06 March 2006

From the Editor…

Welcome to the New Statesman website. Whether you are a new reader or an existing one - online or via the magazine - I hope you'll enjoy the great writing, fresh ideas and provocative debate that make the New Statesman Britain's award-winning current affairs weekly

Jason Cowley, Editor, New Statesman

Cover story

Where did it all go wrong?

Education - The Education Bill has turned into a definitive confrontation between Tony Blair and his party. The argument goes to the heart of new Labour's idea of the role that education should play in the nation's life - a very different idea, explains Peter Wilby, from what drove the pioneers of comprehensive schools

By Peter Wilby

Features

Touch me, feel me, renovate me

By Joe Moran

The housing market has slowed down, but house-hunting shows on television are still booming. Joe Moran on the deception behind all that property porn

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Palestine's future is in our hands

Hamas must be required to make a gesture; this should coincide with a longer-term economic package and a new political dialogue with Israel

Diary

Diary - Linda Grant

By Linda Grant

I have discovered that Alastair Campbell is one of the sexiest men in Britain: the eyes, the size, the thighs. "You and a thousand other women in the Labour Party," said a baroness

Politics

The politics column - Martin Bright

By Martin Bright

When a prime minister himself is prepared to cavort on holiday with a man as morally dubious as Berlusconi, that does not, to put it mildly, set a good example

Michela Wrong finds three years isn't enough

By Michela Wrong

If I had £50 for every time I've heard the words "I've only been in Africa for . . ." on the lips of an expat, I wouldn't need to work

Ziauddin Sardar rumbles a scam artist

By Ziauddin Sardar

It is one of the most successful cons in recent Muslim history, and many reputable believers have been had

This England

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