Section: New Statesman (The United Kingdom)
Ukraine accuses Russian navy of firing on their ships in the Black Sea
It comes at the end of a day of rising tension between the two nations. The Ukrainian Navy says that Russia has opened fire on its ships in the Black Sea, hitting a vessel and injuring one crewmember. The two navies have exchanged fire over the Black Sea. It comes on the same day that the Ukranian government accused Russia of ramming one of their...
If only we could all be as clever as Dominic Cummings
A quick game of four-dimensional chess. I can’t quite shake the feeling that Dominic Cummings has had a hand in the text of his own Wikipedia page. There’s something about the phrase “Campaign Director of Vote Leave, the official and successful campaign in favour of leaving the European Union” that makes me imagine him saying it out...
Jürgen Klopp’s mission for Liverpool
Communication skills are central to Klopp’s method and, like Shankly, he is not afraid to use them to discuss politics, speaking out not only against Brexit but also on humanitarian issues. It was Bill Shankly who popularised the image of football manager as messiah. At Liverpool he wasn’t just the secretary who sorted out hotels and...
What the new coalition means for Italy – and why it matters for the left in Britain
The new government’s programme is the first coherent example in Europe of what I’ve called “neoliberalism in one country”. A citizens’ basic income of €780 a month, a fiscal stimulus, a national investment bank and a defiant middle finger to the European Commission should it dare stand in the way. There is a lot in the coalition...
“Neoliberalismo in un paese”: The struggle for Italy’s future matters here in Britain.
The new coalition’s programme is the first coherent example in Europe of what I’ve called “neoliberalism in one country”. A citizens’ basic income of €780 a month, a fiscal stimulus, a national investment bank and a defiant middle finger to the European Commission if it dares stand in the way. There is a lot in the coalition...
Vladimir Putin’s politics of victimhood
Putin paints Russia as the underdog to keep his citizens, like those of Oceania in Nineteen Eighty-Four, in a permanent sense of crisis. When George HW Bush stood to deliver his State of the Union speech in January 1992, he could be excused a swagger in his step. “In the past 12 months, the world has known changes of almost biblical proportions,”...
An accidental prime minister: the underrated career of the pragmatic Lord Liverpool
In the age of Putin and Assad, British politics could learn a lesson from Liverpool. Lord Liverpool, who took office in 1812, was in some ways an accidental prime minister. He succeeded Spencer Perceval upon his dramatic assassination in the House of Commons and then became one of the longest serving prime ministers, whose nearly 15-year tenure,...
How Armenia lost its Eurovision mojo – or the fickle appeal of singing in your own language
Nearly 20 years ago, a rule change allowed countries to compete in English. But this year has seen a huge rise in countries singing in their native tongue. Don’t get me wrong, Armenia is great at a lot of things. Playing chess. Producing superstar business dynasties. Stuffing vine leaves. Squeezing pomegranates. All the skills. But nowhere...
Why Marx is more relevant than ever in the age of automation
On the bicentenary of his birth, Marx continues to be a key thinker thanks to his surprising faith in the individual. The blurry snapshot catches Leon Trotsky in mid-sentence, in Frida Kahlo’s house sometime in 1937. To the left of the frame is Natalia Sedova, Trotsky’s wife. To the right is Kahlo and, half hidden behind her, a young...
How Britain is finally fighting back against dirty money in our tax havens
Every year, more than a trillion dollars are stolen from the poorest countries on earth. Two MPs, Margaret Hodge and Andrew Mitchell, did a great thing on 1 May – they forced the government to open up the corporate registries of Britain’s Overseas Territories. This may seem like a niche piece of accountancy news, but it is one of the most...
