The Army has a white man problem
From our US edition
Plus: Biden challengers complain about lack of media coverage
The Spectator
Friday
Thursday
Letters: crime really does pay
Walking through treacle Sir: Rory Sutherland suggests that poor productivity can be correlated with the explosion of roles designed to support those ‘who do actual, useful work’ but, in practice, only act as anchors buried in the deepest mud, impeding progress (The Wiki Man, 6 January). Winston Churchill, frustrated at the length of the administrative
How many criminal convictions are overturned?
Power play The former energy minister Chris Skidmore resigned in protest at a bill to issue more licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. What are other countries doing? – US oil production hit a record 13.3m barrels a day last month, up from 10.8m five years ago. – Qatar is investing
Portrait of the week: Post Office scandal, Tube strikes off and dog meat banned
Home Although it had long been known that between 1999 and 2015 more than 700 sub-postmasters were convicted of false accounting, theft and fraud (based on the faulty Horizon computer accounting system software), the government suddenly proposed to do something about it because of a public outcry following an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the
2634: Word chain – solution
The word chain, starting (say) at 1 Down is: USEFUL, FULMAR, MARMOT, MOTHER, HERMIT, MITTEN, TENREC, RECUSE and then back to USEFUL First prize J.J. Morris, Upper Nash, Pembrokeshire Runners-up Jean Whitney, Perry Barr, Birmingham; Stuart Hall, Mickleton, Gloucestershire
The Online Safety Act is already stifling free speech
Joey Barton, the footballer turned manager, may be a controversial figure, but is it really the business of the sports minister, Stuart Andrew, to threaten to silence him on Twitter and Facebook? Andrew this week described Barton’s derisive remarks about female football commentators as ‘dangerous comments that open the floodgates for abuse’. He called upon
Wednesday
Lloyd Austin’s hospital scandal keeps getting worse
From our US edition
Plus: Hunter Biden crashes his contempt hearing & Mayorkas faces impeachment
Monday
Inside the GOP’s border battle
From our US edition
Plus: Democrats urge Biden not to debate & Lloyd Austin disappears
Friday
Soft-on-crime DC Council member facing recall effort
From our US edition
Plus: Did the California Assembly just face an insurrection?
Wednesday
Biden’s Breakfast Club problem
From our US edition
Plus: Congress reacts to Claudine Gay’s resignation, GOP visits the border
It’s junior doctors – not underfunding – pushing the NHS to the brink
Yet again we start the year with news that the NHS is facing the worst crisis since its inception. This has a real impact. People who think the health service is in crisis will be less inclined to use it. As we saw over lockdown, this leads to fewer treatable conditions being diagnosed, more ‘excess
What was banned this week?
For the love of dog XL Bully dogs were banned in England from this week, although there is an exemption for animals which are neutered, registered, insured and kept on leads and muzzled in public. Some other things that have been banned this week: – Parking on the pavement in Edinburgh. – Importing disposable vapes
Portrait of the week: backlog bluster, New Year honours and tornados in Manchester
Home James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, said that all 92,000 ‘legacy’ applications for asylum (made before 28 June 2022) had been processed, but 4,500 were reclassified as ‘complex’ and 17,000 were withdrawn. Of 112,138 applications subject to an initial decision in 2023, 67 per cent were granted. The number of migrants to cross the Channel
Letters: the genius of Morten Morland
Beyond good and evil Sir: In your Christmas issue, both James Macmillan (Composer’s Notebook) and Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, in his interview with Andrew Roberts, refer to the ‘war between good and evil’, as if most of us experience life on Earth as a continuous struggle of this kind. But many issues cannot be polarised
2633: Highly critical – solution
According to the ODQ, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II said of The Abduction from the Seraglio: ‘Too beautiful for our ears, and much too many notes, dear Mozart.’ First prize Sue Topham, Elston, Newark, Nottinghamshire Runners-up Anthony Harker, Oxford; Rosemary Paquette, Toronto, Canada
Friday
The Spectator’s Music of the Year 2023
From our US edition
Our writers — and some venerable guests — offer their picks
Thursday
The Spectator’s Films of the Year 2023
From our US edition
Our writers — and some special guests — offer their picks
Wednesday
The Spectator’s TV of the Year 2023
From our US edition
Our writers — and some esteemed guests — offer their picks
Friday
Will DeSantis make it to Iowa?
From our US edition
Plus: Fetterman hiring amid anti-progressive media blitz
Wednesday
Trump’s next ballot fight after Colorado
From our US edition
Plus: Linda Sarsour leads the charge on the Capitol
