The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Spectator letters: How to save the Union; who cares for Paolozzi’s murals

From our UK edition

A disaster for unionists Sir: I share Alex Massie’s view that ‘this election is going to be a disaster’ for us unionists (‘Divided we fall’, 28 February). It is almost too painful to recall that it will mark the 60th anniversary of a great victory in May 1955 when the Tories, standing as Scottish Unionists, won more seats north of the border than their opponents and helped give Anthony Eden a secure majority. Under the baleful influence of George Osborne, who could not care less about the constitution, there seems little chance that the Tories will redeem themselves by proposing the one remaining policy that could save the Union: a new constitutional settlement for the UK based on the federal model.

The Spectator

The perils of planespotting

From our UK edition

A dangerous hobby Three men from Greater Manchester were arrested and held in the UAE after being seen writing down the numbers of aircraft. — Plane-spotting can be risky. In 2001 14 Britons were arrested in Greece after allegedly taking photos at an air base in Kalamata. Eight were sentenced to three years; imprisonment for spying and the other six were given suspended sentences. (All were overturned on appeal.) — In 2010 two British men were arrested at Delhi airport after being seen taking photos of planes from a hotel room. — Trainspotters have had problems too. In 2008 a 15-year-old boy was held under terror legislation after taking photographs of Wimbledon station for a school project.

The Spectator

If you really love the NHS, you know it needs to change

From our UK edition

To adapt Aeschylus’s aphorism on war and truth, the first casualty in a general election campaign is objectivity. Over the next eight weeks NHS staff can expect nothing but saccharine praise from politicians who are falling over themselves to say how wonderful the health service is, how committed they are to it. The Conservatives may revive their ‘NH-yes’ slogan, promising to safeguard its budget. Labour proposes to protect it from what few reforms the Conservatives promise and even Ukip is posing as ‘the party of the NHS’. A true friend of the NHS, however, would accept that all is not well, and that ‘protecting’ its current structure is an act of cruelty rather than kindness.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 5 March 2015

From our UK edition

Home The man seen in several Islamic State videos of hostages being beheaded, nicknamed Jihadi John by the British press, was revealed as Mohammed Emwazi, aged 26, born in Kuwait but raised from the age of six in London. He was said to have had help with anger management at his secondary school, Quintin Kynaston Academy in St John’s Wood. An advocacy group called Cage produced a recording of him complaining that MI5 had questioned him after he had to turn back from a ‘safari’ in Tanzania in 2009. General Raymond Odierno, the chief of staff of the US army, said he was ‘very concerned’ about British defence cuts. Lance Corporal Joshua Leakey of the Parachute Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in Afghanistan.

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Racing post

From our UK edition

From ‘Ascot in Wartime’, The Spectator, 6 March 1915: [To the Editor of "THE SPECTATOR"] SIR,—There has been much discussion recently over the question of the Epsom Grand Stand. As to the rights and wrongs involved in that discussion I hardly think there can be two opinions. But, Sir, I ask your permission to address you on a larger issue. It is proposed, we are told, to hold the Ascot races this year as usual. The proposal seems to many people simply outrageous, and we who think thus would deeply appreciate and welcome a candid opinion on the subject from the Spectator, and as a regular reader I ask you most earnestly to give your views on this grave proposal.