Want to know how Reform would run the country? You don’t need a crystal ball … just ask someone from Kent where they control the county council. It’s been chaos. An utter shambles.
We sent Ed Jennings to bear witness – what he witnessed over the course of six months needs to be read to be believed. It’s what happens when a bunch of people bound together by populist slogans and political ineptitude are handed power by a disaffected population.
Also this week:
Alastair Campbell does what he does best in this week’s diary – bringing expertise to the high-level communications currently emerging from Number 10 Downing Street. His verdict? Like an episode of The Thick Of It … but much less funny.
Political editor James Ball has been speaking to as many Labour MPs as he can … the mood is grim. The conclusion? Keir Starmer’s days as PM are numbered. Like I said: grim.
Following on from last week’s James’s exclusive on the confection at the heart of Michael Prescott’s BBC bias dossier (and we have more on that online soon),
Matthew d’Ancona takes a big step back and takes inspiration from the late, great Richard Pryor on how we can save liberal institutions under attack.
And Jessica Cecil defends the broadcaster and suggests how it might be rebuilt, regain its confidence and renew its purpose.
Sonia Sodha asks why it is that Keir Starmer opposes the death penalty and yet supports assisted dying when both, however careful the process is, will inevitably involve errors that result in fatal mistakes.
Marie Le Conte attacks the creeps who gave Jeffrey Epstein a pass – and describes her own experiences of MPs in the House of Commons. If you thought the MeToo movement meant the end of sexism and abuse, think again.
John Bleasedale watches the Apple TV series Mr Scorsese and rails against the director’s apparent beatification.
And our brilliant Germansplaining columnist Tanit Koch watches the Channel 4 documentary, Hitler’s DNA. Does having a so-called “micro-penis” (and he probably doesn’t) really help us understand the actions of the 20th century’s most evil human being? Possibly not, Tanit suggests.
The magazine is full of great reads this week. I know I always say that … but that’s only because it’s always true. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
