james meadway

A portrait of Zack Polanski by Magdalena Siwicka

Opinion: Zack Polanski’s Win Is the Kick up the Arse the Left Needs

The left has four years to stop Nigel Farage from becoming prime minister. Polanski’s Green leadership win is the starting gun on a race we must win, writes James Meadway.

Opinion: US Cities Have Bold Plans to Lower Food Prices. Why Doesn’t Britain?

James Meadway

From New York to Chicago, American politicians are pushing state-owned grocery shops as a way to make food cheaper, writes James Meadway. Meanwhile, our leaders continue scratching their heads.

Report: Exclusive: Green Party Membership Surges Following Polanski’s Leadership Bid, Leaked Data Suggests

Adam Ramsay

The Green party has grown by at least 8% to 65,000 members since ‘eco-populist’ Zack Polanski announced his candidacy in early May, according to data from regions representing over a third of the party. Adam Ramsay reports.

A man smiles in foreground with a sign saying 'freeze the rent' in the background

Opinion: Britain Can Have Its Own Mamdani. First It Must Move on From Corbyn

James Meadway

The freshly minted Democratic candidate for New York City mayor is patently exceptional. He’s also perfected a formula that the UK can replicate, but only if it lays history to rest, writes James Meadway.

Interview: Zack Polanski Is Done Talking

Rivkah Brown

The Green politician’s surprise leadership bid has excited a rudderless left. Could he turn the party from a byword for well-meaning environmentalists into a mass movement? Rivkah Brown meets Zack Polanski.

A woman walks in high heels carrying a red box

Analysis: The Budget Is Socialism for the Rich, Austerity for the Poor

James Meadway

With her record-low corporation tax and below-inflation benefit rises, Labour’s first woman chancellor has indeed made history: by passing up a historic opportunity to fix Britain, writes James Meadway.

A small man stands before a blackboard-style screen that reads 'Age of AI' in white text

Analysis: Artificial Intelligence Isn’t Actually That Amazing

James Meadway

Computer software that can hold a conversation may have seemed magical, but it wasn't the start of something new, writes James Meadway. It was AI already at its summit, with nowhere to go but down.

Labour party leader Keir Starmer at the launch of Labour's manifesto in Manchester

Analysis: Labour’s Slippery Manifesto Offers No End to Austerity

James Meadway

Labour is doomed if it keeps the country on its current path. But Keir Starmer's flimsy manifesto refuses to say how he intends to avoid more austerity, writes James Meadway.

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, poses with a red budget box

Analysis: Budget 2024: Keir Starmer Just Walked Right Into the Tories’ Trap

James Meadway

With nothing new left to say, Jeremy Hunt used his last budget to set Labour up to fail, writes James Meadway.

Analysis: Laugh at Liz Truss, But Tory Radicals Are Playing the Long Game

James Meadway

Free market ideologues are already laying the groundwork for a return to power, argues James Meadway.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks at Labour Party conference in Liverpool,

Analysis: Rachel Reeves Speech: Labour is Rehashing Corbynite Policies Without Explaining How It Would Pay for Them

James Meadway

The left should welcome Rachel Reeves’s pledges to decarbonise the electricity system and renationalise the railways - they were originally Corbynite proposals, after all. But to be believed, Labour must explain how they’ll be funded, writes James Meadway.

A blonde woman wearing a blue dress sits at a desk besides a union jack flag, writing in a document

Analysis: We’ve Won an Energy Bills Freeze. Now Let’s Demand More

James Meadway

Liz Truss has shown she responds to pressure. Time to ramp it up then, writes James Meadway.

Analysis: Taxes Aren’t Driving Sky-High Fuel Prices, Profiteering Bosses Are

James Meadway

While fuel protesters blame the government for their woes, writes James Meadway, BP and Shell made £40bn last year.

Novara Live: Tories Want Tax Cuts, James Meadway on £15 Min Wage, YouGov Accused of Suppressing Polls

Boris Johnson keeps insisting he wants to move on from Partygate to focus on policy. With growing calls for tax cuts from his MPs, should we expect another shift to the right? Plus: James Meadway on why Britain needs the £15 minimum wage; YouGov are accused of supressing Corbyn-positive polls; and the RMT announce three […]