The Spectator

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The Spectator

Letters | 3 September 2011

From our UK edition

We had no choice Sir: ‘Britain remains an expeditionary nation keen on shaping the world,’ says James Forsyth (Politics, 27 August). Come off it, James. We weren’t consulted about Libya any more than we were about Iraq (a referendum would have been nice), but if ‘the nation’ means ‘the people’ then I’m sure that if we’d been told how many hundreds of millions of pounds would be involved, we’d have been considerably keener to spend them on job creation in our own country than on killing people and trashing the infrastructure in someone else’s. We elected Dave and Nick to make prudent cuts in public spending, not to make things worse by splurging our scarce resources on regime change in foreign parts.

The Spectator

Barometer | 3 September 2011

From our UK edition

The taxes of sin Bonn has introduced a flat-rate tax of €6 a night for prostitutes working in the city, payable at a ticket machine. Attempts to tax prostitution have been made since at least Roman times: a receipt from Roman Egypt suggested that a male prostitute paid four drachmas in tax for a two-month period.     — Sweden has taxed prostitutes since 1982 at the normal rate; workers qualify for sick leave pay and a pension.     — The Netherlands imposes a sales tax of 19 per cent on each act.    — Nevada has proposed a tax at a flat rate of $5 for every sex act.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 3 September 2011

From our UK edition

Home In London more than 2,000 had so far been arrested in connection with the August riots, of whom 1,135 had been charged. Nationally, 70 per cent of those who appeared in court were remanded in custody for trial. In more than half of Britain’s postcode areas, the Royal Mail failed to meet its aim of delivering 91.5 per cent of first-class letters the next day, between March and June. BT was given planning permission to remove disused dish-shaped aerials from high up on the BT Tower before they fell off. Scratched depictions of reindeer made more than 12,000 years ago were found in a cave in the Gower peninsula. NF Simpson, the author of One Way Pendulum, died, aged 92.

The Spectator

Leading article: Ten years on

From our UK edition

Historical eras rarely start or finish smoothly. But the tenth anniversary of September 11th next week presents a useful opportunity to reflect on the decade since those attacks — what we have won and where we have lost. Historical eras rarely start or finish smoothly. But the tenth anniversary of September 11th next week presents a useful opportunity to reflect on the decade since those attacks — what we have won and where we have lost. In the immediate aftermath, and facing the prospect of further attacks, Britain and America acted decisively. The first phase of the war in Afghanistan, designed to remove al-Qa’eda training camps, was swift and successful.

The Spectator

Independent thinking

From our UK edition

British education is in a state of flux and uncertainty. This summer’s A-level results have prompted concerns about the number of university places, as too many well-qualified applicants seek to get started in higher education before university fees rise next year. British education is in a state of flux and uncertainty. This summer’s A-level results have prompted concerns about the number of university places, as too many well-qualified applicants seek to get started in higher education before university fees rise next year. At the school level, moreover, many troubling questions persist: are grades still inflating? Can Michael Gove’s free schools rescue the state sector?

Friday

The Spectator

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From our UK edition

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