York S & B 24th Oct 2025 by Platypus

Platypus here is an alias for a large group of setters who all contributed to the puzzle. You can solve the puzzle at https://mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/2788.

I found this quite tough. Often figuring out the parsing was harder than spotting the answer. I was helped a lot by the NINA around the edge which spells out "Sloggers and Betters Invade York". There was one where I had to resort to the solution PDF to understand part of the parsing.

 picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
8 RUSSIA
Perestroika’s end is almost certainly recalled here (6)

([Perestroik]a is sur[e])<. I'm not sure if you could call it an &lit since "here" isn't part of the wordplay. You could perhaps describe it as partial &lit because the rest of the clue helps the definition.

9 REARMOST
Latest: Starmer’s reshuffle skewered by leader of opposition (8)

Starmer* around o[pposition]

10 ESCAPISM
Fantasising about finally leaving rubbish campsites (8)

(Campsi[t]es)*(last letter of [abou]t removed)

11 GALORE
Ought apples or grapes occasionally to be in plentiful supply? (6)

Every third letter of "ought apples or grapes"

12 GODIVA
Words of encouragement for leading female Midlands horse rider (6)

Go diva(=words of encouragement for leading female)

14 DECEMBER
Period that includes the present day? (8)

CD, as December includes Christmas Day when presents are given.

17 GENETIC
Discontented great-niece wrongly inherited (7)

(G[rea]t niece)*(discontented = contents removed)

18 CELSIUS
Cryptic clues describing SI scale (7)

Clues* around SI

21 ONE LINER
Leather inner sole hiding small crack (3-5)

(Inner [s]ole)*. Leather is the anagram indicator with s{mall} removed(=hidden) in the letters.

23 SCAMPI
Do papa and I fish for dinner? (6)

Scam(=do, as in con someone) + p(=papa in phonetic alphabet) + I. Scampi is a possible dinner, so requires a question mark.

24 LARIAT
Body in flat CID discovered strangled by creep in Rope (6)

[F]la[t](=the body/inside bit of flat) + ([c]i[d](=discovered i.e. remove covering) inside rat(=creep)). A lariat is a sort of lasso.

27 LOCKDOWN
Initially convicted kidnapper has party while imprisoned in Low Newton confinment (8)

(C[onvicted] k[idnapper] + do(=party)) in low N{ewton}(abbrev from the SI Unit of force)

29 SOMETIME
Formerly in C major, G and E, then B and E (8)

I'm not a great music expert, but it seems to be the sol-fa equivalents of the alphabetical notes in the key of C major, so=G, me=E, B=ti, E=me.

30 KARPOV
Spirit shown by renowned players against master of the game? (6)

Ka(=Egyptian spirit) + RPO + v(=against). I had to look at the solution to find out what RPO is about but apparently it's an abbrev for Royal Philharmonic Orchestra(=renowned players).

DOWN
1 SUDS
Bosses short of time to produce American IPA? (4)

S[t]uds. I've not come across suds before but it seems to a slang term for beer and also seems to be used in the brand names of some American beers.

2 ASTATINE
At casualty having ingested drug (8)

A and E(=casualty) around statin(=a cholesterol lowering drug). At is the chemical symbol for astatine, an extremely rare and unstable member of the halogen group of elements.

3 NAVIGATION
A bit of guidance, ultimately, when flying around? (10)

G[uidance] in ([whe]n aviation).

4 DRAMEDY
Tedious to cover poorly made variety show? (7)

Dry around made*. A dramedy is a mixture of drama and comedy, so would have some variety.

5 BANG
Disqualification before Grand Slam (4)

Ban(=disqualification) + g{rand}

6 EMBLEM
Token rapper dropping in for bass line (6)

Eminem(=rapper) with in replaced by b{ass} l{ine}

7 TSAR
Emperor Ras Tafari’s first to be overthrown (4)

(Ras T[afari])<

13 OCEAN
Main company set up on extremely limited means (5)

Co{mpany}< + [m]ean[s]

15 CHEESECAKE
Nails sticking up through brass base of satellite dish (10)

Aces<(=nails, as in "I've nailed/aced it") in cheek(=brass in the sense of having the brass to do something) + [satellit]e

16 EQUIP
Single Parisian’s who gets detained for supply (5)

Qui(=French for who) in EP(=extended play record, which possibly could be called a single, although EPs could contain more than one song)

19 STANDARD
Norm is protected by Ernest, and ardently (8)

Hidden in "Ernest and ardently"

20 TROLLEY
The old twisted ugly dwarf in the van is a brute? (7)

Ye<(=old word for the) after troll(=ugly dwarf). The def lost me completely but apparently it's an acronym of "British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment", a type of trolley used on the railways for handling newspapers, mail etc.

22 LOITER
Hang out with Raider renouncing latest love for setter (6)

Looter with the second(=latest) O replace by I(=the setter)

25 AMOK
Wild mushroom’s cap found in a well (4)

M[ushroom] in (a OK(=well as an adjective))

26 TRIO
Two guitarists and drummer, say, split at last over endless debauchery (4)

[Spli]t on rio[t]

28 WHOA
Which person alights at first stop? (4)

Who(=which person) + a[lights]

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