The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

This week saw potentially the boldest moment of Keir Starmer’s leadership, as the Government announced its white paper - Restoring Control over the Immigration System. According to the Prime Minister, it marks a a significant overhaul of UK immigration policy.The headlines, however, have been less kind - focussing on the wording of his speech announcing the plans, specifically on the phrase ‘island of strangers’... Some were quick to compare this to Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in which Powell talks of white British people becoming ‘strangers in their own country’.Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe.Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

For the first time, the Conclave of cardinals at the Vatican have elected an American pope.Pope Leo XIV has ascended to the papacy following the death of his modernising predecessor, Pope Francis.Katie Stallard is joined by writer Madoc Cairns and the New Statesman’s Finn McRedmond to discuss Francis’s legacy and Leo’s future.Read: Pope Francis's illusionsRead: Pope Leo XIV's centrist papacy

2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, widely celebrated as Britain's greatest landscape painter. --YOUR NEXT EPISODE:The untold story of Picasso's muses--Yet, beyond the familiar image of the "painter of light", Turner was a complex figure whose radical art often baffled his contemporaries.Tom Gatti meets the New Statesman’s art critic, Michael Prodger, to explore why Turner still matters – and how themes in his work like the power of nature, the impact of technology, and national identity resonate profoundly today. READ: The second birth of JMW Turner, by Michael Prodgerhttps://www.newstatesman.com/culture/art-design/2025/04/the-second-birth-of-jmw-turnerLISTEN AD-FREEDownload the New Statesman app: iOS / AndroidSTAY IN TOUCHGet our best writing every weekend in The Saturday Read email newsletterSUBSCRIBEGet full access to the New Statesman by becoming a subscriber

The team answer questions on the Green party's charisma issue, how Reform's power in local council could hurt their overall polling, and whether too many Lib Dems are vegan.Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Ben Walker, Megan Kenyon, and George Eaton.Listen to our episode on constitutional issuesSubmit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

Tom McTague, the incoming editor of the New Statesman, joins Andrew Marr to discuss Labour's rocky week following Reform's dramatic wins, the India and US trade deals, and also his vision for the future of the publication.Read more: New Statesman International Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

The far right now makes up a third of terrorism convictions and a majority of referrals to the governments Prevent counter-radicalisation schemeBut what fuels the far-right and how influential are they becoming?Harry Shukman, journalist and researcher at HOPE not hate, an anti-fascist organisation, went undercover with the British far right to find out how these groups operate, their plans for changing Britain, and the conversations that go on behind closed doors, far away from voters’ doorsteps.

Tom Gatti meets authors Sarah Churchwell and Erica Wagner to discuss why The Great Gatsby is still relevant a century after it was published.Considered by many to be the great American novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic tale of ambition, class and the American dream continues to resonate today.Sarah Churchwell and Erica Wagner joined Tom Gatti at the Cambridge Literary Festival to offer fresh perspectives on a timeless classic.Watch more from the Cambridge Literary Festival at https://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/clf-player-watch-listen/

Yesterday elections took place up and down the country, for councils, six mayoral contests, and a by-election. What we’re looking at today is a big win for Nigel Farage’s Reform - and a seismic shift in British politics.Hannah Barnes is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker and senior editor George Eaton.

Overnight, Ukraine and the United States have signed a long-awaited minerals deal. Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and international editor Megan Gibson to discuss what this means for Ukraine's security and the future of the conflict with Russia, and later in the episode the team look at Mark Carney's anti-Trump win in Canada and what this means for democracies around the world.Read more: New Statesman International Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us