The illusion of prosperity is over
Politicians can no longer count on low inflation to mask the structural flaws of the British economy.
ByThe Magazine
In this week’s issue
Broke Britannia
Letter of the week: Our carbon dependency
Write to [email protected] to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.
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“We’re all Blairites now” in the Labour Party
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
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Why cricket is the most moving art
It is complex and it is gladiatorial – yet farce and comedy are never far away during even the…
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My night out in Colchester
Also this week: the worst margarita of our lives, and Russia’s hot-dog rebels.
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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen: “I wouldn’t wish Mark Zuckerberg’s life on anyone”
In 2021 she shone a light on misinformation and online harm. Now she’s “extremely worried” about Big Tech’s impact…
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Can Labour inspire hope?
The sense of fatalism across the country means that the party’s education plan is its most important initiative.
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Austerity is about to return to Europe
The political fallout from the reimposition of the EU’s fiscal rules will be toxic.
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The Bank of England is complicit in the Tories’ economic failures
Andrew Bailey incurs the public’s wrath for today’s economic pain, but his predecessors have questions to answer as well.
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Death and literature in Ukraine
Kyiv’s thriving literary scene was marred by the death of the novelist Victoria Amelina.
By Broke Britannia
Britain is trapped in a cycle of inflation and economic pain. What will it take to break it?
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Alexander Lukashenko: The broker of Belarus
The Belarussian dictator has entangled himself further in Russia’s war.
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France’s forces of law and disorder
French police have declared themselves “at war” with rioters. How did the state’s protectors become a threat to its…
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The rotten heart of the French republic
The crisis in France only benefits the hard right, who will exploit it to reshape French politics.
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The left must embrace law and order
In France and elsewhere, everyday insecurity hurts the poor much more than the rich.
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When war comes to Wimbledon
As Russian competitors return to SW19, the Ukrainian player Sergiy Stakhovsky continues to fight on the front line.
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Bruce Springsteen and the spectre of stardom
In 1981, the singer sensed his future fame – and retreated. Nebraska, his darkest and most personal album, was…
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How sport explains Thatcher’s Britain
The commerce, scandal and violence of sport in the 1980s was a reflection of a ruthlessly individualist society.
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Polly Toynbee and the price of privilege
The left-wing journalist’s memoir is an irresistible, Evelyn Waugh-like tale of aristocratic anarchy and class guilt.
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From Leïla Slimani to Laura Cumming: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Penance by Eliza Clark and White Hot by Matt Roller and Tim Wigmore.
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Making a murderer
Mark O’Connell’s portrait of a notorious Irish killer becomes a study of the desire to turn reality into fiction.
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Mugshots of a nation
After a three-year facelift, the bandages are now off the National Portrait Gallery.
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Lucinda Williams: “Poor women? After a while that becomes ridiculous”
The songwriter on her stroke, country vs rock, and why she hates “feminists in music using the fact that…
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Return to Seoul: a film made with more genius than cash
In this fantastic, low-budget film, a French-Korean woman adopted at a young age returns to the place of her…
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You won’t ever forget Channel 4’s Afghanistan documentary Evacuation
Give this revelatory series your time. Let it rip open your heart.
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The Crossbow Killer attempts to fathom an unfathomable act
Meic Parry’s investigation into the 2019 murder of Gerald Corrigan is well-researched but unnecessarily gory in detail.
Yayoi Kusama’s “You, Me and the Balloons” is the epitome of art made for selfies
The 94-year-old artist’s new exhibition is vibrant and accessible, but her work’s ubiquity has made it trite.
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Why Glastonbury could do with a touch of snark
From festival coverage to nature documentaries, TV is so relentlessly cheerful that it brings out my inner curmudgeon.
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Sibling rivalry at backgammon has only one winner: not me
Up to London for the first day of the Ashes Test, and all I get is a hangover, Australian…
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This England: Getting it in the neck
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain…
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Mat Osman Q&A: “The arts are turning into a desert”
The Suede bassist and novelist on Sherlock Holmes, the music of Kate Bush and life on the road.
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