The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Shoplifting surges, Trump eyes Gaza Strip and Norway’s government collapses

From our UK edition

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, flew to Brussels for an EU summit, sought a ‘reset’ of relations and had celeriac soup and sea bream for dinner. AstraZeneca dropped plans to invest £450 million in a vaccine manufacturing plant in Speke, Liverpool, blaming the government’s ‘final offer compared to the previous government’s proposal’. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that she supported the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport; she had already backed a third runway at Heathrow and the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield airport. Water bills in England and Wales will rise to an average of £603. Some councils will be allowed to raise their tax by more than 5 per cent – Bradford by 10 per cent.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Introducing the MAGA-za Strip

President Donald Trump warned Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” when he returned to the White House if the terrorist organization continued to hold the hostages that it and Gazans have held for almost 500 days. Around eighty hostages, living and murdered, remain in Gaza.Last night, Trump laid out what “hell to pay” could look like: a potential American takeover of the Gaza Strip, maximum pressure against Iran and arms shipments to Israel.Trump, who famously compared the Arab-Israeli conflict to a “real-estate deal” in 2015, proposed a radical reshifting of the entire region, alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the first foreign leader he’s hosted in person in the White House in his second term.

Quentin Cowdry

Not Quite Laid Up

From our UK edition

Grunting, you slipper-creep across the floor slower than a sailboat in a Force 1 breeze. I wonder whether in that ancient circuit board of a head from which so little intelligible has issued for weeks the Beaufort Scale still means anything or whether, if mentioned, you would as usual get totally muddled, mistake Force 1, under whose waftings the sea hardly ripples, for gale Force 10. Standing close in case of mishap I watch you grip the grubby Zimmer frame tighter, then tack hard to port and slump into the Stannah Lift that will ease you past prints and oils of your father’s ships until you reach the downstairs harbour.

Monday

The Spectator

USAID in the DoGE house

Elon Musk claims that President Trump and DoGE are shutting down USAID.He made his claim on X Spaces last night following the administrative leave of two senior security officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) after they denied the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) the ability to receive sensitive data from the agency, the Guardian reports.DoGE was created on Trump’s first day to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” Headed by Musk, the department has already taken action to bring to light extensive federal spending and has been granted access to the US Treasury’s federal payment system.Musk said that USAID is beyond repair.

Friday

The Spectator

Plane crash tragedy exposes other close calls

Amid the tragedy of a deadly plane and helicopter crash at Washington, DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport that has shaken the entire country, it’s becoming increasingly clear how many close calls have been avoided over the years — and that changes may be coming to the status quo.While it’s been almost two decades since the last major commercial airline crash in America, reports are beginning to emerge about how many near misses have happened, especially in DC’s busy airspace.Just days before an army helicopter collided with the plane coming in from Wichita, Kansas, several other planes had already aborted landings at Reagan due to helicopters in the way.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters: What we lose when we lose our factories

From our UK edition

Chains of command Sir: Matthew Lynn is correct to emphasise the economic dangers of deindustrialisation (‘Not made in Britain’, 25 January). But there are cultural dangers too. It’s now 40 years since Correlli Barnett and I made a television programme called Assembled in Britain, drawing attention to the alarming retreat of manufacturing. No recent government has respected, still less encouraged, manufacturing industry. The result is today’s mess. What can you say about a civilisation that cannot produce the goods it needs, other than that civilisation loses integrity and pride?

The Spectator

How Heathrow went from six runways to two

From our UK edition

Chocks away Rachel Reeves backed a third runway for Heathrow, reigniting a debate which has been going on for years. Yet Heathrow, when originally laid out in 1946, had six runways varying in length between 5,300 and 9,200ft: three pairs of parallel runways running east to west, north-west to south-east and north-east to south-west. As aircraft grew larger, there was less need for them to take off and land in alignment with the wind, but there was a need for longer runways. Heathrow gained its current layout in the 1970s when the east to west runways were extended to more than 12,000ft each, and three of the other four runways closed. One of the diagonal runways was retained for emergencies until it was eventually closed in 2002.

The Spectator

DeepSeek’s cheap information comes at a high price for the West

From our UK edition

This week, Chinese technology has shown the West the challenge it faces – ruthless, implacable and impossible to ignore. The unveiling of the Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek has not only disrupted the business models of America’s tech behemoths; it has also shown that, in the race to develop the tools for economic hegemony, Beijing is set on supremacy. The launch of DeepSeek came just days before the CIA’s conclusion that, on the balance of probabilities, the Covid virus was incubated in a Wuhan lab – a man-made killer, not a product of nature’s evolutionary mischief. China stands revealed as a power bent on using science to secure not human flourishing but geopolitical dominance for its Leninist leadership.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: DeepSeek, Duke of Sussex’s damages and an iceberg the size of Cornwall

From our UK edition

Home The government would invest 2.6 per cent of GDP a year to create growth, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a speech. Standing behind a placard reading ‘Kickstart economic growth’, she kept repeating the word ‘growth’. Welfare and the visa system would be reformed. A third runway at Heathrow would bring 100,000 jobs. But net zero, she said, was the ‘industrial opportunity of the 21st century’. Earlier she had said that the government’s own Finance Bill implementing October’s Budget would be amended to soften the effects of its tax measures against non-domiciled residents. The Ministry of Defence ordered £9 billion worth of nuclear submarine reactors from Rolls-Royce. Sainsbury’s was to cut 3,000 jobs.

Wednesday

The Spectator

DoGE issues return-to-office order

Elon Musk’s influence on the federal government has reached new heights, with a memo going out to millions of federal employees with a simple message: get on board or take a permanent, (and expensive!) paid vacation.The Trump administration just sent a DoGE-infused ultimatum to much of the federal workforce: opt in to working in your office or take our buyout. According to the White House, “We’re five years past Covid and just 6 percent of federal employees work full-time in office.” President Donald Trump and Musk have made it clear that a return to in-person work is nonnegotiable. The ultimatum, described in a post as “a fork in the road,” would bring the federal government in-line with where the private sector has been moving in recent months and years: back to the office.

Monday

The Spectator

Colombia yields to Trump’s tariff threats

President Donald Trump and Colombian president Gustavo Petro feuded yesterday over the return of immigrants living illegally in the US, but after Trump’s threats of tariffs, Petro agreed to send his own plane to pick up the criminals. Trump’s plans to return the immigrants back to their country of citizenship were temporarily thwarted by Petro, who denied the flights permission to land. He claimed he rejected the repatriation flights because of the lack of “dignity and respect” shown to these Colombians, as they would have arrived on military planes while handcuffed. Petro stated, “We will receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals.

Friday

The Spectator

Trump makes good on deportation promise

Days into his presidency, Donald Trump is delivering on one of the campaign promises that no doubt led to his re-election.“Deportation flights have begun,” Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, wrote on X, along with photos of illegal migrants handcuffed and boarding military planes. “President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.”The deportations are part of sweeping immigration changes Trump has implemented since being sworn-in as commander-in-chief on Monday. Remember that immigration was consistently top of mind for voters during the last cycle.

culture
The Spectator

This month in culture: February 2025

Kinda Pregnant In theaters February 5 Amy Schumer stars as Lainy, a woman who dons a prosthetic pregnant belly when she grows envious of her best friend’s maternal glow. Once inside the secret world of mommies, Lainy learns how far she will go to stay close to her friends while being pulled toward a new love — Will Forte, who assures Lainy that she’s the least pregnant person he’s ever dated. Striking the balance of irreverence and heart Schumer is known for, Kinda Pregnant is buoyed by an accomplished comedic cast and backing from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions.

Thursday

The Spectator

DEI going to DIE in federal government

President Donald Trump is making quick work of his first week in office, signing a flurry of executive orders on everything ranging from the southern border to abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs for much of the federal workforce.Starting this week, Trump wants “radical and wasteful” DEI offices to be placed on paid leave, according to a memo issued by the Office of Personnel Management. “President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit-based society,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of the move.

The Spectator

Letters: Were we deceived by Labour?

From our UK edition

Forced Labour Sir: Matthew Parris wonders ‘Why was everyone fooled by Rachel Reeves?’(18 January) and goes on to include Sir Keir Starmer in this question. The former he concludes is ‘an empty vessel’ and the latter ‘bereft of ideas’. By ‘everyone’ he chiefly means the commentariat, although he claims he was not himself misled. They and many others were fed up with the failure of successive Conservative governments, and wanted so badly to believe in Labour’s ability to form an effective administration that they never seriously applied due diligence by questioning its credibility or competences. At no stage were any stones lifted to determine what ‘nasties’ lay underneath.

The Spectator

Who performed at past presidential inaugurations?

From our UK edition

Gig economy Donald Trump had the Village People perform at a concert prior to his inauguration. Who topped the bill at previous presidential inaugurations, either on the day or at accompanying concerts? – Joe Biden (2021): Lady Gaga – Donald Trump (2017): Kid Rock – Barack Obama (2013): Beyoncé – Barack Obama (2009): Aretha Franklin – George W. Bush (2001): Wayne Newton – Bill Clinton (1993): Michael Jackson – George H.W. Bush (1989): Stevie Ray Vaughan (rhythm and blues star) – Ronald Reagan (1981): Frank Sinatra – Jimmy Carter (1977): Leonard Bernstein Trade marks President Trump is threatening a trade war. How important is our trading relationship with the US? – In 2023 we imported £57.9bn in goods and £57.

The Spectator

2684: Romans 5

From our UK edition

Unclued lights were familiar three-word Latin expressions, all starting with ‘in’: IN STATU (2) PUPILLARI (11), IN MEDIAS (3) RES (40), IN LOCO (8) PARENTIS (43), IN FLAGRANTE (19) DELICTO (15), and IN VINO (36) VERITAS (20).

The Spectator

Why won’t Keir Starmer use the word ‘terrorist’?

From our UK edition

Why does Keir Starmer find it so hard to use the word ‘terrorist’ when talking about a man who buys ricin and a machete online, reads up about killing people in an al Qaeda training manual – and then goes out and stabs to death three young girls attending a dance class? When asked this week whether he regarded the crimes committed by Axel Rudakubana as a terrorist act, the Prime Minister couldn’t quite bring himself to do so, instead referring to it as an act of ‘extreme violence clearly intended to terrorise’. The fight against terrorism seems to have been infected by the fear of appearing racist or Islamophobic Starmer has obfuscated over the Southport killings since they occurred in July. Like the police, he immediately declined to treat the attack as terrorism.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Trump’s inauguration, Israel-Hamas ceasefire and cardboard humans comfort lonely fish

From our UK edition

Home Axel Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to the murder of three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at Southport on 29 July 2024, and to ten attempted murders as well as possessing al Qaeda literature and producing the poison ricin. He had been charged with murder on 31 July but police insisted then that the incident was not being treated as terror-related; the culprit was charged with two terrorism offences on 29 October. From 30 July, rioting had swept the country for a week. Now it was disclosed that the murderer had been referred three times to Prevent, the anti-terrorism programme, when he was 13 and 14. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, gave a press conference.