Issue 1419

A dead letter
Without local power, the government’s dreamy evocation of Medici Florence for its levelling-up agenda is a mess of gimmicks and political chicanery, as Michael Taylor discovers on a tour of Morecambe, Manchester and Middlesbrough.

Borrow, don’t buy
Need to borrow a tent to go to a festival? How about a ladder for some DIY or even a carpet cleaner for the office? Then you need Leeds Library of Things. Saskia Murphy borrows some of the organisers’ time.

Serial killer’s confession
An interview with Barbara Stone, sister of Michael, who was convicted of the Chillenden murders in 1996, to which serial killer Levi Bellfield has now apparently confessed.

Plus
Arts and entertainment, columnist Roger Ratcliffe, the Infertility Diaries, author Monica Ali’s letter to her younger self and more.