19 July 1999

The Tories' summertime blues

By George Lucas

William Hague needs to convince his followers that being an MP can be fun, writesGeorge Lucas

Ulster floats above the treetops

By John Lloyd

Tony Blair, after uprooting his own party, is trying to persuade Northern Ireland's leaders to abandon their roots, too. By John Lloyd

Why Bill Clinton is a hero

By Robert Philpot

The British left accuses the US president of ditching his liberal principles to curry favour with voters and Wall Street. They're wrong, argues Robert Philpot

How to waste a large sum of money

By Francis Beckett

A council gets £250,000 to spend on schools. For books? Teachers? Er, no. By Francis Beckett

The New Statesman Special Report - How the police trawl the innocent

By Richard Webster

As many as 5,000 care workers may be facing complaints of child abuse. Are they the victims of the biggest witch-hunt in history, asks Richard Webster

I was a half-caste; now the future belongs to me

By Zenab Short

Once proud to be Pakistani, then desperate to be English, Zenab Shortrecalls her journey to a new identity

Beware the trap of the sans-culottes

By Richard Askwith

Avoid toff-baiting, warns Richard Askwith, an old Harrovian: soon it could be you . . .

Paul Routledge

By Paul Routledge

Diary

If you've been married ten years nowadays, the least you deserve is a telegram from the Queen

By Wendy Holden

The boy emerged, LA gangsta-style, and fired

By Darcus Howe

"No vases?" Sam shrieked. "You've got to get out of here. No TV. No privacy. This is a hospital, isn't it?"

By Suzanne Moore

Anglo-Saxons are infantile: they either ignore sex or reduce it to a dirty quickie. So three cheers for Kubrick!

By Cristina Odone

This England

Automated phone answering systems are universally loathed, but can they be uninvented?

By Sean French

The BBC was alarmed to hear A J P Taylor declare that history was not his strong point

By Laurie Taylor

Competition - Win a bottle of champagne