Contents Contents Contents ContentsThe weekLeading article  5 Diary Susan Hill  9 The Spectator’s Notes  10 Diary of a Notting Hill Nobody 12 Letters  26 Another voice Matthew Parris  27 Mind your language 62

Peter, here’s what you must do Daniel Finkelstein How Labour can avoid the Tories’ wilderness-years mistakes 14 How Labour can save itself: a poll 15 Labour’s only hope is the next generation Martin Bright All those presently associated with the party must stand aside 16 How far can Balls bounce? Melissa Kite Can the Schools Secretary go all the way? 18 ‘A liberal mugged by reality’ Douglas Murray Celebrating the life of Irving Kristol, who died last week 19

Business The credit card crunch Matthew Lynn  28 Public spending Allister Heath  29

Books Philip Hensher: The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown 30 Paul Johnson: A History of Christianity, by Diarmaid MacCulloch 31 Daniel Swift: Lancaster, by Leo McKinstry 32 P.J. Kavanagh: A Writer’s Britain, by Margaret Drabble 35 Anthony Daniels: Strange Days Indeed, by Francis Wheen 35 John Mole: ‘The Has-been Who Never Was’: a poem 35 Charlotte Moore: Ordinary Thunderstorms, by William Boyd 37 Gary Dexter: Alternative Reading 37

fine Arts special Andrew Lambirth talks to the sculptor Anish Kapoor 38 Exhibitions 1: Rogier van der Weyden 1400–1464: Master of Passions; Musée Hergé Laura Gascoigne 40 Collecting: the Government Art Collection Ariane Bankes 42

‘This job isn’t good for the soul’ Fraser Nelson An interview with Alistair Darling 20 The real origin of Darwin’s theory Matt Ridley Not the Galapagos finches, but ‘savages’ in Tierra del Fuego 22 Let’s give the family some privacy Rod Liddle No smirking at the arrest of Patricia Hewitt’s son, please 23 Parliamentarian of the Year 24

Cover by Tim Gow. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Mazurke, Len, Geoff Thompson, Holland and Bernie.

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Exhibitions 2: Martin Greenland: Arrangements of Memory John Spurling 44 Watercolour: RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition Mark Glazebrook 44 Opera: Le Grand Macabre; Don Carlo Michael Tanner 46 Music Robin Holloway 47 Theatre: The Shawshank Redemption; Othello Lloyd Evans 47 Cinema: The Soloist Deborah Ross 49 Radio Kate Chisholm 49 Television James Delingpole 50LifeThe turf Robin Oakley 51 High life Taki 51 Low life Jeremy Clarke 52 Wild life Aidan Hartley 53 Real life Melissa Kite 54 Bridge Susanna Gross 54

And finally . . . Wine club Simon Hoggart 55 Chess Raymond Keene 56 Competition; Crossword 56, 57 Status anxiety Toby Young 62 The Wiki man Rory Sutherland 63 Your problems solved Mary Killen 63

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THE SPECTATOR 26 September 2009 7