The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Policing the police

From our UK edition

Public officials, even retired ones, should not as a general rule attempt to undermine democracy. Imagine if, for example, a permanent secretary in the Home Office took to the airwaves to persuade the public to sit on their hands in a general election, in the hope that a low turnout would remove legitimacy from the process and let civil servants get on with their jobs without bothersome interference from ministers. That is pretty much what Lord Blair, former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is now doing. Earlier this week, he said that he hoped people would not bother to vote in the first police commissioner elections on 15 November — in the hope that mass abstention would fatally undermine the process.

The Spectator

Barometer | 25 October 2012

From our UK edition

Electric dreams Manganese Bronze, the manufacturer of the most familiar model of London taxi, went into administration, putting a question mark over the black London cab. — Although they enjoy the status of a timeless icon, London cabs only became universally black after the second world war, while their less welcome signature, diesel fumes, only came in during the 1950s. Remarkably, the first non-horse-drawn London cab was in fact electrically powered. — Introduced by Walter C. Bersey in 1896, the cabs could achieve 12 mph and had a range of 15 miles. — The 12 cabs were withdrawn by 1900, however, on account of unreliability, not so much because of their batteries as their pneumatic tyres.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Shelf Life: Anton du Beke

From our UK edition

Stalwart of Strictly, winner of Rear of the Year 2011 and author of B is for Ballroom: Be Your Own Armchair Dancefloor Expert, dancer Anton du Beke is on this week's Shelf Life. He tells us what he's reading and which self help book would make him foxtrot for the hills. He tweets @TheAntonDuBeke 1). What are you reading at the moment? The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods, by Hank Haney Lady Blue Eyes: My Life with Frank, by Barbara Sinatra Steps in Time: An Autobiography, by Fred Astaire 2). As a child, what did you read under the covers? The Famous Five, by Enid Blyton 3). Has a book ever made you cry, and if so which one? No, I don’t cry! 4). You are about to be put into solitary confinement for a year and allowed to take three books. What would you choose?

Thursday