The latest attempt to find a permanent occupant for the famous "empty" plinth in Trafalgar Square has been seen off, now that Boris Johnson has dropped his support for a statue of Air Chief Marshall Sir Keith Park—a cause to which he attached his name during the mayoral campaign. An alternative site is to be found for the doughty battle of Britain fighter chief. Park isn't the first candidate for the plinth to be shot down—Ken Livingstone previously failed to stick Nelson Mandela there.
So will the plinth forever remain a venue for temporary installations: the latest rusting mannequin from Gormley, or another Emin unmade bed? Not so fast. Prospect can reveal that Westminster council—the planning authority that blocked Mandela—has other plans for the site. The plinth is merely being kept warm for an even greater Brit than Park (who was in fact a New Zealander). Visitors to the square may notice that in the northeast corner stands another plinth, bearing an equestrian statue of George IV. When the Queen finally dies, the council wants to erect an equestrian likeness of her on the vacant plinth near her great-great-great-great uncle.
Westminster has kept tight-lipped about this plan, perhaps for fear of the arts lobby, which would be terminally affronted to be supplanted by a mere sovereign. But silent or not, the Westminster burghers are in deadly earnest—they fought their Mandela case all the way up to John Prescott. Indeed, their secrecy is in some way a testimony to how serious a project this is. As the Queen herself observed to butler and confidant Paul Burrell: "There are powers at work in this country of which we have no knowledge."
Image, below:A culvert in the sewers beneath Sheffield: photographer Nicholas Adams has made it his mission to explore and record those urban spaces few people usually see. More at www.guerillaphotography.co.uk
Wonk swap
The corporate world is famed for its speedy turnover of top execs. But the intellectual world is becoming just as ruthless. In July, it was announced that Catherine Fieschi would be replaced as Demos director by Richard Reeves (who writes in this issue) after she held the job for little over a year; her predecessor, Madeleine Bunting, lasted a few months. Similarly, Anthony Browne has defected to Team Boris after just 14 months at Policy Exchange. Editorship of the New Statesman continues to be a revolving door; the latest example being Jason Cowley, who, after taking the helm at Granta amid much fanfare last year, announced his departure only one issue later. And Standpoint, launched in June, has already lost its publisher. One wonders how long our "intellectual" prime minister has left.
Regius redux
This summer will see the appointment of one of the most prestigious posts in academia—the Regius professorship of modern history at Cambridge. The shortlist for the post, announced in January, excited some comment for its inclusion of Linda Colley, who is known to be one of the prime minister's favourite historians—Brown has cited her 1992 book Britons in several speeches. The Regius professorships (of which there are 38, across seven universities) remain in the gift of the crown—which has hitherto meant No 10 taking the lead in choosing them via the royal prerogative. But, seemingly unnoticed by the media, 2008 is the first year in which the PM will not be involved in the selection process, thanks to Gordon's recent surrender of a tranche of prerogative powers, which also included the appointment of bishops and the power to declare war and ratify treaties. Cambridge has made no official announcement as yet—but an insider tells Prospect that Colley is now out of the running, with early favourite Richard Evans likely to take the prize. Poor Gordon. Not only has his selflessness gone unremarked, now his tastes are being flouted the moment he takes his hand off the wheel.
A nuclear family
As we went to press, giant French utility firm EDF was on the verge of concluding a deal to buy the government's 35 per cent stake in British Energy (BE)—which operates almost all of Britain's nuclear power stations—for £11bn, with Centrica, owner of British Gas, set to buy a 25 per cent stake in the company if the deal goes through. But EDF also seems to have a back-up plan for the British market, having quietly bought up land at two existing nuclear sites in Anglesey and Somerset. Even if the BE sale were to fall through, these should make ideal sites for the next generation of nuclear reactors that will be required if Gordon Brown's recently announced "renaissance of nuclear power" is to be achieved: Britain now aims to build at least eight nuclear power stations over the next 15 years. So it's trebles all round at the nuclear table. And who better to lead the celebrations than EDF's director of corporate communications Andrew Brown—the younger brother of a certain prime minister.
President erect
There is an intriguing parlour game doing the rounds in Paris. What do Nicolas Sarkozy and 19th-century violinist Niccolò Paganini have in common? No, it's not their first name. And no, Sarko hasn't taken up the fiddle. It is, say the gossips and flaneurs of the salons, a rare medical condition known as priapism, which causes the sufferer to experience what doctors call a "persistent erection." Apparently the last Madame Sarkozy found the whole thing a bit trying, but the new first lady is not said to be pestering her husband to seek a cure.
Arise, mayor Lammy?
Beware the Booker
It's that time of year again: on 29th July, the Man Booker prize longlist is announced, ushering in the summer season of prizes and festivals. But spare a thought for those on the receiving end. As Anne Enright, last year's winner, explains in a delightfully confessional piece for the latest Asia Literary Review, "It's not my fault I won. I didn't do this to you. Five people in a room did this to me. They have ensured that I have not ceased from having to explain myself ever since. I don't quite know how to describe what it is like to give 32 interviews in one day, on four hours sleep, after too much champagne." Truly, it's tough at the top.
A very British blog
The British embassy in Washington DC has decided to bring its online presence bang up to date—to which end, Prospect learns, the following note has been circulated to a small group of contacts: "Dear Sir or Madam: We're in the process of setting up a British Embassy blog. We plan to provide thoughtful analysis of foreign affairs from a British perspective in a concise and plainspoken manner. I'm wondering if you wouldn't mind responding to the following questions in order to make this venture more worthwhile. Are you a blogger? Do you read blogs? If so, which ones? Do you ever comment on a blog? Do you prefer a group blog on many subjects or an individual blog on one subject? Are you interested in reading a British Embassy blog? If so, what topics would you like to see covered? Would you participate by posting comments? And thank you so much for your help." John Cleese would be very proud.
Sticks and stones please my bones
And so it has remained, leaving an unclear line between what is and isn't legal. Take the Emmett case in 1999, where a husband branded his wife's bottom with his initials. In this case the court of appeal fudged "Spanner," holding that a consenting married couple could commit acts that led to mild injury. Yet in another case, the court ruled that there was no defence of consent in erotic-asphyxiation. The message seems to be: put away your garrotte and, if you're looking to relax, get out the branding iron instead.
The solution should be to draw the line at the bottom end of grievous bodily harm ("really serious harm") rather than at ABH ("hurt calculated to interfere with health or comfort"). Under the present law Mosley couldn't consent to spanking, which seems silly: sportsmen kicking each other in the kidneys don't get prosecuted when it's part of the game. Mosley played games with willing participants, had sex, and enjoyed a post-coital cup of tea. What could be more civilised than that?
