The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 1 June 2017

From our UK edition

Home The Conservatives grew restive when polls, for what they were worth, indicated a closing gap between their support and Labour’s. In a generally uneventful 90 minutes of television, in which Theresa May, the leader of the Conservative party, and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour party, were questioned, Jeremy Paxman said to Mrs May: ‘If I was sitting in Brussels and I was looking at you as the person I had to negotiate with, I’d think, she’s a blowhard who collapses at the first sign of gunfire.’ Mr Corbyn said in an earlier interview with Andrew Neil: ‘I never met the IRA,’ leaving viewers wondering in what sense this could be true.

The Spectator

Andrew Neil interviews Tim Farron: full transcript

From our UK edition

AN: Tim Farron, this election’s about electing MPs to sit in the British parliament, but you’re fighting on a manifesto which advocates UK laws being made in Brussels, having no control over immigration policy and for Britain to stay under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Why? TF: The Liberal Democrats are campaigning in this campaign to trust the people, and we know that people voted to leave the European Union last June. I grew up with, you know, people who voted to leave. I completely respect those who did. Obviously a whole different view. The issue now is how do we move forward?

The Spectator

Our flying machines

From our UK edition

From ‘News of the week’, The Spectator, 2 June 1917: There has been a lull on the Western front. It is sure to be succeeded by another storm, but this week there is little to record measured by the standards with which the titanic fighting in France has made us familiar. One fact, however, must be mentioned. Our flying men have done exceedingly well. Last Sunday, for instance, the Germans lost 13 aeroplanes and ten others were driven down out of control. Only three of our machines did not return that day.

Wednesday

The Spectator

After Theresa May’s missteps, a Corbyn victory is no longer inconceivable

From our UK edition

On the eve of the US presidential election, experts at Princeton university decided that Donald Trump had a 1 per cent chance of being elected. Before the last general election, Populus, the opinion poll firm, gave David Cameron a 0.5 per cent chance of winning a majority. Much is made of the need to look at ‘the data’ when considering political arguments, but so often it is a wildly inaccurate guess with a decimal point at the end to give an aura of scientific specificity. So when we read that Jeremy Corbyn has just a 17 per cent chance of becoming prime minister, this does not mean that the election is in the bag. The Tories are still quite capable of blowing it. It’s understandable that voters have misgivings about Theresa May.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Theresa May attacks Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit, full transcript

From our UK edition

Did you see the TV debate last night?  I have to say I thought Jeremy was an impressive performer and a tough adversary.  Well-prepared.  On top of his brief.  Knew the policy inside out.  Persistent to the last, he never gave up.  Yes, Jeremy Paxman definitely still has it. The strange thing about general election campaigns is that you don’t often get to see your opponent close up.  But last night, I did.  I saw Jeremy Corbyn close up on television and what I saw was revealing. Despite being a Member of Parliament for 34 years, despite being the Leader of the Labour Party for the last two years, he’s simply not ready to govern – and not prepared to lead. He’s not prepared to use the nuclear deterrent.

Monday

The Spectator

Andrew Neil interviews Paul Nuttall: full transcript

From our UK edition

AN: Paul Nuttall UKIP was established in 1993, it was to get the UK out of the European Union. You won the referendum, your side, last year. So instead of enduring this agonising decline in UKIP why not just declare victory and go home? PN: Well, we did win. As you said, we were set up back in the early ‘90s to get Britain out of the European Union. With the referendum we won the war, what we’ve got to do now is win the peace. The Prime Minister will start the negotiations with the European Union later in June, and UKIP has to be on the pitch, because if UKIP’s not on the pitch, then there’s no real impetus for the Prime Minister not to backslide, and I believe – I worry that she may backslide.

Sunday

The Spectator

Andrew Neil interviews Nicola Sturgeon: Full transcript

From our UK edition

AN: Nicola Sturgeon the SNP has governed Scotland for ten years, so can we start by agreeing that the performance of Scottish public services is the responsibility of you and the SNP government? NS: I take responsibility for the performance of our public services, although Scotland’s overall budget of course is determined by decisions taken at Westminster and our budget has been reduced over the years since the Conservatives have been in office. AN: Let’s start then with Alex Salmond’s former head of policy Alex Bell, this is what he’s had to say. ‘The evidence shows that we, the SNP, haven’t closed the poverty gap, redistributed wealth, improved education of educated more poor people.

Saturday

The Spectator

A proper discussion about terrorism is the best way to honour Manchester’s dead

From our UK edition

Until last week, it was thought that the jihadi threat was subsiding and the security services were increasingly able to disrupt any serious plot. The recent attacks involved knives or rented cars – deadly in the wrong hands but a far cry from the 7/7 attacks, or the seven-aircraft Heathrow aircraft bomb plot thwarted in 2006. Yet now, for the second time in our history, a suicide bomb attack has been perpetrated against the public. And this might show that things are getting worse. That as Isis is forced into retreat in Iraq and Syria, the jihadists are preparing to return to Britain with deadlier skills and tactics. While al-Qaeda focused on military and economic targets, Isis considers young girls at a pop concert to be ‘crusaders’.

Friday

The Spectator

Andrew Neil interviews Jeremy Corbyn: Full transcript

From our UK edition

AN: Mr Corbyn, today you drew a link between terror attacks at home and British actions abroad. Do you believe if Britain had not followed the foreign policy it has since Tony Blair was in office the attack on Manchester would not have happened? JC: The attack on Manchester was shocking, appalling, indefensible, wrong in every possible way. The parallel I was drawing this morning was that a number of people ever since the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq have drawn attention to the links with foreign policy, including Boris Johnson in 2005, two former heads of MI5, and of course the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. And the point I was making was we have to make our streets secure. We have to make our population secure.

The Spectator

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech on terrorism, full transcript

From our UK edition

Our whole nation has been united in shock and grief this week as a night out at a concert ended in horrific terror and the brutal slaughter of innocent people enjoying themselves. When I stood on Albert Square at the vigil in Manchester, there was a mood of unwavering defiance. The very act of thousands of people coming together sent a powerful message of solidarity and love. It was a profound human impulse to stand together, caring and strong. It was inspiring. In the past few days, we have all perhaps thought a bit more about our country, our communities and our people. The people we have lost to atrocious violence or who have suffered grievous injury, so many of them heart-breakingly young .

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 25 May 2017

From our UK edition

NHS in a mess Sir: Max Pemberton is quite right to say that the NHS is close to collapse, but I’m not sure a Royal Commission is the answer (‘This is an emergency’, 20 May). The problems facing the NHS have been obvious for years, and need, as Max points out, a strong politician to take unpopular decisions, not an expensive Royal Commission to decide what the issues are. The other problem with a Royal Commission is that it would draw its membership from senior doctors, retired politicians, and other members of the establishment, some of whom are responsible for the mess in the first place. Dr Chris Nancollas Yorkley, Gloucestershire How to free up beds Sir: How gratifying to read Max Pemberton’s well-constructed debate on NHS funding.

The Spectator

Tackling terror

From our UK edition

Until last week, it was thought that the jihadi threat was subsiding and the security services were increasingly able to disrupt any serious plot. The recent attacks involved knives or rented cars – deadly in the wrong hands but a far cry from the 7/7 attacks, or the seven-aircraft Heathrow aircraft bomb plot thwarted in 2006. Yet now, for the second time in our history, a suicide bomb attack has been perpetrated against the public. And this might show that things are getting worse. That as Isis is forced into retreat in Iraq and Syria, the jihadists are preparing to return to Britain with deadlier skills and tactics. While al-Qaeda focused on military and economic targets, Isis considers young girls at a pop concert to be ‘crusaders’.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 25 May 2017

From our UK edition

Home  Twenty-two people were killed and 59 wounded by a man who blew himself up, with a bomb containing metal fragments, in the foyer of Manchester Arena as crowds were leaving a concert by the American singer Ariana Grande, aged 23, who has a strong following among young girls. Of the wounded, 12 were children. Police named the suspected murderer as Salman Ramadan Abedi, aged 22, a Mancunian whose family come from Libya, which he had recently visited. Isis said it was behind the attack. A 23-year-old man was arrested the next day. The official threat level was raised to ‘critical’, meaning that an attack was expected imminently. Soldiers were deployed in the streets to support armed police.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Theresa May condemns ‘callous’ Manchester attack, full statement

From our UK edition

I have just chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee COBR, where we discussed the details of – and the response to – the appalling events in Manchester last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families and friends of all those affected. It is now beyond doubt that the people of Manchester and of this country have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack. An attack that targeted some of the youngest people in our society, with cold calculation. This was among the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the United Kingdom, and although it is not the first time Manchester has suffered in this way, it is the worst attack the city has experienced and the worst ever to hit the North of England.

Monday

The Spectator

Andrew Neil interviews Theresa May: full transcript

From our UK edition

AN: Prime Minister, you started this campaign with a huge double digit lead in the polls, it’s now down to single digits in some polls. What’s gone wrong? PM: Well, Andrew, there’s only one poll that counts in any election campaign, as I’m sure you know from your long experience, and that’s the one that takes place on the 8th June when people have actually cast their votes, where they’ve made that choice, which is a crucial choice. I think this genuinely is the most crucial election I’ve seen in my lifetime, because it’s about getting Brexit negotiations right, getting the right deal for Britain from Europe, and going beyond that, a plan for a stronger Britain for the future.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 18 May 2017

From our UK edition

Libyan solution Sir: Boris Johnson correctly reports glimmers of hope in Libya, but to say its problems can be solved by political will risks falling into the same trap of wishful thinking that has hobbled the international community’s intervention there (‘Libya’s best hope’, 13 May). To fix Libya, its political process must be restructured to incentivise cooperation between its various factions. One thing nearly all Libyans can agree on is that the country’s oil should flow freely, since oil revenues pay for everybody’s fuel, medicine and salaries. In recent years, oil production has been repeatedly blockaded by criminal militias and politicians alike; sometimes by the same people engaged in people-trafficking.

The Spectator

Portrait of the Week – 18 May 2017

From our UK edition

Home The National Health Service was one of the first big victims of a vermiform global ransomware computer infection going by names such as WannaCrypt and WannaCry, which locked computer systems. Hackers demanded $230 a time in Bitcoin to unlock them. Thousands of NHS devices were affected and outpatient appointments had to be cancelled. The Nissan plant at Sunderland was also hit. A 22-year-old from Devon, Marcus Hutchins, who runs the Malware Tech blog from his bedroom, found an effective kill switch that slowed the infection’s spread. Organisations abroad affected included Renault and Telefónica. Baddies had apparently unleashed the worm from software once in the keeping of America’s National Security Agency. Some people blamed North Korea.