01 May 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

Wealth and terror

Saudi Arabia's government is finally making moves to "re-educate" Islamic extremists - but a new generation of jihadis is ready to take their place. Lindsey Hilsum reports from Riyadh

By Lindsey Hilsum

Features

Is union man back?

By Martin Bright

As public sector workers get restive and rich donors back off, the Labour Party is being forced to reassess the importance of the trade unions. The balance of power is starting to shift, reports Martin Bright

A struggle to exist

By Tim Lezard

Tim Lezard on Iraqi trade unionism

How green got posh

By Lucy Siegle

From Julia Roberts to David Cameron, a well-heeled eco-elite are adopting environmental causes wholesale. The problem is - it's at the expense of everyone else, argues Lucy Siegle

The Latino giant awakes

By Andrew Stephen

The new political and economic power of Hispanic immigrants is fuelling an ugly mood of racism in America, where "illegals" are accused of taking healthcare, jobs and housing

Essay

NS Essay - 'Power elites dislike being identified: it threatens their covert authority'

By Hywel Williams

Britain's secretive rulers consist of an incompetent executive class, a meaningless political class and a degraded professional class. Hywel Williams proposes a historical explanation

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Labour's criminal hypocrisy

An aura of incompetence has been added to accusations of sleaze and arrogance. The Home Office débâcle makes a drubbing all the more likely

The Politics Column

The politics column - Allyson Pollock

By Allyson Pollock

Blair says his NHS reforms are bearing fruit - and so they are, for investors in PFI schemes and for overseas companies with risk-free contracts

Commons Confidential

Village life - Kevin Maguire finds an irony-free zone

By Kevin Maguire

An irony problem at the BNP, the plot for the Speaker's chair, and second prize for T Blair

Kira Cochrane pleads for more help for her mum

By Kira Cochrane

My mother's GP tells her she must fight. Problem is, caring for someone 24/7 generally takes the fight out of you

Mark Thomas tracks some dangerous widgets

By Mark Thomas

The CIA uses unmanned drone planes to kill people. The computer "brains" for these drones are made in Towcester

Bonfire of the vanities

By Victoria Segal

Morality tale of a big business run by small, small men, writes Victoria Segal Enron: the smartest guys in the room (15)

Competition

Win vouchers to spend in any Tesco store

Culture

Contemporary classic

By Nicholas Kenyon

The gloom merchants keep predicting the demise of the classical music industry. But, as the 112th Proms programme is launched, the season’s controller Nicholas Kenyon argues that the sector is still vital, innovative – and flourishing

Break the mould

By Gervase de Wilde

Dance - Gervase de Wilde finds that global hip-hop culture has more to offer than bling

Film

Bad meaning good

By Ryan Gilbey

Film - Even in truly terrible cinema, finds Ryan Gilbey, there are guilty pleasures to be had

Radio

Radio - Rachel Cooke

By Rachel Cooke

Now that we know how much BBC DJs earn, my crabbiness as a listener is spectacular to behold

Theatre

Pure Bliss

By Michael Portillo

Theatre - Dame Judi hams it up in a Coward country-house classic, writes Michael Portillo Hay Fever Theatre Royal Haymarket, London SW1

Television

Stealing the show

By Andrew Billen

Television - A special episode proves guest stars should be kept in check The Simpsons (Sky 1)

The Fan

The fan - Hunter Davies dresses up for Wayne

By Hunter Davies

With the bottle-blonde wives and T-shirted uncles in the players' lounge

Books

West side stories

By Rageh Omaar

Londonstani Gautam Malkani 4th Estate, 343pp, £12.99 ISBN 000723175X Young Asians in Britain have reacted to years of oppression by developing an assertive – and often violent – street culture of their own. Rageh Omaar on a superb attempt to capture this conflicted identity