Tom Jones: “I wanted to be a man, desperately”
How the veteran pop star made a career out of masculinity.
By
The new battle of ideas
The new battle of ideas: How an intellectual revolution will reshape society
Why we need a radical model for society in which the state does things with, not for, its citizens.…
By
Why the SNP fears Alba is still a threat
If Alex Salmond or any of his allies secure a seat, they will make life for his former party…
By
The contradictions of Edward Said
Why the intellectually restless author of Orientalism was an icon to the left, and an irritant to everyone else.…
By
Olivia Laing’s Everybody is a sprawling meditation on freedom and the body
By blending memoir, art criticism and biography, Laing explores how the body you are born into shapes your life,…
By
Carlo Rovelli’s Helgoland argues that all reality is relative
The author uses relational quantum physics to insist nothing we see and experience actually exists.
By
Chris Power’s A Lonely Man is a gripping novel that balances political intrigue with personal danger
The book is also a melancholy portrayal of male solitude and community.
By
Remembering Anthony Thwaite
The life and legacy of the poet and New Statesman literary editor, who has died at the age of…
By
Reviewed in short: New books from Stephen Walker, Annie Ernaux, Justine Cowan and Gabriela Garcia
Beyond by Walker, Simple Passion by Ernaux, translated by Tanya Leslie, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames by Cowan and Of Women…
By
John Colapinto: “Joe Biden knows he has to talk America, and the world, off a ledge”
The Canadian New Yorker writer discusses the political power of our voices.
By
First Thoughts: “Nice” Anneliese Dodds, repositioning Reeves, and watching Belfast from afar
Rumours about Keir Starmer wanting to sack his shadow chancellor have been circulating for months. Why isn't anyone setting the…
By
Commons Confidential: The Havant hustler
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
By
London’s poorest risk becoming the new “left behind”
The depiction of the capital as a gilded metropolis conceals the highest rate of child poverty of any English region.
By
A prisoner’s perspective
Jacques-Louis David painted his only landscape as the guillotine loomed over him.
By
BBC Three’s Starstruck is a sweet and funny romcom
It’s a bit like Fleabag, only minus the self-loathing, the existential angst and, most noticeably, the Hot Priest.
By
Cary Grant’s turn in the 1950s romcom Indiscreet is a lesson in effortlessness
In challenging times, I often find myself returning to a clip from Stanley Donen’s slight and elegant 1958 film…
By
Fiction podcast Soft Voice explores the anxiety of decision-making
Soft Voice tells the anxious 25-year-old estate agent Lydia what to wear, what to say and which yoghurt to…
By
A long retirement is the price footballers pay. Is 15 years of glory worth 50 years of emptiness?
Young players don’t think about the future; they blank all that from their minds as they chase after the exultation of…
By
This England: Shush ye! Shush ye!
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s Richard II, refers to the whole of Britain…
By
I will thank the pandemic for one thing, at least – a summer without sport
Whether it's Ulster, Exeter, Ireland or England – I was finally liberated from arranging weekends around rugby fixtures.
By
I wonder if there is a right way to contemplate the success of someone who broke my heart
I took a certain pleasure in noticing that the article I read written by an ex-lover of mine was actually quite…
By
John Timpson Q&A: “With all the dramas of life, I had no need for Coronation Street“
The owner of Timpsons discusses working with his son, The Nordstrom Way by Robert Spector and his dream of writing headlines for…
By
In the quiet of lockdown, bucolic memories return – of wildflowers discovered in surprising places
I may never have seen the Taj Mahal by moonlight, but I have walked in a wood carpeted with anemones,…
By
Subscriber of the week: Jo Adams
Email emily.bootle@newstatesman.co.uk if you would like to be the New Statesman's Subscriber of the Week.
By
The rise in cosmetic procedures troubles me – and it shouldn’t be anti-feminist to say so
We must not accept the mainstreaming of cosmetic intervention without querying what it will do to us.
By
Why Britain’s obsession with American activism reveals how little we understand the US
We should be aware of America’s cultural imperialism, whether it comes in the form of Coca-Cola or virtuous political causes.
By
Business has become divorced from everyday life – and the lost vowels of “Abrdn” prove it
Underneath Standard Life Aberdeen’s silly new name there is clear thinking, but it is dangerous for those of us who don’t…
By
Sasha Swire’s Diary: In defence of lobbying, in praise of lobsters, and learning to love our electric car
I’m a rubber-burning, lobster-guzzling apologist for lobbyists – just what you would expect from an old Tory self-isolating in…
By
India’s nightmare shows Covid is becoming a primarily Global South pandemic
The daily Covid cases are now growing faster than at any point before – and the geographical make-up of…
By
Why Boris Johnson’s political betrayals will one day destroy him
The rows with Dominic Cummings and Johnny Mercer expose one of the Prime Minister’s worst traits: making promises he…
By
Editor’s note: Football’s forgotten fans, hybrid Tories, and why Labour keeps missing the bigger picture
In squaring up to the European Super League, Boris Johnson confirmed the Conservatives’ communitarian turn. Is Labour paying attention?
By
A human catastrophe: How India lost control of Covid-19
The Modi government’s complacency has been exposed by a ferocious second wave and a faltering vaccine roll-out.
By
Letter of the week: Climate rebels’ successes
A selection of the best letters received from our readers this week. Email letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced…
By
Leader: The catastrophe in India
For the West, pooling resources to ensure the Global South is vaccinated is not only a moral duty but…
By Carlo Rovelli’s Helgoland argues that all reality is relative
The author uses relational quantum physics to insist nothing we see and experience actually exists.
By First Thoughts: “Nice” Anneliese Dodds, repositioning Reeves, and watching Belfast from afar
Rumours about Keir Starmer wanting to sack his shadow chancellor have been circulating for months. Why isn't anyone setting the…
By Chris Power’s A Lonely Man is a gripping novel that balances political intrigue with personal danger
The book is also a melancholy portrayal of male solitude and community.
By Commons Confidential: The Havant hustler
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
By Remembering Anthony Thwaite
The life and legacy of the poet and New Statesman literary editor, who has died at the age of…
By London’s poorest risk becoming the new “left behind”
The depiction of the capital as a gilded metropolis conceals the highest rate of child poverty of any English region.
By Reviewed in short: New books from Stephen Walker, Annie Ernaux, Justine Cowan and Gabriela Garcia
Beyond by Walker, Simple Passion by Ernaux, translated by Tanya Leslie, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames by Cowan and Of Women…
By The rise in cosmetic procedures troubles me – and it shouldn’t be anti-feminist to say so
We must not accept the mainstreaming of cosmetic intervention without querying what it will do to us.
By Cary Grant’s turn in the 1950s romcom Indiscreet is a lesson in effortlessness
In challenging times, I often find myself returning to a clip from Stanley Donen’s slight and elegant 1958 film…
By BBC Three’s Starstruck is a sweet and funny romcom
It’s a bit like Fleabag, only minus the self-loathing, the existential angst and, most noticeably, the Hot Priest.
By Why Britain’s obsession with American activism reveals how little we understand the US
We should be aware of America’s cultural imperialism, whether it comes in the form of Coca-Cola or virtuous political causes.
By Fiction podcast Soft Voice explores the anxiety of decision-making
Soft Voice tells the anxious 25-year-old estate agent Lydia what to wear, what to say and which yoghurt to…
By In the quiet of lockdown, bucolic memories return – of wildflowers discovered in surprising places
I may never have seen the Taj Mahal by moonlight, but I have walked in a wood carpeted with anemones,…
By I wonder if there is a right way to contemplate the success of someone who broke my heart
I took a certain pleasure in noticing that the article I read written by an ex-lover of mine was actually quite…
By This England: Shush ye! Shush ye!
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s Richard II, refers to the whole of Britain…
By I will thank the pandemic for one thing, at least – a summer without sport
Whether it's Ulster, Exeter, Ireland or England – I was finally liberated from arranging weekends around rugby fixtures.
By Business has become divorced from everyday life – and the lost vowels of “Abrdn” prove it
Underneath Standard Life Aberdeen’s silly new name there is clear thinking, but it is dangerous for those of us who don’t…
By Sasha Swire’s Diary: In defence of lobbying, in praise of lobsters, and learning to love our electric car
I’m a rubber-burning, lobster-guzzling apologist for lobbyists – just what you would expect from an old Tory self-isolating in…
By A long retirement is the price footballers pay. Is 15 years of glory worth 50 years of emptiness?
Young players don’t think about the future; they blank all that from their minds as they chase after the exultation of…
By Subscriber of the week: Jo Adams
Email emily.bootle@newstatesman.co.uk if you would like to be the New Statesman's Subscriber of the Week.
By India’s nightmare shows Covid is becoming a primarily Global South pandemic
The daily Covid cases are now growing faster than at any point before – and the geographical make-up of…
By John Timpson Q&A: “With all the dramas of life, I had no need for Coronation Street“
The owner of Timpsons discusses working with his son, The Nordstrom Way by Robert Spector and his dream of writing headlines for…
By Why Boris Johnson’s political betrayals will one day destroy him
The rows with Dominic Cummings and Johnny Mercer expose one of the Prime Minister’s worst traits: making promises he…
By Editor’s note: Football’s forgotten fans, hybrid Tories, and why Labour keeps missing the bigger picture
In squaring up to the European Super League, Boris Johnson confirmed the Conservatives’ communitarian turn. Is Labour paying attention?
By Letter of the week: Climate rebels’ successes
A selection of the best letters received from our readers this week. Email letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced…
By Leader: The catastrophe in India
For the West, pooling resources to ensure the Global South is vaccinated is not only a moral duty but…
By A human catastrophe: How India lost control of Covid-19
The Modi government’s complacency has been exposed by a ferocious second wave and a faltering vaccine roll-out.
By