Quick crossword No 277

Thanks Pyewacket, that was fun. I wouldn't call this a 'kitten', however; for me it was more like a lion cub! I revealed 16d & I missed 7d. I needed your notes to parse 8d, 21d & 14d. Anyway, there was a lot I liked including 1a, 13a, 22a, 24a, 6d, and 17d. Overall I admired the succinctness of your clues. More in reply.

In 8d, I don't think you really need 'the start of' as A=are is OK on its own. PR as a voting system is new to me but I see it's in Chambers.

Rather late to this Pyewacket but lots to enjoy, thanks. By no means a kitten - more like an adolescent lion for me! I had to reveal 16d too, and a couple of others. See reply for my take on why this might be trickier than you thought. Favourites: 1a, 10a, 12a, 20a, 25a, 6d and 17d. Spoilers ...