Leader: A huckster in Downing Street
The election of Boris Johnson as Conservative leader represents a new low for British politics. Mr Johnson is not…
ByNew Statesman Magazine
In this week’s magazine
Shame of the nation
Why our politics is divided into Engineers and Warriors: compromisers and fighters
Imagine you are trying to explain our political divides to a Martian. You quickly realise that talking about what…
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Boris Johnson believes in the myth of his own greatness – and wears a crown of laughter
In recent days, newspapers have been publishing sycophantic pieces about Boris Johnson by his old university chums or muckers…
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The fate of the Tories now rests with a new leader – Jo Swinson of the Liberal Democrats
“Are you a liberal, or are you a feminist?” That’s the question that Jo Swinson was asked at a…
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The new PM wants to make tough choices on Europe – but there are no good options left
Margaret Thatcher’s fall began on 30 October 1990 when she blurted out to the House of Commons what she…
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As people celebrate migrant children dying in custody, has the internet made evil our new normal?
Once upon a time, not all that long ago, it was unusual to hear hundreds of people claim that…
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The lessons to be learnt for today from Britain’s 1951 Iran crisis
As the title of his last book was intended to remind us, Boris Johnson wants us to believe he…
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Commons Confidential: Tin opener Tories and queasy Nats
Tory Poujadists granting Boris Johnson 12 months’ probation – 1922 Committee grey suits tweaked party rules so the year’s…
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Meet Ali Milani, the millennial who could unseat Boris Johnson in Uxbridge
Ali Milani first encountered Boris Johnson when he was 20. As a student in 2015, he went to a…
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Why a collapse in the value of the pound doesn’t always spell disaster
The UK’s exchange rate has been the bane of many a government. In 1967 Harold Wilson was forced to…
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How one family turned their tragedy into verbatim theatre
One Saturday evening this month, at a converted hospital chapel in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Lorin LaFave and her 17-year-old…
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Hannah Ewens’s Fangirls shows how fan culture runs deeper than the euphoric thrill of teenage girls
At Johnny’s Shop, a pop music fan’s haven in Harajuku, Tokyo, hordes of teenage girls browse boards covered with…
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Unlike One Day, David Nicholls’s Sweet Sorrow is a novel full of missed opportunities
Charlie Lewis is 16 years old. He’s at school somewhere in the south of England and has just finished his…
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No country for old men: Kevin Barry’s Night Boat to Tangier
Kevin Barry, the brilliant Irish writer – winner of the IMPAC Award for City of Bohane and the Goldsmiths…
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David Blanchflower’s Not Working is an excellent critique of mainstream economics – but lacks solutions
Since the financial crisis of 2008, employment in the US and the UK has reached record highs – yet British…
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NS Recommends: New books from Gretchen McCulloch, Catrina Davies, and Adam Phillips
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language Gretchen McCulloch As a self-declared “internet linguist”, journalist and podcaster Gretchen McCulloch…
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Jellyfish: exploring the sex life of a woman with Down’s syndrome
“Can you hear that sound?” asks Kelly, holding one finger up in the air. “It’s my virginity, screaming.” Her…
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Joyous and devastating: Melly Still’s Rusalka caps a season of supernatural tales at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne has just ended its 2019 season with a radical version of The Magic Flute (is there any other…
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Lila Avilés’s The Chambermaid paints a disconcerting portrait of a hotel worker in Mexico City
Film trivia quizmasters of the future can trip up contestants with the question: “Which movie, first seen in 2018…
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The disappointing second series of Big Little Lies went out with a whimper
This review contains spoilers for the final episode of Big Little Lies series two. The Big Little Lies finale…
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The brilliance of an insightful Radio 3 monologue on Serpico’s Sidney Lumet
Shoot me, but I reckon there could be few things on the radio more appealing than an intense and…
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Working at a steelworks, I realised a sense of wilderness is crucial in our busy, urban culture
Forty years ago, I got a job at Corby steelworks, where my father had been employed for over a…
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A party on a towpath, an encounter with a Brexiteer and why my friend the Moose, a writer, hates writing
A busy week, spent travelling up and down from Brighton to London, to Cambridge, and back down to Brighton.…
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My diet of “hot items”: why I pity people who have learned to cook
The thing is, I know I need to learn to cook, and will, but really, I don’t know when…
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Steven Berkoff Q&A: “I’d like to live in the 1880s and mix with Oscar Wilde“
Steven Berkoff was born in London in 1937. He is known for his villainous roles including General Orlov in…
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