The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Spectator letters: who kept us out of the euro, and how to deal with squirrels

From our UK edition

The referendum parties Sir: Zac Goldsmith and Sir John Major are each of them both right and wrong on the EU referendum (‘My dad saved Britain’, 28 February; Letters, 21 March). I was an MP interested in Europe, and then a PPS and minister on EU issues in the Foreign Office from 1997 to 2005, and it was pretty clear to all of us that Sir John’s decision to call a referendum on euro entry was motivated by his need to appease the rising Eurosceptic fronde in his party. He may sincerely believe that the creation of the Referendum party by Sir James Goldsmith had nothing to do with the decision.

The Spectator

A censored hymn to motorway misery

From our UK edition

Service record The government is to form a design panel to improve motorway services stations. These have not always charmed the British public, not least the very first: Watford Gap services, which opened in 1959 on the same day as the first stretch of the M1. — It quickly became a night-time haunt of rock stars travelling between gigs, but not all were impressed by the food. In 1977 the folk singer Roy Harper recorded a track on his Bullinamingvase album called ‘Watford Gap’ and containing the lyrics: ‘…And the people came to worship on their death-defying wheels,/ fancy-dressed as shovels for their death-defying meals…Watford Gap, Watford Gap, a plate of grease and a load of crap.

The Spectator

How to fix our defence budget mess

From our UK edition

With the exception of 1983, when Michael Foot promised unilateral nuclear disarmament, defence has played little role in modern election campaigns. This is not least because the two main parties appear to have developed a non-aggression pact. They have agreed to heap praise upon the armed forces and commit them to ever more frequent foreign campaigns — while simultaneously nibbling away at the defence budget to fund programmes which offer more instant gratification to the electorate. This week, as the news emerged of Russia’s plan to lease 12 long-range bombers to Argentina, the Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, announced the results of the latest review into how we protect the Falkland Islands.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 26 March 2015

From our UK edition

Home David Cameron, who was cutting up lettuce in his kitchen, told James Landale of the BBC that he would not seek a third term as Prime Minister, even if he secured a second. Mr Cameron was heckled the next day by pensioners at an Age UK conference. He had mentioned Theresa May, George Osborne and Boris Johnson as possible successors. Mrs May, the Home Secretary, made a speech promising action against extremists, such as the use of ‘closure orders’ against premises (such as mosques) used by extremists, and a ‘positive campaign to promote British values’.

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: President Wilson’s mistake

From our UK edition

From ‘President Wilson's Mistake’, The Spectator, 27 March 1915: President Wilson's attitude can only be described as a tragedy. We do not believe that there was a man more determined than he was when he entered office to conduct his administration on moral lines, and to show the world that morality and politics are not incompatible, and that cynicism need not really be the rule for statesmen. Alas for the President that he did not follow his own natural instinct for the right instead of his reason. It would never have betrayed him. Instead, it would have led him on the road which he really wants to travel.

The Spectator

March Wine Club | 26 March 2015

From our UK edition

Chateau Musar is one of those delightful oenological quirks – a remarkable wine of great style produced under extraordinarily difficult conditions in the most unlikely of places: Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. If the success of past offers is anything to go by, Musar has a huge following among Spectator readers and we’re delighted that both Chateau Musar and the Wine Company have decided to offer the latest vintage of the estate’s grand vin – the 2008 – in these pages, before anyone else in the UK has it. Not only that, in this fascinating six-bottle selection we also have two previous fine vintages of the main wine, plus a mid-range and entry-level red and the deliciously exotic Chateau Musar white. Let’s start with that 2007 Chateau Musar White (1).