13 April 2009
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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
Cover story
The hunger for renewal
The Labour Party that capitulated so completely to neoliberalism is exhausted. If it is to be reinvigorated, it will have to embrace bold ideas
Features
India's runaway boys
Hundreds of children live in a cycle of drugs, crime and deprivation in a railway station in Kolkata
Britain’s hidden religion
In last week’s NS a host of distinguished writers debated what place God should have in our society. Here we continue the argument, beginning with the strange case of the celebrated atheist who converted to deism, the faith many of us share – without even knowing it
The empty name of God
'The basic doctrines of the major religions have their roots in the superstitions and fancies of illiterate peasants living several thousand years ago'
Make space for creationists to have their say
Evolution has disappeared from many school lessons in the US. If discussion about the origins of life becomes part of science classes here, could Britain follow suit?
Essay
No peace without process
Tony Blair’s ex-chief of staff, argues that the lessons of Northern Ireland can be applied to Palestine. First Hamas must, like the IRA, agree to a strategy of non-violence
Regulars
The Politics Column
The curse of Callaghan
The G20 is over and Labour is still behind in the polls. So why are cabinet ministers considering an election this year?
First Thoughts
Let them eat celery
...on dodgy claims, dead 'slebs', delightful menus and a notorious school
Down & Out in London
Down and out in London
My mate and I scrounge off each other, like climbers scaling a cliff that would defeat solitary mountaineers
Culture
Resistance is fertile
The novelist and art critic recalls an Easter visit to the National Gallery and a strange and violent encounter with an attendant
Performance
Playing to the gallery
Dance and visual art are blended in new ways by a leading choreographer
Television
Gone, but not forgotten
Northern Ireland is the backdrop for a provocative look at the politics of grief
Radio
Solid advice for da yoof
People of Middlesex, here’s how to raise your game, says a man named Swiss
The fan
In footie’s first flush, players wore a riot of colours, like salmon pink and cerise, complete with caps and sashes
Books
Diary: Andrew Motion
'My room used to be in the basement, down among the id-men, but recently I’ve been given one on the top floor and therefore become an ego-ist'
Latin lessons
¡Viva South America! A Journey Through a Restless Continent Oliver Balch Faber & Faber, 416pp, £14.99
The princes in the tower
The Music Room William Fiennes Picador, 224pp, £14.99
