‘Is this the interval or are the on strike?’ 45

Seein reen, 51

THE WEEK

3 Leading article 6 Portrait of the Week 9 Diary Why I fat-shamed

Keir Starmer Peter Mandelson 11 The Spectator’s Notes

Were picture agencies trying to teach Kate a lesson? Charles Moore 15 Rod Liddle Reform doesn’t have

a snowball’s chance in hell 19 Douglas Murray Who put

the toddlers in charge? 21 Ancient and modern

Taxing the Roman rich 23 Lionel Shriver Beware

pathological niceness 25 Matthew Parris How to claim

mental illness benefits 26 Letters Red bishops, the Spectator

sale and the shoplifting epidemic 28 Any other business

The British Isa was the dampest squib in Hunt’s Budget box Martin Vander Weyer

Rory Sutherland is away.

Stretch oals, 30

12 Bricking it

Is Rishi ready for a Red Wall rebellion? Katy Balls 13 John Williams

‘Fast charge’: a poem 14 Missionary position

The C of E now seems embarrassed about having spread the Gospel William Moore 16 High stakes

The unpalatable truth about terrorist agents Alasdair Palmer 18 Amazon delivery

What I learned from tripping on ayahuasca Sean Thomas 20 For the birds

Why private landowners are better conservationists Matt Ridley 22 Letter from Cape Town

Why do South Africans still support the ANC? Sam Kiley 24 Vine health

Celebrating 150 years of the Wine Society Martin Vander Weyer

BOOKS & ARTS

BOOKS 30 Mick Brown

Well Beings, by James Riley 32 David Crane

How the Spanish Empire Was Built, by Felipe Fernández-Armesto and Manuel Lucena Giraldo 33 Laurel Berger

The Extinction of Irena Rey, by Jennifer Croft 34 Lee Randall

Barbara Comyns, by Avril Horner 35 Susie Mesure

It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over, by Anne de Marcken 36 Olivia Potts

Leftovers, by Eleanor Barnett 37 Ian Sansom

The Book Forger, by Joseph Hone Camilla Cassidy Practice, by Rosalind Brown 38 Andrew Hankinson

The Price of Life, by Jenny Kleeman James Ball How to Win an Information War, by Peter Pomerantsev

Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Michael Heath, Nick Newman, John Broadley, Robert Thompson, Tim Bales, Grizelda, Mike Stokoe, Matt Percival, Wilbur, Bernie, Kipper Williams, Robert Thompson. 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: £119; Europe: £195; and £205 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 354; no 10,203 © 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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