Last Thursday, I was invited to dinner with a book group in London – the hundredth meeting of this group as it happened- in order to discuss my novel One of Us. I sat, under a small but persistent IKEA style spotlight, at the centre of a long table groaning with food, for about two… Continue Reading

As for the election results, these are deeply depressing and frightening – in terms of fascist gains – if predictable. Whether Brown stays or goes, New Labour has clearly failed to change Britain as it once promised to do. This, combined with the recession has opened us up to new right scare mongering from the… Continue Reading

Discarded needles, enforced mediocrity, petty bullying, too much political correctness, not enough Jesus or competitive sport: New Statesman readers with children in state schools will be surprised – but perhaps not that surprised – to hear that these are common features of our nation’s schools, at least according to our press and broadcasting media, few… Continue Reading