Starmer has failed to stand up for his own principles
2026: Already a big year for impotent political handwringing
ByThe Magazine
In this week’s issue
What Trump wants
My kidney stone was the least painful part of the new year
The only person who seemed to be having a worse time than me at this point was Keir Starmer
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Britain according to The Traitors
Also this week: rereading Agatha Christie, and the golden age of journalism
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A steam train in Essex helped me forget the frigid depths of winter
A trip to nowhere and an Abba sing-a-long are the stuff of escapist Britain
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Partying with Piers and his peers
Plus: the death of cash, and a “once-in-a-500-year moment”
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Letter of the week: Know thy party
Write to [email protected] to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine
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Why Starmer won’t condemn Trump on Venezuela
The real worry is whether the PM still has any influence over the US president
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Greenland enters crisis mode
The island fears it will be next on the Maga hit list
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Trump needs Venezuelan oil to power AI
Otherwise the US faces a future of energy scarcity
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America kidnapped a president. Keir Starmer said nothing
The abduction of Nicolás Maduro marks a new phase of American imperialism – in which Britain is a vassal…
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Does a £150k salary make you rich?
Exclusive poll reveals no matter how wealthy, Britons don’t see themselves as “the rich”
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God loves Lily Phillips
The porn star’s conversion to Christianity seems unlikely, but God loves an outcast
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Europe’s American Dream has become a nightmare
Britain and the continent have withered under US protection
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The age of invasion
How Trump’s new global strategy will assert Washington’s hemispheric ambitions
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Fiona Hill: “The UK needs to think of its own sovereignty”
The foreign policy expert on spheres of influence and what America First really means
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America’s imperial overreach
In Venezuela, the Trump administration has blundered into a chaotic situation it cannot control
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Donald Trump is leading the UK to a dark place
Keir Starmer is unwilling to accept that the terms of the special relationship have changed
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The world after Trump’s Venezuela gambit
Jeremy Corbyn, Clare Short, Robert D Kaplan and others reflect on the consequences of the Caracas attack
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The liberal dilemma on Venezuela
How the Monroe Doctrine came back to haunt the West
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The rise of AI Face
Age-defying facelifts are reshaping what is aesthetically acceptable – and biologically possible
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The best fiction to read this year
Despite the doomsters, novels continue to thrive. From Julian Barnes to Leïla Slimani, this will be a great 12…
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The best non-fiction to read this year
From memoirs by politicians to biographies of poets, this will be a year in which life-writing abounds
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The best film & TV to watch in 2026
While there are exciting movies and series to come this year, the industry feels like it’s out of ideas
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The music acts to follow in 2026
It’s already becoming clear which musicians will break through
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The best exhibitions to see in 2026
A large contingent of female artists – including Tracey Emin and Frida Kahlo – takes to the walls alongside…
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The best theatre to see in 2026
Sexual politics dominate the year’s most anticipated plays
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The indignity of Farmer J
Fast-casual cafés turn lunch into a trip to the metaverse
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Should the NHS stop screening patients for cancer?
Some are subjected to unnecessary therapies, which can cause significant harm
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I dream and smell of festive roast goose
It turns out that fatty food does not make my gallstones howl in agony
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Beer and sandwiches: At the Old Nag’s Head in Derbyshire
A pub should comfort, relax, lift the spirits and loosen the tongue
ByAugust 1987: Geoff Dyer reviews the writer’s selected works
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