What Harold Wilson can teach Keir Starmer
A new biography shows how one of Labour’s most successful leaders kept the party united at all costs.
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Peter Wilby
Peter Wilby was editor of the New Statesman from 1998 to 2005.
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First Thoughts: History repeating, the Taliban’s populism, and Rupert Murdoch’s sensitive side
In 1842, in a similarly chaotic fashion as today, the British evacuated 16,000 troops and civilians from Afghanistan.
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First Thoughts: Act now on the climate emergency, “I’m with Bonkers”, and the perils of altruism
After wildfires devastate California and commuters drown in China, it is obvious to me that Extinction Rebellion is right.
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First Thoughts: The classroom culture wars, GB News founders, and cricket gets an update
Boris Johnson’s government has opened a new front in its culture wars: teacher training.
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First Thoughts: A warning from Canada, mask wars, and the loss of Ruskin College
It should be concerning to us all that during the recent heatwave deaths in British Columbia have risen to…
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First Thoughts: The risk of ad boycotts, challenging the woke world-view, and cancelling Enid Blyton
Advertisers should not be encouraged to judge a media outlet’s “values”, if that idea takes hold the left stands to lose…
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First Thoughts: Holiday hubris, Frost’s history lesson, and how to play sport in multicultural Britain
Why can't Britons stay at home this summer instead of fretting over which countries are categorised green, amber or red?
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First Thoughts: The culture wars reach the National Trust, Dacre and Ofcom, and lockdown longings
The Ofcom interview panel declared the former Daily Mail editor "not appointable", but that won't stop Boris Johnson.
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First Thoughts: Guardian airbrushing, lobotomised TV, and saving our subtitles
As the Guardian celebrates 200 years in print, the historic moments the newspaper chose to highlight are a lesson…
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