It is not a matter for surprise when politicians act on c alculations of partisan advantage rather than principle. what is surprising is that their calculations are so often I...

Twenty thousand people marched in London in support of peace in Ulster, and the Norwegians gave £200,000 for Northern Irish charities. The IRA 'apologised' for the deaths in...

The Queen and the crisis John Grigg if the present government comes unstuck in the near future—as many believe it will-what action would the Queen be obliged to Lake or free...

Mrs Thatcher gave considerable offence to Mr Heath and to some members of her Shadow Cabinet by her reported remarks about incomes policy during a tour of North Wales last...

Mr Levin's terrible mistake Auberon Waugh As many of us do from time to time, I was Musing about Bernard Levin last week When, idly turning the pages of Leviticus, I came upon...

David Bonavia Hong Kong There is a widespread belief in Europe and America that the October coup in Peking, and the return to power of the Hupei-born generals who were eclipsed...

Geoffrey Wheatcroft Conor Cruise O'Brien has become a figure Of violent controversy, not for the first time in his life. He was originally an academic— author of a number of...

Mary Kenny What really drives Irish extremists and their fellow-travellers wild with rage at the moment is the amount of publicity that has been given to the Peace People. They...

Lord Thorneycroft In 1957 the state spent 40 per cent of the Gross National Product; in 1967 it spent 50 per cent; and in 1977 it will be spending virtually 60 per cent. These...

Christopher Booker The next time you see that champion of the oppressed and friend to liberty Mr Michael Foot, you might do well to bear in mind a Particularly nasty little...

Richard West The late Sir Val Duncan, chairman of Rio Tinto-Zinc, once observed that 'taking the wealth out of the soil is an emotional business and it is only too easy for...

Dennis Hackett I suppose if I were on my way to the workhouse and was saved at the last minute by an Unknown benefactor, my gratitude would be such as to incline me to ascribe...

Genuine Jeffrey Bernard Better late than never. Grundy beat Bustino in the 1975 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and Christopher. Hawkins's book on the...

Getting the figures right Nicholas Davenport Professional economists are beginning to look a little silly. They have always been an object of fun. In the 'thirties the stock...

Sir: It is wrong of Auberon Waugh to blame Charles Osborne for all the actions of the Arts Council in the field of literature. In many ways he is only the servant of the...

Sir: Your editorial (27 November) complains that the Queen's Speech made no reference either to the fact that the rate of inflation is steadily rising—it now stands at more than...

Sir: Having been abroad. I have only just read the article by Lord Lambton on David Pryce-Jones's book on Unity Mitford (13 November). I have not yet read the book itself but,...

Sir: I am sorry to have provoked yet more anguished squawkings from the Combe Florey hen house—but touchy as he is, poor Auberon Waugh (Letters, 27 November) will have to do...

Sir: One of the snags about having a referendum is the answers might well be the ones that aren't wanted. As I put it in [IV speech in the House of Commons in 1969 , 'the House...

Sir: Your psephologist at large, M r Auberon Waugh, gave us much food fo r thought in his article Fraud at the polls (13 November). However, I just wonder" he isn't attacking...

Sir: I am puzzled at the outrage expressed by Mr Nicholas Davenport in his City report (13 November): 'It is really fantastic that in a year of rising unemployment we pay out...

Sir: I refer to James Hughes-Onslow's article on the Miss World contest (20 November), and the revelation that he always keeps his cigars (or cigar) in his sock. Surely there...

Sir: Sir Anthony Nutting is one of the few men in public life who commands an instinctive respect in all quarters for sacrificing his prospects for his principles and whose...

Sir: Perhaps Royce Bradshaw in his letter `Look at Germany' (13 November), should take a second good look and straighten out the record. He has overlooked the fact that they pay...

Sir: I have never written a novel, publicly exhibited a painting, acted in any stage production or directed a film. Which may or may not be why I have never held any strong...

Writing in the dark Richard Williams All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music Tony Palmer (Weidenfeld and Nicolson/Chappell £6.50) The reappearance of Tony Palmer in...

Benny Green English Humour J. B. Priestley (Heinemann £6.50) There can be very few writers who could. Claim to equal J. B. Priestley's feat of publishing two different books...

Peter Conrad On With the Show!: The First Century of Show Business in America Robert C. Toll (Oxford University Press £12.50) The Rise of Romantic Opera Edward J. Dent Edited...

Peter Ackroyd The New Oxford Book of American Verse Edited by Richard Ellmann (Oxford University Press £7.50) The best anthologies are immodest, partisan and grossly unfair....

Harriet Waugh Th e Adventures of Conan Doyle Charles Higham (Hamish Hamilton Z4.95) The literature on Conan Doyle and his r 'eation, Sherlock Holmes, is embarrassI nglY...

Nick Totton The Man Who Talked Babytalk Brian Merriman (Martin Brian and O'Keefe £4.00) Low-Flying Aircraft J. G. Ballard (Jonathan Cape 0.50) The Man Who Talked Bahytalk is a...

Andre Previn Springtime in Tottenham Benny Green (Lemon Tree Books £1.25) There are very few books on which I feel qualified to pass reasonable judgment. Even Within the sphere...

Roy Fuller Words into Rhythm D. W. Harding (Cambridge University Press £5.95) This book (based on the Clark Lectures of 1971-72) should be on the reading list of everyone...

James Hughes-Onslow Book of Bores Drawings by Michael Heath (Private Eye/Andre Deutsch 75p) Punch Cartoons of Heath (Harrap £1.00) Automata Michael Heath (A. P. Rush" ton .50)...

Ronald Hingley The Mountains of Serbia: Travels 1,,n.rbugh Inland Yugoslavia Anne Ninders ley (John Murray £6.95) This is more than a travel book, it is a Its , e holar's work...

Pompeii same old humanity Bruce Chatwin 'Pompeii like any other town. Same old humanity. All the same whether one be alive or dead. Pompeii comfortable sermon. Like Pompeii...

New contacts John McEwen The nicest show to visit in London at the moment is Sculpture far tlw Blind (Tate till 12 December). Brancusi made a piece of s culpture for the...

Family way Clancy Sigal Wild Game (Pans Pullman, Phoenix) The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (Paris Pullman, Phoenix) I Will, I Will . . . For Now (Leicester Square...

Prisoners Ted Whitehead Camp (Roundhouse Downstairs) La Dispute (Lyttelton) What is it that you can't express with words but might express without them'? A n experience that...

Pretty dull Richard Ingrams A major advantage of having a black and white telly is that one is in no danger of being seduced by the pretty coloured ,pictures which so many...