Across 1 Labour MP declared bonuses (8) 5 Politician on god’s side? (6) 9 Opening up most of UK city – no way! (8) 10 Country with a European President (6) 12 Muse over a Tory stuffing! (5) 13 PM to strongly admire, not starting in political office (9) 14 Blair has expressed Churchill’s Cold War diplomacy ably (6,6) 18 Notes written in blue by a musical Tory (6,6) 21 Journalist by trade originally covers item honouring US President (5,4) 23 Sound place to eat in Washington (5) 24 Tory after losing leadership pursues the French Premier for instance (6) 25 Vice President working for President Ford (8) 26 Globe travelling captures the essence of Air Force One (6) 27 European President’s calm taking on the Spanish broadcaster (8) Down 1 What Cameron partly called Boris’ Napoleon issue? (6) 2 Berlin is a leader of industry – that’s understood (6) 3 Attraction Johnson never tires of – a looker! (6,3) 4 PM in office in months before capturing Amin (4,8) 6 Delighted to be broadcasting (2,3) 7 Soviet letter from Zinoviev stops Asquith backing Chamberlain, when addressed informally (8) 8 “Return of Pan’s People” – oddly left to a quick vote? (4,4) 11 It’s virtually criminal attacking the state as we face Barry Gardiner’s last amendment (12) 15 Most of the county supports leaderless party getting back again (9) 16 Tory minister once left Labour and Liberal leaders in Number Ten (8) 17 Unexpected drop in tax? (8) 19 Return of One Direction is an aim of some Greeks (6) 20 Revolutionary French soldier is a Republican (6) 22 Immature Leader of the House once (5)
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
Oh, and many thanks to StJohn for this. I am hopeless with crosswords (although all too often have cross words...), but enjoy seeing everyone else solve them.
All the clues solved so far are correct - as are the explanations. The only one so far not explained is 3 down. LONDON EYE - LONDON (Samuel Johnson never tires of London in his famous quote) + EYE (a looker). Definition is Attraction.
The London Eye is a tourist attraction. It's Dr Johnson here not Boris Johnson. But I think the surface reading works well for Boris.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
And as soon as they get a run of unfortunate events like this, Russia decide to pull back the bombers. As Kasparov notes on Twitter, Russia deescalates when it’s getting its arse kicked, and escalates when others show weakness.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
Russian Christmas isn't for several more days.
And neither the Israelis nor Palestinians celebrate it.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
There’s a piece about the 1914 Christmas Day truce in the Guardian. Sad that the ‘top brass’ made sure it wasn’t repeated.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
Russian Christmas isn't for several more days.
And neither the Israelis nor Palestinians celebrate it.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
Russian Christmas isn't for several more days.
And neither the Israelis nor Palestinians celebrate it.
Some Palestinians are Christians.
I'm aware of that, having stayed with one of them last time I was there, but it's a tiny minority.
And the news from Gaza this morning doesn't suggest either side are thinking of observing a ceasefire.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
Russian Christmas isn't for several more days.
And neither the Israelis nor Palestinians celebrate it.
Some Palestinians are Christians.
I'm aware of that, having stayed with one of them last time I was there, but it's a tiny minority.
And the news from Gaza this morning doesn't suggest either side are thinking of observing a ceasefire.
Didn’t realise there were very few Palestinian Christians.
And as you infer, the news from the ‘Holy Land’ is anything but holy. Gaza was, biblically, the home of the Philistines, the enemies of the Israelites, and the IDF seems to be reverting to the time of David.
And in other Christmas news of merry cheer, it looks as though the Russians lost an SU-30 and SU-34 yesterday, making five high-end planes lost in a few days.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
I hope there is no fighting today and peace, even for the Russians.
Russian Christmas isn't for several more days.
And neither the Israelis nor Palestinians celebrate it.
Some Palestinians are Christians.
I'm aware of that, having stayed with one of them last time I was there, but it's a tiny minority.
And the news from Gaza this morning doesn't suggest either side are thinking of observing a ceasefire.
Didn’t realise there were very few Palestinian Christians.
And as you infer, the news from the ‘Holy Land’ is anything but holy. Gaza was, biblically, the home of the Philistines, the enemies of the Israelites, and the IDF seems to be reverting to the time of David.
I can only admire your optimism. Right now I'd say it's going back to the time of Samson.
Well, it was in Gaza that he destroyed the temple of Dagon, killing all the Philistines and himself in the process.
Yes. Vice President Kamala Harris. The answer HARRISON could be one of two Presidents. William Henry Harrison (9th) or Benjamin Harrison (23rd). Ford is actor Harrison Ford and not President Gerald Ford (38th).
Happy Christmas all. And good luck with the Stanford, @ydoethur. Lovely piece.
The midnight mass congregation got the Hallelujah chorus because it’s simple and loud and I was knackered. Sleigh Ride for the morning service today I think!
BREZHNEV - Z (letter from Zinoviev) inside (stops) BREH (HERB reversed/backing. HERB is an informal name for HERBert Asquith) + NEV (an informal name for NEVille Chamberlain).
The Zinoviev Letter was a political scandal in 1924 just before the General Election and at the time both Herbert Asquith and Neville Chamberlain were MPs
Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day.
I had a wander down to a friend’s house ‘for a couple of hours’ last night and got in at 3.45 this morning. The Boss is remarkably forgiving this morning. I think I need to keep drinking - to sober up would be, at this point, foolish.
As a break from the crossword, some sage words from Hardman:
Starmer won the Labour leadership in part because he didn’t give too strong a sense of what he was against or for. When I spoke to many MPs who ended up backing him during that contest in 2020, even they repeatedly said “he hasn’t said that much about what he believes yet”.
[Labour] has a team at its HQ working on readiness for government that is known by superstitious staff as the “team with no name” because they fear cursing their chances by seeming too presumptive about a victory.
Starmer needs his party to know what it is facing so it will support him through major reforms early on. He needs the public to be well aware of that so it buys into what will have to be a long-term project.
One of the reasons the Tories are so out of love with being in power is that it is hard, relentless and wearing. It is also easy to fail to deliver on all of your priorities, which is something Sunak is having to contemplate given that he and his predecessors don’t have much evidence of Tory achievements other than on education reform. If and when Labour gets into government on a “time for change” ticket, it won’t have any time to work out what it wants to do, or to change course because the reforms would be too unpopular with certain special interest groups. It barely has much time…
That creates a stick or twist dilemma for Starmer in an election year. Sticking with the current cautious approach will probably be enough to get Labour over the line this time, so woeful is the state of the Tories. But it risks leaving the party bereft of the big ideas and momentum that will propel it to start the business of change. Starmer rightly admires Thatcher for being clear about how she would transform Britain, and even more so for the fact she managed it. It’s his turn to harness that for his own purpose.
I haven't scrolled down all the way so sorry if someone has already given this answer: 3 down London Eye. Merry Christmas Everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day. And thanks StJohn for the crossword!
A peaceful and happy Christmas to everyone, lurker or contributor, on PB, especially those who keep this wonderful site going through the warp and weft of daily politics.
The annual St John PB Christmas crossword – politicalbetting.com
Comments
https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/12/25/the-annual-st-john-pb-christmas-crossword/
1 Labour MP declared bonuses (8)
5 Politician on god’s side? (6)
9 Opening up most of UK city – no way! (8)
10 Country with a European President (6)
12 Muse over a Tory stuffing! (5)
13 PM to strongly admire, not starting in political office (9)
14 Blair has expressed Churchill’s Cold War diplomacy ably (6,6)
18 Notes written in blue by a musical Tory (6,6)
21 Journalist by trade originally covers item honouring US President (5,4)
23 Sound place to eat in Washington (5)
24 Tory after losing leadership pursues the French Premier for instance (6)
25 Vice President working for President Ford (8)
26 Globe travelling captures the essence of Air Force One (6)
27 European President’s calm taking on the Spanish broadcaster (8)
Down
1 What Cameron partly called Boris’ Napoleon issue? (6)
2 Berlin is a leader of industry – that’s understood (6)
3 Attraction Johnson never tires of – a looker! (6,3)
4 PM in office in months before capturing Amin (4,8)
6 Delighted to be broadcasting (2,3)
7 Soviet letter from Zinoviev stops Asquith backing Chamberlain, when addressed informally (8)
8 “Return of Pan’s People” – oddly left to a quick vote? (4,4)
11 It’s virtually criminal attacking the state as we face Barry Gardiner’s last amendment (12)
15 Most of the county supports leaderless party getting back again (9)
16 Tory minister once left Labour and Liberal leaders in Number Ten (8)
17 Unexpected drop in tax? (8)
19 Return of One Direction is an aim of some Greeks (6)
20 Revolutionary French soldier is a Republican (6)
22 Immature Leader of the House once (5)
ETA but that means 10 across can't be Poland. Hmm.
Two clues solved in two hours (and not clear which two). Can't wait for the day shift to clock on.
Left is L
22 down Immature leader of the house = Young? As in George Young?
Off to have a cup of tea now.
Yet again, making it clear that the Ukrainians make good use of the gifts we give them.
"Dear Santa, may I have a new Patriot battery? I've been a good boy this year. Signed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. P.s.: I don't want to be a sneak, but my neighbour Putin's been an absolute stinker this year. They don't call him 'Vlad the Bad' for nothing."
Special thanks to St John for his Xmas Xword. I'm hopeless at them but do enjoy watching others solve them. It's a great tradition.
Catch you all Boxing Day.
All the clues solved so far are correct - as are the explanations. The only one so far not explained is 3 down. LONDON EYE - LONDON (Samuel Johnson never tires of London in his famous quote) + EYE (a looker). Definition is Attraction.
The London Eye is a tourist attraction. It's Dr Johnson here not Boris Johnson. But I think the surface reading works well for Boris.
Anag of globe & i (essence of aIr)
Left = port
And LL in IO
A chilly but clear morning here in Southern Burgundy. Children still asleep.
Notes (DE) in blue (DOWN) by musical (OLIVER)
Overworked postman.
Happy Christmas to all on PB.
In breaking news it seems Mrs Foxy and I made Santa's nice list.
TEDDY BEAR - Anagram of BY TRADE (indicated by originally) around (covers) ED (journalist).
The Teddy Bear was named in honour of Teddy Roosevelt.
WINDFALL - Dual definition. Unexpected drop of fruit from a tree. A windfall tax is a tax on unexpected excessive profits.
You chaps can all stay in bed
I’m never much good at crosswords, I’m afraid.
We’ve had a very festive pre-lunch ‘visit’ from our family in Thailand. The wonders of technology!
And neither the Israelis nor Palestinians celebrate it.
But I can't work out 'most of county'
And the news from Gaza this morning doesn't suggest either side are thinking of observing a ceasefire.
Dorset..
And as you infer, the news from the ‘Holy Land’ is anything but holy. Gaza was, biblically, the home of the Philistines, the enemies of the Israelites, and the IDF seems to be reverting to the time of David.
Well, it was in Gaza that he destroyed the temple of Dagon, killing all the Philistines and himself in the process.
Veep = HARRIS
Working = ON
The midnight mass congregation got the Hallelujah chorus because it’s simple and loud and I was knackered. Sleigh Ride for the morning service today I think!
BREZHNEV - Z (letter from Zinoviev) inside (stops) BREH (HERB reversed/backing. HERB is an informal name for HERBert Asquith) + NEV (an informal name for NEVille Chamberlain).
The Zinoviev Letter was a political scandal in 1924 just before the General Election and at the time both Herbert Asquith and Neville Chamberlain were MPs
FORBES - For Bes (Egyptian god).
Kate Forbes is a senior SNP politician and known for her strong christian faith.
GEORGE ORWELL - GEORGE OR sounds like (expressed) Jaw Jaw (Churchill’s Cold War diplomacy) + WELL (ably)
Eric Blair was George Orwell’s real name.
I had a wander down to a friend’s house ‘for a couple of hours’ last night and got in at 3.45 this morning. The Boss is remarkably forgiving this morning. I think I need to keep drinking - to sober up would be, at this point, foolish.
Starmer won the Labour leadership in part because he didn’t give too strong a sense of what he was against or for. When I spoke to many MPs who ended up backing him during that contest in 2020, even they repeatedly said “he hasn’t said that much about what he believes yet”.
[Labour] has a team at its HQ working on readiness for government that is known by superstitious staff as the “team with no name” because they fear cursing their chances by seeming too presumptive about a victory.
Starmer needs his party to know what it is facing so it will support him through major reforms early on. He needs the public to be well aware of that so it buys into what will have to be a long-term project.
One of the reasons the Tories are so out of love with being in power is that it is hard, relentless and wearing. It is also easy to fail to deliver on all of your priorities, which is something Sunak is having to contemplate given that he and his predecessors don’t have much evidence of Tory achievements other than on education reform. If and when Labour gets into government on a “time for change” ticket, it won’t have any time to work out what it wants to do, or to change course because the reforms would be too unpopular with certain special interest groups. It barely has much time…
That creates a stick or twist dilemma for Starmer in an election year. Sticking with the current cautious approach will probably be enough to get Labour over the line this time, so woeful is the state of the Tories. But it risks leaving the party bereft of the big ideas and momentum that will propel it to start the business of change. Starmer rightly admires Thatcher for being clear about how she would transform Britain, and even more so for the fact she managed it. It’s his turn to harness that for his own purpose.
POST MERIDIEM - POST (office) + in (inside) M M (months) ERE (before) around (capturing) IDI
PM is short for Post Meridiem. The answer the clue could suggest which fits is Lady Thatcher though she wasn’t ennobled at the time of course.
Merry Christmas Everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day. And thanks StJohn for the crossword!
PHILLIPS - homophone (indicated by declared) of fillips (bonuses)
Jess Phillips. Labour MP.
A peaceful and happy Christmas to everyone, lurker or contributor, on PB, especially those who keep this wonderful site going through the warp and weft of daily politics.
Leader of industry = I
Understood = AH
19 return of One Direction is an aim of some Greeks
Enosis 'union' - in this context of Cyprus and Greece