Sadly, Théodore Géricault, having died in 1824, is unavailable to comment on our Creative Director Martin Nicholls’s adaptation of his Raft of the Medusa masterpiece, illustrating this week’s cover. But it made me laugh.
Martin’s cover, with a despondent Keir Starmer clutching the cold corpse of Morgan McSweeney (his modesty protected by the judicious addition of a 21st-century loincloth), sums up the state of this government. All at sea, wrecked .. adrift.
The article it illustrates, by Peter Hyman, is of a more constructive intent: How to put the wind back in Britain’s sails.
Peter is, by common consent, one of this country’s deepest and most intelligent thinkers about how government can transform lives for the better. His article this week is a rescue plan for a government struggling to stay afloat. Happily, it’s full of much needed specifics, unlike the tempest of polemic that has accompanied Keir Starmer’s predicament.
And, coming in the New World next week, there will be more from Peter and his colleague Shuab Gamote as they write about their extensive research into one of the biggest challenges facing our nation; the plight of so many of our young people.
It’s one of the most important reports we will carry this year.
Also this week:
Matthew d’Ancona presents a compelling case refuting the currently pervasive idea that Britain is ungovernable.
Alastair Campbell, after much pestering from myself, reveals who he believes will emerge as PM by Christmas.
Paul Mason explains, with quite terrifying evidence, how a global shortage of drinking water is heading for a violent global catastrophe.
Lucy Reade and James Ball report back from Tommy Robinson’s flop of a march in London. Should we be reassured?
Isabel Hilton analyses Trump’s meeting in Beijing with President Xi. Was it the success Trump imagines?
Patience Wheatcroft questions the very basis of this government’s mission: growth.
Suggested Reading
‘Ungovernable Britain?’ Don’t be absurd
Tanit Koch reports from Germany on the trial of a third-generation member of the Baader-Meinhoff gang.
And I write about how Britain’s place in the EU may come once more, and sooner than any of us anticipate.
Lucy Ash tells the decline of one of the world’s most important cities, Moscow.
John Bleasdale is at the Cannes Film Festival, in the company of Eric Cantona and John Lennon. And to for a further Beatles treat, David Quantick is enthralled by the late surge in Paul McCartney’s output.
Tilly Lawless asks if there’s any fundamental difference between her job as a sex worker and professional wrestling.
John Osborne remembers Tina Turner’s great life, James Brown visits Hanoi and Jamie Klinger praises Race Across The World.
Suggested Reading
How to put the wind back in Britain’s sails
Finally, on the back page, Marie Le Conte decides on her next boycott, following that of Eurovision.
There’s a lot more for you to discover in this week’s magazine.
PS: If you haven’t already, do tune into The Two Matts podcast featuring the chair of the Southbank Centre, Misan Harriman. Misan is currently undergoing one of the most astonishing cancellation campaigns by our right-wing press. All for something he never even said. It’s a jaw-dropping example of our national media’s potential for mendacity.
PPS: If you like The Two Matts, then tune into our latest podcast! Touching Grass (I’ll let them explain the title) with James Ball and Lucy Reade will expand your horizons in all the best ways.
