Good morning. Welcome to the Saturday Read. Here is the best of the New Statesman to read this weekend.

1—How Britain lost control

Anoosh Chakelian takes us inside Britain’s HMO crisis.

2—What did the Black Death ever do for us?

Historian Peter Frankopan raises a toast to victims of Europe’s deadliest plague in his review of Thomas Asbridge’s The Black Death: A Global History.

3—Belfast’s violence, Britain’s rage

On Tuesday night, the city of Belfast was racked by anti-immigrant riots. Finn McRedmond writes that Northern Ireland may now be parsable to an England that has long found it alien, weird and foreign.

4—Why John Healey had to resign

Air Marshall Edward Stringer on how institutional inertia left John Healey with no choice but to resign.

5—The guardian angels of the Thames

Bella Bathurst goes on patrol with the RNLI along London’s sacred river.

6—Brighton GP prescribed sex hormones to children as young as 12

Hannah Barnes takes us inside a year-long investigation into medical transition treatment at WellBN that found “wholly inadequate” care.

7—David Hockney was a swirling, explosive star

Andrew Marr writes about his friendship with Britain’s greatest living artist, who died aged 88.

8—Wes Streeting on Keir Starmer’s “poor leadership, poor judgement and bad politics”

Ethan Croft interviews the former health secretary, who attacks the PM for failing to “take responsibility” for defence spending.

9—England is in a state

George Monaghan reviews Amanda Craig’s new novel High and Low.

To enjoy our latest analysis of politics, news and events, in addition to world-class literary and cultural reviews, click here to subscribe to the New Statesman. You'll enjoy all of the New Statesman's online content, ad-free podcasts and invitations to NS events.

Subscribe

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.
— Tom

Good afternoon. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

John Healey has resigned as defence secretary over the government’s military spending plans. Can Keir Starmer survive this?

On our website, Andrew Marr writes that the mood in Westminster resembles the moment when Sajid Javid’s resignation heralded the collapse of Boris Johnson’s government. Yet, he argues, Starmer and Rachel Reeves have no one to blame but themselves.

Meanwhile, Ethan Croft digs into the details of Healey’s letter, while Megan Kenyon reports on the reaction from Labour MPs.

And for a more detailed look at the former defence secretary, once considered a Starmer loyalist, read Ailbhe Rea’s in-depth profile of Healey from March.

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 6 weeks for £6

Good morning. This is Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor of the New Statesman.

HMO Britain is snowballing from a tale of certain postcodes into a national story. Last year brought 82,100 applications for asylum in the UK – slightly lower than in 2024, but still the third highest total on record. The world is unstable, on the move, and the British state is an unfit host: failing to build homes at a rate fast enough for its citizens, let alone the newcomers desperate to reach its shores.

Meanwhile, landlords of Serco properties I’ve spoken to have described the contracts as a dream ticket; one with HMOs in Norfolk called the company “the fairy godmother”. They are paid guaranteed rent and maintenance costs with “none of the aggro” and “none of the bureaucracy” that an ordinary let brings, according to another with 30 Serco-run properties across the north-west.

For this week’s magazine, I reported on the shortcomings of the Serco state – and how Britain lost control. Read the full article here.

Read the cover story

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you.

Subscribe here

Good morning. Welcome to the Saturday Read. Here is the best of the New Statesman to read this weekend.

1—Henry Nowak’s death is being exploited

Simon Woolley argues that justice will not be found through politicisation.

2—Door-knocking to Downing Street

For this week’s cover story, Ailbhe followed Andy Burnham as he goes door-knocking in Makerfield. On Thursday night, Ethan watched the Manchester mayor on Question Time.

3—What Makerfield believes

Exclusive focus groups revealed the values that will determine the by-election. Scarlett Maguire reflected that Makerfield residents feel let down by both left and right.

4—The women standing by their XL Bullies

Thousands are rallying against the ban, and the government that passed it.

5—EU again?

Rejoiners ramble to Brussels in search of redemption. Emily goes with them.

6—Why we published Sally Rooney in Hebrew

The head of November Books on why she published a Hebrew translation of Rooney's novel Intermezzo.

7—Gisèle Pelicot’s battle isn’t over

Cathy Newman writes the diary, reflecting on the experience of interviewing Gisèle Pelicot.

8—The examined life of Brian Dillon

The cult writer’s new memoir describes a life lived in citation, in proximity to other minds.

To enjoy our latest analysis of politics, news and events, in addition to world-class literary and cultural reviews, click here to subscribe to the New Statesman. You'll enjoy all of the New Statesman's online content, ad-free podcasts and invitations to NS events.

Subscribe

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.
— Tom

Good morning. This is Ailbhe Rea, political editor of the New Statesman.

Andy Burnham wears the pressure lightly. On a scorching day in Makerfield, he is wearing his classic black T-shirt and trousers, looking the same as he does on the news, only with a slightly sunburned nose. He has been spending his days walking around the constituency, and jokes that the “belly I had at the start of the campaign”, when he was pictured out running in “my old Everton shorts” is “slightly reduced now”. We’re door-knocking on the neat semi-detached houses of a new development in Hindley, three miles from Wigan. He represented this area as the MP for Leigh from 2001 until 2017, and marvels at how these houses didn’t exist back then.

As Burnham tries to convert undecideds, one by one, I dig into what he would actually do as prime minister, whether he has a plan, and, if so, what it is. He flits between the two, plainly enjoying the door-knocking more than the chat with me.

We start with his record as mayor of Greater Manchester. By most measures, he has made a success of the job, and stayed popular doing it. His summary of his record is simple: “Highest growth, highest reduction in inner-city deprivation.” He has eye-catching projects to point to as well, such as the distinctive yellow “Bee” bus network, which he brought under public control, and the “bed every night” scheme, which has substantially reduced rough sleeping in the city. He is seen to have connected with people, met the moment and championed his part of the world, an intangible feeling backed up by the data: he won a third term with almost two-thirds of the vote and is, as it currently stands, the most popular politician in the UK.

Yet Burnham’s critics – including some of his Labour colleagues in Westminster – argue that he has been playing politics on “easy mode” in Greater Manchester. He has no official opposition, a relatively small budget of £3bn; all he has had to do is “spend money and say nice things about Manchester”, as one critical colleague puts it. Far from Burnham being a political messiah, his Labour critics warn, people are projecting onto him whatever they want to see. He just wants to be loved, others say, and will struggle to maintain his popularity if, or when, he actually has to make difficult decisions in No 10.

For this week’s magazine, I shadowed Burnham as he campaigned to be Makerfield’s next MP – and possibly, Britain’s next prime minister. Read the full profile here.

Read the interview here

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you.

Subscribe here

Good morning. Welcome to the Saturday Read. Here is the best of the New Statesman to read this weekend.

1—”The British question”

I wrote Wednesday’s cover story about the big questions Britain refuses to face. Tony Blair, it turned out, had similar ideas.

2—”Time for Labour’s first female leader?”

Labour has never, in its 126-year history, had a woman leader. Ailbhe investigates the members who think it’s time to change that.

3—”Every Neet is a tragedy”

This week’s viral hit was Joseph Williams’s stark account of unemployment, published after Alan Milburn’s report into Neets.

4—”It’s so much worse”

Britain’s economic situation is even grimmer than Tony Blair thinks, Andrew O’Brien writes.

5—”Foursomes in the time of cholera”

That’s quite a headline. But beneath it is a fascinating review of Susan Pedersen’s new book, about British high society and power.

6—”Dissected pain”

A major critic on a major poet as Craig Raine examines Sylvia Plath.

7—”Designed with a star in mind”

Finn meets Jeremy King, the restaurateur who keeps winning. But is he a moderniser or a relic?

8—”My last days with my daughter”

We are all grateful to Steven McCann for sharing this beautiful story of loss and love.

To enjoy our latest analysis of politics, news and events, in addition to world-class literary and cultural reviews, click here to subscribe to the New Statesman. You'll enjoy all of the New Statesman's online content, ad-free podcasts and invitations to NS events.

Subscribe

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.
— Tom

Good morning. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

In this week’s cover story I examine the problems Britain refuses to face. We have now spent the better part of a decade rotating prime ministers through the same storm, each unable to calm or weather it. There is a temptation to treat this as novelty. But its roots lie deeper than they seem on first appearance. In 1980, Michael Foot reflected on how easily the House of Commons could be carried away by “those swelling tempers when it converts itself into a mob”.

Across Whitehall, the inability to respond to the crises engulfing our nation is staggering. It costs more to build, borrow or power Britain than any of our competitors. The scale of the challenge is no longer in doubt. Economic stagnation, strained public services, and rising political fragmentation are now familiar features of the landscape. It’s easy to reach for the 1970s and 80s as a metaphor for the times we live in, but I think the 1840s is more instructive. Now, like then, everything is simultaneously in flux: technology, capitalism, religion, democracy.

Yet if these revolutions are now underway, who do we have to rise to the level of events? Where is our Disraeli? Where is our Marx?

There is energy on the populist right, and fragments of renewal across the centre and left, but no settled account of what Britain is becoming, or how it should be governed in response.

Read our cover story here

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 6 weeks for £6

Good morning and welcome to the Saturday Read. Here is everything you need to read from the New Statesman this weekend.

1—Keir Starmer’s dishonesty

We are relentlessly told, Freddie Hayward writes, that the PM is a “decent” man. But his willingness to repeatedly U-turn on previous pledges shows a man unable to withstand even the slightest hint of opposition.

2—Cokeheads and Christians

Emily Lawford writes This England from last Saturday’s Tommy Robinson rally, where faith mingled with thuggery.

3—Whose fault is it, anyway?

Richard Seymour reviews Daniel Trilling’s book, If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable.

4—Art against the machine

This week Granta magazine published the winner of the Common Wealth short story prize. Small problem: it was clearly written at least in part using AI. Read Nabeel S Qureshi on how he spotted AI’s influence when he came across the piece on X – and how literature must resist the machine.

Join us at our annual Politics Live Conference in London on 30 June. Through panels, live interviews, speeches and debates, it will cover the key issues shaping the UK’s political future. Explore the agenda and book your ticket here.

5—But humans are the real problem

Novelist Thomas Peermohamed Lambert argues that actually, we shouldn’t blame AI for bad writing, and bad reading.

6—Stanford sounds terrible

Up-and-coming young journalist Theo Baker has written a book about the extraordinary pressure students are under at “Silicon Valley University”. Read Stefan Collini’s thoughtful review here.

Our latest Spotlight Healthcare: Vulnerable Britain is now live. Exploring inequality, prevention and access to care across the UK, the supplement brings together expert analysis on the challenges facing vulnerable communities and the future of healthcare delivery. Read the full edition here.

7—The new mysticism

The British psychic industry is booming. Lauren Sneade visits a few clairvoyants to find out if they can tell her future.

8—ECHR derangement syndrome

The modern right’s bête noire is driving them mad, Marina Wheeler writes.

To enjoy our latest analysis of politics, news and events, in addition to world-class literary and cultural reviews, click here to subscribe to the New Statesman. You'll enjoy all of the New Statesman's online content, ad-free podcasts and invitations to NS events.

Subscribe

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.
— Tom

Good morning. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

The argument over Keir Starmer’s future, previously held in private, has now moved into the public domain. Questions that once belonged to anonymous briefings and late-night conversations dominate the front pages. Yet despite the noise, the outcome remains unresolved.

In our cover story, Ailbhe Rea reports from inside that strange interregnum. She finds a government dusting itself off after a bruising couple of weeks, a prime minister determined to fight on, rivals angling for the throne and a new battle of ideas that threatens to engulf the party.

Andy Burnham is attempting something unusually high-risk in modern politics: to turn a by-election into a demonstration that Labour can win a general election. Wes Streeting, newly unleashed, is making the case that the party’s deeper problem is not leadership alone but the absence of argument.

Neither man has yet secured the prize. But both are already competing to define the terms on which the next phase of Labour politics will be fought.

Read our cover story here

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 6 weeks for £6

Good morning and welcome to the Saturday Read. What a week. Here is everything you need to read from the New Statesman this weekend.

I profiled Andy Burnham in September, and asked him about “Manchesterism” and his plan for Britain. He plans to make the Makerfield by-election a referendum on that plan.

“Are you up for it?” he asked Labour MPs back then. It now seems they are. Read the profile here.

1—How to stop Reform?

Writers including Jeremy Corbyn, Zack Polanski, Gary Stevenson and more consider the biggest question in British politics.

2—This is no way to govern

Andrew Marr urges that Keir Starmer can end this with dignity.

Also read about why we shouldn’t underestimate Labour’s dark horses and Burnham’s odds of success in Makerfield, and Al Carns’ pitch on how Labour can win again.

3—“Horrible but necessary”

Find out how Labour insiders feel about the week that may have changed their party forever.

4—The break-up of Britain

Anthony Barnett tells Nick us about England, ethno-nationalism and what he told Andy Burnham.

New research commissioned by Lloyds Banking Group suggests digitally enabled financial empowerment could unlock up to £100 billion of economic value for UK consumers over the next decade – supporting more engaged, resilient households and a financial system that works harder for all. Find out more here.

5—Trump admits defeat

You know it’s a big week when you don’t hear much about the meeting between the two most powerful men in the world. Katie Stallard catches us up on Trump and Xi.

6—My fears for a divided kingdom

Prince Harry calls on us to stand against both anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hate.

7—The Slapp Trap

As media lawyers battle to keep Britain’s libel industry lucrative, hopes for reform are fading. Peter Geoghegan and Jenna Corderoy have written a fascinating and disturbing report.

8—Blunderkind

Kevin Power doesn’t buy the hype around Lazar, or its young author. If you want something more uplifting, Ian Thomson celebrates Stephen King as the Dickens of our time.

To enjoy our latest analysis of politics, news and events, in addition to world-class literary and cultural reviews, click here to subscribe to the New Statesman. You'll enjoy all of the New Statesman's online content, ad-free podcasts and invitations to NS events.

Subscribe

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.
— Tom

Good morning. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

London has long been called “the libel capital of the world”. The Aga Khan, Kremlin insiders and Kazakhstan’s one-time dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev have all availed themselves of Britain’s relatively strict libel laws, as have myriad well-heeled Britons. It’s not just journalists who have been targeted. Environmental campaigners, online reviewers, even victims of sexual assault have been hit with libel suits.

But in March 2022, soon after Vladimir Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine, London’s libel lawyers became international news. MPs lined up to accuse claimant-friendly law firms of abusing the legal process to intimidate critics into silence.

Boris Johnson announced a clampdown on “the oligarchs and super-rich” who use the threat of legal action as “a new kind of lawfare”. The Conservative prime minister said his government would introduce legislation that would stop “strategic lawsuits against public participation” – commonly known as “Slapp” litigation. These are generally defined as cases designed to intimidate, harass and financially exhaust critics and to silence free speech.

Four years later, however, comprehensive anti-Slapp legislation is yet to materialise. In our latest issue, Peter Geoghegan, the editor of Democracy for Sale newsletter, and investigative reporter Jenna Corderoy dig into the battle over Britain’s libel industry – and why hopes for reform are fading. You can read an extract of their piece down below, or you can click through here to read it in full.

Read the investigation here

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 75% off

The battle for Britain’s libel industry

London’s libel gold rush long predates the city’s “Londongrad” days. In the Second World War, a young lawyer named Peter Carter-Ruck came back from duty as a gunner in the Royal Artillery and set about turning the then almost moribund Libel Act of 1843 into the basis for a lucrative business. His trademark was aggressive suits on behalf of wealthy clients. In 1963, Randolph Churchill, Winston’s son, instructed Carter-Ruck to sue “every single person connected with Private Eye, right down to the girls in the office” over a story that suggested an official biography of his father would gloss over incidents such as Churchill sending the army to tackle striking Welsh miners. Carter-Ruck secured all the top libel barristers for his client to prevent them acting for the magazine – which swiftly apologised and paid Churchill’s legal costs. Private Eye also had to publish a full-page retraction and apology in the Evening Standard.

After this, a charabanc of colourful characters used libel threats, primarily against publishers, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. James Goldsmith settled a notorious libel case with Private Eye on the steps of the Old Bailey. Robert Maxwell and Mohamed al-Fayed had an army of lawyers on retainer. Soon, rich claimants with far less obvious ties to the UK were filing defamation cases in London.

Read on

Subscribe here

Good morning. This is Will Lloyd, deputy editor of the New Statesman. We promised unexpected guests in this week’s magazine. I thought you’d want to see Prince Harry’s contribution, a world exclusive op-ed.

Read it here: My fears for a divided kingdom.

The Duke of Sussex shares his fears about a rising tide of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hate in Britain today. Recent incidents, including lethal violence in Manchester and London, have brought dangerous beliefs into sharper focus. The time to speak out against hate, Harry argues, is now.

“Over the past several years, I have spoken about the consequences of a world in which outrage outpaces humanity – where fear and division are amplified faster than truth, and where people are too easily reduced to categories, identities or opposing sides. What concerns me now is how dangerously that same moral blurring is taking hold across parts of Britain.”

Read the piece here.

Thank you

—Will

Good afternoon. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

For much of the past 72 hours, Westminster has been gripped by a sense of mounting chaos. To understand what is happening, we have a bumper edition of the magazine this week:

• A special report from inside the rebellion against Keir Starmer from our political editor Ailbhe Rea

• A blistering essay on the state of affairs from editor at large, Andrew Marr

• And an exclusive intervention from one the figures tipped to challenge for the leadership should a vacancy arise, the minister for the armed forces Al Carns

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 75% off

Good afternoon. It is one of those days in British politics. We have you covered. Here is a selection of the articles we’ve published.

Yesterday morning, Keir Starmer delivered the speech that was meant to save his career – and didn’t. Our political editor called the putsch that evening: “It’s happening”. Sadiq Khan told us that ten years is “not realistic” for Starmer anymore.

Jeremy Gilbert has opined that the solution is a caretaker premiership by Ed Miliband. Andrew Murray, a former point man for Jeremy Corbyn, has declared that Starmer will be remembered as a pub quiz question.

To understand the way the herd seems to be moving, try Matthew Lawrence’s longread: “The case for Manchesterism”.

If you’re not subscribed, join us on our £5 deal here. We’ll have an explosive magazine with you tomorrow morning, featuring an intervention from at least one extremely unexpected guest writer. In the meantime, keep an eye on the homepage and our tracker of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to go.

Thank you,
Tom

Good morning. Welcome to the Saturday Read. Here is the best of the New Statesman to read this weekend. You can follow the results of the local, Scottish and Welsh elections on our live map.

1—All eyes on Angela Rayner

Ailbhe Rea asks if Rayner will go over the top and challenge Keir Starmer.

And also in reaction to the results, we have:

• A tracker of the Labour MPs calling for Keir Starmer to go

• Anoosh Chakelian on a potential opening for Labour

• Stella Creasy on the path to recovery

• Jonathan Rutherford on whether this is the end for Labour

• Megan Kenyon on the Green wave

• Rachel Cunliffe on the Lib Dems’ stealth campaign

• Owain Williams on Plaid Cymru in Wales

Keep an eye on the site across the weekend for more.

2—”Paging Prime Minister Farage”

Andrew Marr imagines life under a Reform government.

3—“Britain is still breaking up”

As the results come in from Scotland and Wales, read Alex Niven on the future of the union.

4—“The case for Manchesterism”

Matthew Lawrence argues that a courageous Labour party could truly reshape Britain.

Retirement planning isn’t a single moment - it’s a lifelong journey. Whether you’re in your thirties building pension foundations, your fifties consolidating savings, or approaching retirement itself, each stage brings distinct decisions. From workplace pensions and ISAs to phased retirement and income management, thoughtful preparation at every step makes all the difference. Start your retirement conversation today at trinitybridge.com.

5—“David Attenborough’s natural habitats”

Our most nationally treasured national treasure turns 100.

6—“Democrats need Hasan Piker”

Freddie Hayward explains why no party can afford to ignore the new media.

7—“Miranda Priestly is still my hero”

Hollywood female leads expressing a preference for work over children still feels a little transgressive, writes Susie Goldsborough.

8—“Vladimir Putin’s nightmares have come true”

How Russia’s leader created the world he always feared.

To enjoy our latest analysis of politics, news and events, in addition to world-class literary and cultural reviews, click here to subscribe to the New Statesman. You'll enjoy all of the New Statesman's online content, ad-free podcasts and invitations to NS events.

Subscribe

I’m pleased to let you know that New Statesman Puzzles is now included with your subscription. Whether you’re looking for a quick brain teaser over coffee or a more challenging puzzle to settle into, there’s something new to discover every day.

Try our new puzzles here.

Keep an eye on the site across the weekend for more news about and reaction to the results. Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.

— Tom

Good afternoon. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

If, as predicted, Labour suffers a near-wipeout in the Scottish, Welsh and local English elections tomorrow, Keir Starmer is very likely to face a leadership challenge. Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting are all ambitious for power and popular among different Labour factions.

Streeting believes he has enough supporters among MPs, but his rivals believe he is unlikely to win with the Labour membership. Burnham believes he has the numbers among the members and – uniquely among Labour’s leading figures – the electorate, but without a seat in parliament, he is still unable to challenge the Prime Minister.

Rayner, on the other hand, does have a seat, and has indicated she will not stand aside if Streeting launches a leadership bid before Burnham’s return to parliament. Rayner is determined to see a leader who can unite the Labour Party.

You can find all of this and more in our special election issue of the New Statesman this week. You can read an extract of this piece down below, or you can click through here to read it in full.

Read the cover story here

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 75% off

Prepared to risk it all…

Angela Rayner is likely to be a decisive figure. She has let it be known she will not stand aside should Streeting launch a leadership bid before Burnham’s return to parliament. While Rayner is not hostile to Streeting on a personal level, she believes his victory would be a continuation of what she sees as the Labour right’s disastrous control of the party, which she blames for the infighting that has led it where it finds itself today. Rayner is determined to see a leader who can unite the Labour Party.

But she is also known to be sceptical of the idea that the members of the NEC who rejected Burnham’s attempt to return to parliament in January will allow him back now. Rayner – who, like Lyndon Johnson learned the art of politics not in the classroom, but on the shop floor – is clear that there is still an overwhelming Starmerite majority on the NEC that would block Burnham’s return.

Read on

Subscribe here

Good morning, and welcome to the Saturday Read, the best of the New Statesman, in print and online this week. This is Finn with Nicholas and George.

Bad morning to be Keir Starmer. The Prime Minister’s greatest irritant – Andy Burnham – is back. He apparently has a plan to return to Westminster “within weeks”, when he will lay out his “radical” vision for government, and finally put Starmer out of his misery. With the local elections coming next weekend, and so many pretenders lurking in the wings, Starmer feels precarious. But I suspect that is a sensation he is somewhat used to by now…

Don’t miss Ailbhe’s piece below, where she details the PM’s plan to fight-back. And can I draw your attention to Rachel Cunliffe’s sad and necessary column, written in the wake of the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green this week. We also have a report from on the ground, by Anoosh Chakelian.

Clerical note: this is my last edition as editor of the Saturday Read. I’m not going anywhere – just spending more time writing features and interviews, and considerably less time bossing Nicholas and George around. It has been a total pleasure to write to you every Saturday morning for nearly two years now(!) – I particularly enjoy your correspondence. As ever, thanks for reading and don’t forget to have a great weekend.

Subscribe here!

1. Who believes he can win?

Keir Starmer has never much liked the machinations of Westminster – the briefing, the politicking, and the ambient sense of internecine backstabbing. Now he is more cross than ever. As the herd shuffles, and plans to depose of the Prime Minister take shape, Starmer thinks about the war in Iran and wants to say to his own party: “Now? Really???” Ailbhe Rea reports from inside. Finn

2. Who could have seen this coming?!

I know you were just about to make the comparison between Peter Mandelson and Kronos, king of the titans, father of Zeus and devourer of his own young. But Will Dunn has got there well ahead of you. And the rest of the sketch couldn’t be funnier. A classic of the genre. Nicholas

3. Regal orbit

The President of the United States has been merrily laying into the United Kingdom the past month, kicking us like an old dog that refuses to play war with him. It’s quite nice, therefore, to hear how the King humbled the Maga cronies at the British Embassy garden party this week. Freddie Hayward was in attendance, and also manages to drop in some New Statesman lore in his report, featuring John Freeman, Harold Wilson and Richard Nixon. Nicholas

4. On Golders Green

With thanks to Rachel, who writes in the wake of the Wednesday attack in Golders Green. One six-mile square of North London has seen a barrage of anti-Semitic arson attempts, a stabbing and assaults on Synagogues. Amid this despicable spate of targeted violence, there is one troubling question: where next? Finn

The New Statesman is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. If you click that handsome red button down below you can take out a subscription of your own. And as always, thank you to those who already subscribe.

Subscribe here

Ministers have promised early diagnosis clinics more than 60 times. But two years on, there’s still no plan. Every year, 2,000 people die after fractures that these osteoporosis clinics prevent. Publish the plan. Save lives. Learn more here.

5. Young, down and out of work

So many social ills in Britain don’t have a face – we’re lucky we have a reporter of Anoosh Chakelian’s talents to give them one. In this week’s magazine she writes about Neets, the population of Britain that is not in education, employment or training, which includes one in eight young people. But mostly she writes about Dean, one young person in Blackpool who wants all the right things but can’t quite find a way to have them. Nicholas

6. Assisted dying: an autopsy

When the Starmer government took office, one of the great social reforms that was expected as a result was assisted dying in Britain. The government was officially neutral on the matter, but Starmer himself said he was pro, and the legislation was spoken of in the same breath as the private members’ bills that enabled divorce and abortion in the late Sixties. That was then, and this is now. The bill has failed, scuppered in the Lords. And so, in this week’s magazine, Hannah Barnes asks: where did it all go wrong? Nicholas

7. “Broken, complex, confused, sinful, self-interested…”

Pippa has read Russell Brand’s new book – all about his Damascene conversion to Christianity – mostly so the rest of us don’t have to. No surprises that it’s bad, and weird, of course. But Pippa’s review is great: packed with precise theological insight and the right amount of eye-rolling. Finn

8. Giving form to faith

It turns out that Michael Prodger is a fan of Francisco de Zurbarán, you know – that Baroque Spaniard, the Iberian Caravaggio, chiaroscuro enthusiast. There’s a new exhibition of his work at the National Gallery, on all summer, and Michael went down to check it out. He found “an amalgam of rapture, yearning and faith” and a painter of remarkable spiritual intensity. Finn

9. Lobster, considered

One of my favourite news stories of the past year concerns an animal rights’ activist, a pet lobster, and a homicide. You can read all about it in my latest Silver Spoon column which sent me all around London looking for tanks of lobsters, making friends with lobsters, and ultimately eating a lobster roll. Fun job! Finn

10. Anglo-America latest

This week, King Charles was dispatched to Washington to defibrillate the special relationship. Time will tell if it worked. But, in our weekend essay, Nick Davis argues that if the alliance is dead, it wasn’t killed by Donald Trump. Making exclusive use of the correspondence of Paul Bremer, the leading American representative in Iraq during the 2003-2011 war, Davis reveals a bullying and condescending attitude towards Britain that has infected the American diplomatic establishment. Nicholas

And with that…

Hope you’ve enjoyed the beautiful sunshine this week folks, and that you will continue to enjoy it this weekend. We have loved writing for – and hearing from – so many of you each week. No other media destination in the country enjoys such a surfeit of intelligent readers.

Do not miss Tanjil Rashid’s conversation with the great contemporary novelist Ben Lerner, on the latest New Society podcast. They talk AI, the meaning of the novel, and the “bankrupt” political rhetoric in the United States. And stay tuned for some very exciting guests, coming up.

A great subscription deal

The New Statesman is home to the finest writing on politics, culture and ideas. To stay up to date, subscribe using the link above.

—Finn, Nicholas and George.

Good afternoon. This is Tom McTague, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman.

In an exclusive investigation – THE COVER UP? – for the New Statesman, the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, questions why institutions across the British state have failed in their duty to get justice for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.

Epstein’s activities in the United Kingdom and the former prince Andrew’s use of public funds must be properly investigated by the authorities. Brown reveals that two parliamentary select committees may be about to begin investigations into Andrew’s activities as Trade Envoy between 2001-2011.

For the first time Brown reveals his own historical dealings with the former prince Andrew when he was chancellor of the exchequer and prime minister. You can read an extract of the piece down below, or click through to read it in full.

Read the cover story here

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you for you reading.

Subscribe for 75% off

The prince, his protectors and questions to be answered

“Will anyone in Britain ever be charged in relation to the sexual violence perpetrated and orchestrated on British soil by the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein? Nothing less than the prosecution of those who aided and abetted Epstein will do justice to those who suffered grievous, unconscionable sexual abuse. The very fact that the former prince Andrew – who strenuously denies any wrongdoing – has been questioned by the police has given new hope to victims. It has led to the belief that action is now underway on this side of the Atlantic.

However, the misconduct in public office that is being investigated has focused more on the potential passing of confidential government documents to unauthorised recipients than on the more serious alleged crimes of trafficking and sexual abuse revealed in the Epstein files.

The American lawyer Brad Edwards, who represents Epstein’s victims, says some of his clients were abused in the UK. Because of the way Epstein’s trafficking ring operated, evidence could be assembled from drivers, airline and airport staff, ticketing agents and credit card companies. Testimonies should also be secured from estate agents, banks, border officials and royal protection officers. The British authorities should re-interview Andrew, not just over possible breaches of the Official Secrets Act, but over his use of public funds, and especially over incidents in which women allegedly brought to him at Sandringham, Buckingham Palace, Windsor and other locations, may have been trafficked into the country by Epstein.

The King has said that no one should be above the law, and alongside the police investigation, a select committee in parliament should examine how public funds were used, and whether a cover-up took place that prevented Andrew from being interviewed by US investigators.

It would be a damning indictment of the quality of British justice – and our claim to lead the world in the exposure and prosecution of modern slavery – if, through our failure to follow up on what we already know, we did not get to the truth.”

Read on

Subscribe here

Good morning, and welcome to the Saturday Read, the best of the New Statesman, in print and online this week. This is Finn with Nicholas and George.

Hello from the Bosphorus – as Westminster reels from another chaotic week, it is almost easy to forget that Iran and America are locked in a high-stakes standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. May I suggest a trip to Istanbul? That grand old cliché about the city – gateway between East and West, and all that – may be growing past its sell-by date. The world has fragmented along much more complicated lines than that.

Perhaps there is a resolution to the immediate conflict on the horizon – American and Iranian delegations are set to resume talks this weekend. And hey, if that doesn’t work then maybe the King can talk Trump out of this whole thing on his state visit next week?

Meanwhile, Keir Starmer’s job looks in a more precarious position than ever. Tom McTague wrote our cover story this week, and didn’t really hold back. What has he heard on the ground? In summary: “The Prime Minister is failing. He is not doing the job. He cannot do the job. The country can see this too. And yet, for months, nothing changed, the party as dumb and docile and fatalistic as before.” Well then!

As ever, thank you for reading and have a great weekend.

Subscribe here!

1. Our lawyerly Prime Minister

Ethan Croft takes on the Pol Col this week, in tremendous form. What you see in the picture above is Starmer and all those, erm, chickens coming home to roost. This is packed with psychological insight – such as why the Prime Minister cannot fathom the concept of irrational anger, and what he really shares in common with Herbert Asquith. Finn

2. Mogg unbuttoned

Will Dunn is, in Clive James’s phrase “unafraid to loathe”. I greatly relished the loathing in this sketch of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s fireside-chat event. The take-home message is: if you thought Mogg was over, if you thought that was just a bad memory from the Brexit years, then get ready. Mogg wants to come back, and he wants to “unite the right” – Lowe, Farage, Tories, the lot. Nicholas

3. The new English nationalism

Good old England enjoyed its one-thousandth and… errr… something birthday this week. Nick swung by Ramsgate for St George’s Day. Beneath the ballyhoo, and as quite often seems to be the case these days, there were darker rumblings. One day, I hope, we will again enjoy a “Kentish ale” without any dread as backwash – but first some questions to answer, some dragons to digest. George

4. The Marr Notebook

It’s always great to have Andrew’s notebook. This week he looks at Westminster, Starmer, Olly Robbins and all that. But there is always much more, just a scratch below. Like, is there a path forward for a Reform/Tory coalition? And what to make of James Marriott’s new book on the post-literate age? Delightful reading as always. Finn

Taking out a subscription is the only way to read our journalism at the moment. This week Peter Hitchens has taken on that newly-fashionable topic: “Anglo-Gaullism”. It’s linked below, and essential Saturday Reading.

Subscribe here

5. AI peril latest…

John Gray is optimistic as usual about the future: “Imagine scattered human survivors reverting to a pre-modern way of life… scavenging the detritus of a vanished civilisation for miraculous relics of the aliens that built and ended it.” Where the hell did that come from? Well, from one of the most intelligent pieces I’ve read on artificial intelligence, a review-essay on a new biography of Demis Hassabis, one of the Promethean figures in Silicon Valley. Nicholas

6. Where next for autofiction?

One of the best contemporary essayists takes on one of the most celebrated contemporary novelists – that’s Mark Greif on Ben Lerner to you. Lerner’s new book Transcriptions is nominally about technology, screens and also “ego” (whatever, sure!) but in this brilliant review Greif detects something deeper. Finn

7. Anglo-Gaullism is doomed

Peter Hitchens is such a thoroughbred reactionary that, even when he comes across an idea he likes, he decides it is doomed and worthless anyway. He first came across the idea of a British Gaullism, a form of nationalistic, self-interested British politics, in 2021, but dismissed it as unworkable after our precipitous decline. Now that various other commentators and officials have alighted on Anglo-Gaullism, on right and left, he has news for them. It’s too little, too late. Nicholas

8. Top secret diary

No offence to the good people in the office, but my favourite New Statesman writer might just be “Anonymous”. There is just something delicious about clandestine coverage. In the diary this week, a UFO(CS) – unidentified Foreign Office civil servant – dishes on l’affaire Mandelson. Enjoy. George

And with that…

One more thing before you go. I was excited to hear that Anthony Seldon was joining our editor Tom McTague in the studio this week. The historian has been on a very long walk – 1,300 kilometres to be exact. In a new book, The Path of Light, Seldon recounts his extraordinary passage to Auschwitz – as he tells stories of courage, resistance and moral clarity from a continent then totally consumed by darkness.

Tom and Anthony discuss the book. But there would, of course, be little point in talking to the leading political biographer without asking for his views on the legacy of some recent prime ministers. Have we been too harsh about Rishi Sunak? Would Tony Blair make a good foreign secretary? All of that, and more, in this conversation.

A great subscription deal

The New Statesman is home to the finest writing on politics, culture and ideas. To stay up to date, subscribe using the link above.

—Finn, Nicholas and George.

Good afternoon. This is Ailbhe Rea, political editor of the New Statesman.

One summer’s evening in 2016, Jeremy Corbyn held a rally with hundreds of his supporters in London, as Labour MPs prepared to mount a leadership challenge against him. Addressing the crowd on the pavement outside Soas University, Corbyn declared he would fight on, continuing to champion his anti-austerity, left-populist politics. “What about Europe, Jeremy? Where were you when we needed you?” a lone heckler called out from the crowd. It was Zack Polanski, a Lib Dem council candidate, who had joined the party just as many were deserting it. Today, of course, he is the Green Party leader, the “eco-populist” hammering Labour from the left, on a platform that in style and substance is not a million miles away from the Corbyn project he once heckled.

Polanski has been on quite a journey to become the left populist leader he is today. For this week’s magazine, he sat down with me to talk about it, including some or his profound changes of mind on huge questions for British Jews and British progressives. He told me how he was “lost in the propaganda” around Corbyn back then, that he is sorry for once saying that he couldn’t vote for Corbyn as a Jewish man, and that his views have changed on the anti-Semitism complaints that Labour faced under his leadership. He told me, too, about the lessons he is drawing from the Corbyn project, the last time the British populist left had its moment. So who is Zack Polanski?

Click here to read

The NS is only available to paying subscribers at the moment. But you can take out a subscription here, with thanks to those who already have.

Have a great day. Thank you

Subscribe here