The rewards of diplomacy
The Windsor framework represents unambiguous progress, and could clear the way for power-sharing to resume in Northern Ireland.
ByThe Magazine
In this week’s issue
The Mission
Letter of the week: A turning tide?
Write to letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.
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Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list promises to be a nepotistic gong show
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
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China’s hollow peace plan for Ukraine
Any hopes that Wang Yi’s visit to the Kremlin might have been to broker an end to the conflict…
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Joanna Cherry’s Diary: Identity politics, squabbles in the SNP, and my position on the leadership race
I am optimistic about the debates in my party, as a roadtrip reminds me just how far we’ve come.
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Ben Hodges: “The only hope the Russians have is that the West loses the will to keep supporting Ukraine”
The former commanding general of the US Army in Europe on why the future of the West could be…
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What Keir Starmer has learnt from the return of the German Social Democrats
To win back Red Wall voters, Labour needs a single word to define the party and its purpose. That…
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Rishi Sunak has proved himself – but trouble still lies ahead
The PM’s Northern Ireland triumph won’t be enough in the face of deep domestic discord.
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With Western support for Ukraine flagging, a protracted war is in Vladimir Putin’s interest
Ambiguity has held Kyiv’s allies together so far – but it will divide them when the conflict’s final stages…
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AI porn will never be sexy
Machine-generated erotica lacks a human touch.
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John Motson channelled the exhilaration of football, but commentary has moved on
For many fans the veteran commentator’s death has been the focal point for a wider sense of loss.
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Keir Starmer: This is what I believe
Why we need a new mission-driven politics to renew Britain and defeat the enemies of progress.
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Why Kate Forbes just won’t quit
The socially conservative religious beliefs of Scotland’s finance secretary have dismayed her supporters, yet her leadership campaign survives. Could…
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How Bari Weiss broke the media
The culture war at the New York Times crushed Bari Weiss – and made her.
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ChatGPT and the death of the author
AI-powered chatbots are not only exploiting human creativity but rapidly eroding it.
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Britain’s original culture wars
A new history of the 17th century reminds us how bitter ideological conflicts have shaped our democracy.
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The NS Poem: From Brother Poem
A new poem by Will Harris.
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From Sophie Mackintosh to Stephen Moss: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Brutes by Dizz Tate and The Turning Tide by Jon Gower.
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Babi Yar: a harrowing masterpiece of Ukraine under Nazi rule
Anatoly Kuznetsov’s classic account of the 1941 massacre of Ukrainians is republished as Kyiv suffers the ravages of war…
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Eleanor Catton and the problem with “literary thrillers”
Her new novel raises the question: is the genre code for a thriller that simply isn’t very thrilling?
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The sex lives of medieval women
They were once considered far more lascivious than men – so how did women become the meeker sex?
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The return of the Beatles vs Stones wars
As news of a Rolling Stones album featuring Paul McCartney appears, the press reignites a culture war it confected.
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Lukas Dhont’s Close explores the abrupt end of boyhood
This is a tender portrait of an innocent, intimate relationship between two best friends. So why must it veer…
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Daisy Jones & the Six: an unconvincing, overly slick take on the 1970s rock scene
This mock biopic of a fictional, Fleetwood Mac-style band is full of beautiful actors and clothes – but even…
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The Coldest Case in Laramie: yet another bleak true crime podcast
This series from the New York Times and Serial is only revealing of the media’s desperate drive for more…
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I’m a writer who thrives on stories – so why can’t I read novels any more?
I fear my reluctance to read fiction reveals how focused on myself I have become, amid the inwardness of…
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My elderly mother, in hospital with a broken pelvis, is scandalising the staff
“What are you going to ask me about now?” said my mother to the nurse assessing her. “My sex…
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This England: Snail mail
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain…
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Subscriber of the Week: Sam Ansell
Please email peter.williams@newstatesman.co.uk if you would like to be the New Statesman’s subscriber of the week.
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Jason Williamson’s Q&A: “My Mastermind specialist subject? Crap bands”
The musician on his hero Sean Bean, his love of true crime and why he champions a fairer distribution…
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