18-19 December
North Shropshire
The magnitude of the Conservative party’s defeat in North Shropshire can hardly be overstated, says Patrick Maguire in The Times. The Liberal Democrats won the by-election with a 34% swing – “the seventh biggest in history” – overturning a Tory majority of 22,949. It was a seat the Conservatives had held, in one form or another, since 1832. And this crushing defeat – all of it, every last bit of it – is “entirely the fault of Boris Johnson”.
Heroes and villains
Donald Trump Jr reportedly texted his dad’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on January 6, insisting that the President “condemn” the Capitol riot as it unfolded. According to CNN, Trump Jr sent a message saying: “He’s got to condemn this s*** ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough.” He then added: “He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
Tomorrow’s world
Father-of-six Elon Musk claims we need to follow his example, says Catherine Bennett in The Observer. “If people don’t have more children, civilisation is going to crumble,” the Tesla founder observed. “Mark my words.” He’s right about the numbers – birth rates in the UK and US are already below “replacement level” and falling. The problem is what to do about it. Programmes to boost birth rates clash with those for educating girls: “The more educated women are, the fewer children they have.” And as much as Musk sets a good example “insemination-wise”, you can’t help wondering who’s doing all the actual parenting. His ex-wife mentions a child-rearing staff of five – a luxury few can afford.
Quoted
“Just nipping outside to collect a pint of milk and the omicron variant.”
Life
Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, I’m trying to give up cigarettes after 50 years, says Alexandra Shulman in the Daily Mail. It’s tough, because smoking has been “one of the greatest pleasures in my life since I took it up at 13”. My mother smoked, and nothing evokes my childhood like the smell of smoke veiled by “a spritz of Joy or Fracas, or a splash of Bay Rum aftershave”. To my young self, cigarettes were a symbol of adulthood. I started smoking as soon as I could – on the top deck of the bus, in the local burger joint, in boyfriends’ cars, even sneakily at home and school.
Staying young
Our bodies’ killer T cells are “not known for their mercy”, says Katherine Wu in The Atlantic – and they could “help hold the line against hospitalisations and deaths” in the fight against omicron. Like antibodies, T cells are a crucial part of our immune system. But whereas antibodies are “powerful but simple sentinels” that wander around the body trying to neutralise pathogens, T cells are “immunological assassins”, targeting cells that have already been infected. And when they find one, “their first instinct is to butcher”.
Quoted
“If it was actually nice people would eat it more than once a year.”
The case for
It’s too soon to write off the “shining city on the hill”
It seems the only way is Essex for Rightmove users: this blingtastic home in Chigwell was the most viewed property on its website in 2021. Aspen House has five ensuite bedrooms, a gym, a cinema room and a spa with a pool. There’s an equestrian centre with an Olympic-size riding area in its 52 acres. £15m.
