Bully tactics, p23
Say it with flowers, p14
Left march, p9
THE WEEK
3 Leading article 6 Portrait of the Week 9 Diary Labour is right to ditch
its £28 billion green pledge Paul Mason 10 Politics Starmer’s Gaza gamble
James Heale 11 The Spectator’s Notes
Should King Charles have announced the news of his cancer? Charles Moore 15 Rod Liddle
Suspend your disbelief 17 Barometer Butterfly numbers,
Covid grades and swapping religion 19 Douglas Murray
We live in a different Britain now 23 Mary Wakefield
My XL Bully eureka moment 25 Ancient and modern
Laughing stock 27 Letters St Blaise, the right
to die and UAE censorship 28 Any other business
Will Rachel Reeves scrap the private equity tax break? Martin Vander Weyer
12 Extinction Rebellion
The plot to take down Rishi Katy Balls 13 Julie Lumsden
‘Wonderful Tennessee’: a poem 14 Blooming obvious
Women love flowers. Who knew? Henry Jeffreys 16 Smoke signals
A fireside chat with Alan Garner Emily Rhodes 18 Royal treatment
The problem with a ‘slimmeddown’ monarchy Hugo Vickers 20 Latest draft
Inside Ukraine’s new plan for mass conscription Svitlana Morenets 24 ‘I am not intending to
conquer Europe’ An interview with Éric Zemmour Freddy Gray 26 Letter from Antarctica
We are truly isolated here – but rarely alone Robbie Mallett
BOOKS & ARTS
BOOKS 30 Peter Frankopan
Smoke and Ashes, by Amitav Ghosh 32 Francesca Peacock
Parasol Against the Axe, by Helen Oyeyemi David Honigmann Teddy Boys, by Max Décharné 33 Stuart Kelly
How I Won a Nobel Prize, by Julius Taranto 34 Alex Peake -Tomkinson
Green Dot, by Madeleine Gray Jane Solomon ‘The Mattress’: a poem Horatio Clare One Crew, by Helen Doe 36 Michael Arditti
James and John, by Chris Bryant 37 Alex Clark
What Will Survive of Us, by Howard Jacobson
Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Natasha Lawson, John Broadley, Robert Thompson, Kipper Williams, K.J. Lamb, Mike Stokoe, Nick Newman, Grizelda, RGJ. www.spectator.co.uk Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Email: letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0128 Subscription and delivery queries The Spectator customer services, Tower House, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 9EF; Tel: 01858 438 781; Email: subscriptions@the.spectator. co.uk; Rates for a basic annual subscription in the UK: £111; Europe: £185; Australia: A$279; New Zealand: A$349; and £195 in all other countries. To order, go to www.spectator.co.uk/basic-rate or call 01858 438 781 and quote BAR; Newsagent queries Spectator Circulation Dept, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, Email: dbrown@spectator.co.uk; Distributor Marketforce, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP. Tel. 0203 787 9001. www.marketforce.co.uk Vol Vol 354; no 10,198 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson
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the spectator | 10 february 2024 | www.spectator.co.uk
