Repellent, chaotic and a serial liar, Boris Johnson would be a catastrophic prime minister
You thought it couldn’t get worse? It certainly can. Britain now faces the very real prospect of Boris Johnson…
ByNew Statesman Magazine
In this week’s magazine
The Brexit earthquake
First Thoughts: Borisgraph in crisis and what Australian Labor’s shock defeat tells us about climate change
Anyone who questions my pessimism about the chances of serious action on global warming – or global heating, as…
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Leader: The Green moment
These are propitious times for the Green Party, which is much more than a pressure group. The Greens enjoyed…
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Iran has been the winner of the Middle East unrest since 9/11 but now Trump is hitting back
Although we should be used to it by now, the sight of a US president casually lobbing around threats…
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James Charles, Tati Westbrook and the internet’s insatiable appetite for “tea”
On 10 May 2019, a 37-year-old woman posted a 43-minute YouTube video about her former best friend, a 19-year-old…
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Billy Bragg’s Diary: My Hyde Park soapbox, Frank Zappa’s hologram and boyhood war games in Barking
In the past year, Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park has been the scene of rowdy confrontations between Islamists and…
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Leader: The old political order crumbles
On 1 March 1973, Dick Taverne, a former Labour MP, won a landslide victory at a parliamentary by-election in…
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How an email with a secret location led me to the most vibrant feminist meeting of the year
The email arrived at 12.05pm. It contained the location of a feminist meeting to be held that night, less…
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Commons Confidential: Rory’s lucky escape from the Lib Dems
Boy Scout-ish Rory Stewart would be fighting a very different leadership election had the wannabe Tory prime minister accepted…
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Cass Sunstein and the rise and fall of nudge theory
In February 2010, a few months before he became prime minister, David Cameron delivered a Ted talk in California…
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How extreme inequality led to the financial crisis – and could do so again
Ever since the financial crisis economists have been adamant that inequality isn’t rising, but a recent announcement from the…
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How Fox News is influencing US judges
We already know that Fox News exerts an outsized influence on executive decision-making in the US. Donald Trump’s out-of-hours…
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Emmanuel Macron’s bonfire of the elites
In the past few weeks, the fire at Notre Dame cathedral has dominated the French news agenda. In some ways…
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BBC One’s Gentleman Jack is sexy, lively and huge fun
In the absence of anti-depressants, the options available to the 19th-century sufferer of melancholia were somewhat limited. Some medical…
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Paris, New York, Chipping Campden: the surprising musical and literary heritage of a small Cotswolds town
May in Chipping Campden. Unlike April in Paris, or autumn in New York, nobody has mythologised it in song.…
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Life hacking: the Californian tech bro approach to self-help
Unbeknown to his employers, a web developer called Bob clandestinely outsources his own job to some workers in China. He…
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Unexpected Fluids is a frank and loveable podcast about sex
A friend tells me that podcasts are ruining her life. She can’t go anywhere without plugging into one, and…
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David McKee Q&A: “People always say, ‘Don’t do it, David.’ I never take any notice”
David McKee was born in Tavistock in Devon in 1935. While studying at Plymouth College of Art, he began…
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So many tragedies can be eased with just four words: do not attempt resuscitation
Like most doctors I have witnessed the deaths of many patients as a result of a cardiopulmonary arrest. The…
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I went to church three times this week – and the final time, I watched Aretha Franklin fly
I’ve been to church three times this week. Once for sorrow, twice for joy. The first is joyful: a…
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I think I could teach English. All you need is a Longman textbook and a plausible air
I was sitting in L—’s drawing room with her and D—, who used to be my agent. We were…
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From omelettes to steak: when it comes to great cooking, there’s one “missing ingredient” everyone needs
I had an important revelation last week. During a (frankly arduous) quest to create the perfect chocolate biscuit, it…
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