’.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 23 August 2018

From our UK edition

Home Government finances were in surplus by £2 billion in July. Public sector net debt rose to £1,777.5 billion, equal to 84.3 per cent of GDP, £17.5 billion more than a year before, but less as a proportion of GDP than last year’s 86 per cent. Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, flew to Washington and made a speech urging the European Union to take stronger sanctions against Russia. President Vladimir Putin of Russia danced with Karin Kneissl, the new foreign minister of Austria, at her wedding, and then met Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany at the Meseberg Palace near Berlin.

The Spectator

to 2370: Problem XII

From our UK edition

The numbers were linked to titles of classic works of FICTION (12): The Two DROVERS (26) (Walter Scott), The Three MUSKETEERS (1D) (Alexandre Dumas (père)), The Thirty-Nine STEPS (34) (John Buchan), The Five RED HERRINGS (36D/5A) (Dorothy L. Sayers), Eight COUSINS (15D) (Louisa M. Alcott) and Five WEEKS IN A BALLOON (14/20) (Jules Verne). 2 x 3 x (39 + [5 x 8]) x 5 = 2370.   First prize M.

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 16 August 2018

From our UK edition

Black list Jeremy Corbyn was attacked for attending a ceremony for members of Black September, the terrorist group which carried out the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972. The group took its name from a PLO terror campaign in Jordan two years earlier.

The Spectator

Letters | 16 August 2018

From our UK edition

Boris mishandled Sir: Your editorial ‘Bravo Boris’ (11 August) suggests that the treatment meted out to Boris Johnson by the Prime Minister and the party chairman makes a leadership challenge more likely. That is correct. This duo have demonstrated a breathtaking lack of political sophistication. Not only have they promoted Boris Johnson’s chances of the leadership, but they have also diverted the media spotlight from the Labour party’s very real anti-Semitism to a fictitious Tory party Islamophobia. Mr Johnson plainly argues a position that is more liberal than those of many European governments, including those of Denmark, France, Belgium and Germany.

The Spectator

Portrait of the Week – 16 August 2018

From our UK edition

Home Unemployment fell by 65,000 to 1.36 million — at 4 per cent the lowest level since 1975. The economy in the United Kingdom grew by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, compared with 0.2 per cent in the first. The rate of inflation rose a jot from 2.4 to 2.5 per cent, measured by the Consumer Price Index. Sports Direct, run by Mike Ashley, agreed to buy the House of Fraser chain of 59 department stores for £90 million after it had gone into administration. Homebase said it was closing 42 of its 241 stores. Marks & Spencer closed seven clothes stores as part of its programme to close 100 by 2022. Ofcom fined Royal Mail £50 million for anti-competitive behaviour.

The Spectator

The futility of terror

From our UK edition

By now, the routine is familiar: a lone wolf strikes, roads are sealed off, buildings locked down and a biographical picture begins to emerge. Often, the perpetrator turns out to be born and bred in Britain. His astonished friends and neighbours say they saw no signs that he had succumbed to fanaticism. It later emerges that radicalisation happened incredibly quickly — perhaps inspired by online videos — and the terror plan was so low-tech that interception would have been impossible. How, it might be asked, can any country protect itself against such threats? But Britain has protected itself, both in thwarting such attacks and in blunting their impact. The latest attacker found the House of Commons protected by barriers.

The Spectator

to 2369: Prodigious

From our UK edition

WUNDERKIND — given by corrections of misprints in clues — can be read as W UNDER KIND, indicating the unclued lights in each of four columns. First prize Cathy Staveley, London SW15 Runners-up Frank Anstis, Truro, Cornwall; S.J.J.

Wednesday

The Spectator

2018 finalists – Scotland and Northern Ireland

From our UK edition

  Amiqus ID is an encrypted online system for client-onboarding and transaction checks, with the intention of tackling cyber risk and money laundering.   Avocet Infinite makes use of a 'unique hydroponic system' to produce fodder to grow ideal barley for cows.   See.Sense makes ACE, an award-winning smart bike light that uses advanced sensor technology to give cyclists more visibility on their ride.

The Spectator

2018 finalists – The North East

From our UK edition

  rradar has established a vast online resource for clients seeking legal advice, a database for risk management, and the opportunity to contact a team of experts who can respond quickly to their queries.   Surfaceskins have developed push pads for the fight against superbugs. Designed to be placed at hand height on doors they dispense an alcohol-based gel when pressed. The gel disinfects the user's hand, leaving the door germ practically germ-free for the next person.   ZeroLight uses immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality to create an 'Intelligent Car Configurator'.

The Spectator

2018 finalists – The North West and Wales

From our UK edition

  AMPLYFI has created DataVoyant, which it claims is 'the most advanced business intelligence and research tool in the world'.   Arctic Shores is developing pioneering psychometric assessments to help people and organisations make better career and personnel decisions.   Evergreen Life's NHS-approved app enables people to own and take control of their own health data, managing and sharing information on allergies, conditions and fitness, while also allowing users to order repeat prescriptions, book appointments with their GP and check test results.

The Spectator

2018 finalists – The Midlands

From our UK edition

  Black Pear's principle activity is software research and development in the healthcare sector. Its greatest innovation has been the use of the public cloud to create an electronic 'Shared Plan' for patients.   Speechmatics has recently developed a unique AI-powered framework called 'The Automatic Linguist', which uses machine-learning to 'build' any language in the world in a matter of days.   Warwick Music Group has created a range of musical instruments for children from plastic. The plastic designs are typically more portable, more durable and cheaper than traditional instruments.

The Spectator

2018 finalists – London and The South

From our UK edition

  Carwow is a comparison website that aims to facilitate car sales in the smoothest way possible.   Echo is an app designed to make NHS prescriptions more efficient. Users download the app, select their GP, and input what repeat medication they need.   Hectare is aiming to reinvent farm trading by bringing the sales of livestock and cereals online via its pioneering websites SellMy Livestock and Graindex.   Movem allows letting agents to check a tenant's identity, income and rent in seconds, replacing a significant chunk of the letting process without any human administration.   Onedox is an app designed to be your digital PA.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 9 August 2018

From our UK edition

Why we love Boris Sir: Stephen Robinson is right: Boris Johnson is not loathed outside the Westminster bubble (‘Brexit means Boris’, 4 August). The reason is simple — people can tell he loves the country and is prepared to fight for it. Jacob Rees-Mogg is also very popular for the same reason. Many of our politicians and political commentators seem to have nothing but contempt for the country, or at least the people who live in it. Fullerton Bromsgrove, Worcestershire Virtue-signalling MPs Sir: James Forsyth writes, ‘Both Labour and the Tories are being accused by their own MPs of abandoning the liberal centre’ (Politics, 4 August).

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 9 August 2018

From our UK edition

Home Brandon Lewis, the chairman of the Conservative party, demanded that Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, should apologise for saying, in an article defending the right of women in Britain to wear the burka or the niqab, that it was at the same time ‘absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes’. Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said: ‘The language that Boris used has offended people.’ Jennie Formby, the general secretary of the Labour party, wrote to Dame Margaret Hodge saying that no further action would be taken against her. Dame Margaret was said to have called Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader, an ‘anti-Semite’.

The Spectator

Bravo Boris

From our UK edition

Ever since Boris Johnson resigned as foreign secretary, it was generally assumed that there would — in time — be a dramatic clash with Theresa May. But it was thought that the Prime Minister would pick her battle over a point of principle, perhaps on Europe, rather than over a joke in his Daily Telegraph column. Boris was defending the right of Muslims to wear what they like in public, but added that he thinks niqabs look like letterboxes. The ministerial reaction has been extraordinary, and deeply unedifying. Boris’s point was that, in banning the niqab, Denmark had passed a surprisingly illiberal piece of legislation — all the more surprising in that it has emerged from a country often viewed as a bastion of liberty.

The Spectator

to 2368: Cobbled together

From our UK edition

The unclued lights (6, 20/9, 21, 23/31, 30D/13, 34/3 and 42/32) are characters in Coronation Street with its COBBLED streets.   First prize Lucy Robinson, London N16 Runners-up D.P.B.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 2 August 2018

From our UK edition

Memories of drought Sir: I read your leading article with interest as I well remember the hardship caused by the drought of 1976, particularly to the farmers and the tourist industry (‘Troubled water’, 28 July). I was a director of the South West Water Authority and was deputed to issue drought orders, which included hosepipe bans. The privatised company to which I had been appointed to the board then built Roadford Reservoir, which has a huge capacity, and the company has never had to impose restrictions since. I agree that the industry is far from satisfactory. The companies, particularly Thames Water, found it cheaper to allow leaking pipes than to repair them. There is also the question of the exorbitant salaries of certain chief executives.

The Spectator

Barometer | 2 August 2018

From our UK edition

Ranking railways A director of the Rail Delivery Group claimed that Britain’s railways were the ‘envy of Europe’. Could it be true? For an independent analysis, the Boston Consulting Group compiles a Rail Performance Index of European rail systems (latest ed. 2015). — The UK came 8th out of 25 countries, behind Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany and Austria. — The UK came top for safety, but dropped to joint 15th place for quality of service (which includes fares as well as punctuality). — The index is also plotted against the public cost of the rail system. Britain’s railways came out at average value. The best-value rail systems were Finland, Switzerland, France, Sweden and the Netherlands.