The Week 1565

Forty years after it was last seen in the UK, a tiny wolf spider has been rediscovered on the Isle of Wight. Wolf spiders, of which there are about 38 species in the UK, are so known because of the way they chase and then pounce on their prey. However, the hunting methods of Aulonia albimana are not known. It has been dubbed the white-knuckled wolf spider, partly because of the thrill of its rediscovery, in a remote nature reserve accessible only by boat. A 66-year-old retired banker from Dartmoor has completed 200 marathons in 200 days, running around the entire coastline of mainland Britain. Two weeks in, Steve James’s feet were so painful, he was admitted to A&E. But having got some new trainers, and prescription drugs, he carried…

Tax hikes warning What happened In an unconventional pre-Budget speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves paved the way for manifesto-breaking tax rises on 26 November, including the first income tax hike since the 1970s. She warned that “each of us must do our bit” to fix the nation’s finances. Blaming Brexit, Liz Truss’s mini-Budget and a productivity downgrade for a multibillion-pound “black hole” in the public finances, Reeves pledged to put “the national interest” ahead of “political expediency” in her Budget, in order to reduce the national debt and protect the NHS. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the speech as “one long waffle bomb, a laundry list of excuses”, and insisted that if the Government were to break its explicit pledge not to raise income taxes, Reeves would have to resign. The…

What happened King Charles cast his brother Andrew out of the monarchy last week by initiating moves to strip him of his titles and evict him from his 30-room mansion in Windsor. The former prince will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and will move to a smaller property on the Sandringham estate. It follows weeks of renewed controversy over Andrew’s friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This was triggered by the emergence of emails revealing that Andrew lied when he claimed to have cut off contact with Epstein in 2010; and by the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, in which she elaborated on her claims of sexual abuse at the hands of Andrew and others. A Palace statement said the “censures” were “deemed necessary, notwithstanding the…

Controversy of the week Farage’s economic pitch When making a deal with Nigel Farage, it’s a good idea to “study the fine print”, said The Times. Reform UK’s manifesto for last year’s general election was grandly titled “Our Contract With You”. It contained £90bn of juicy tax cuts, among them lifting the income tax threshold to £20,000, and abolishing stamp duty on properties under £750,000. Yet in his first major speech on the economy – he has never really given one before – Farage informed us on Monday that these pledges were only ever an “aspiration”. “We want to cut taxes, of course we do,” he told an audience in the City of London. But with the national debt at 100% of GDP, such measures, he said, were no longer…

Dictionary.com has declared “six-seven” its “word of the year”. Thought to have been coined by rapper Skrilla, the phrase has swept across social media, though it has no meaning. It can be used to express joy or solidarity. Some have called it an example of digital “brain rot”, but Dictionary.com disagrees. “When people say it, they’re not just repeating a meme; they’re shouting a feeling,” said one expert. Teachers have been so irritated by pupils shouting it in lessons, some have banned it. A survey of teachers has revealed that Americanisms are increasingly creeping into children’s language. Half of primary school teachers say they’ve heard “trash” or “garbage” rather than rubbish; 65% have heard “candy” for sweets.…

Alan Bates, the former sub-postmaster whose campaign for justice inspired an ITV drama, who received a seven-figure settlement over the Post Office/Horizon scandal. “About bloody time… I’m over the Moon,” said fellow victim Jo Hamilton. David Beckham, who was knighted by the King at a ceremony at Windsor Castle. The award was for services to football and charity. “To receive an honour like this,” he said afterwards, “is beyond anything that I ever thought that I would receive.” Nvidia, the AI chipmaker, which became the world’s first $5trn company (see page 42).…