After 17 years at the New Statesman, I leave with a renewed faith in the power of ideas

After 17 years at the New Statesman, I leave with a renewed faith in the power of ideas

March 2009, the month I joined the New Statesman as a 22-year-old, was a different political time: a Labour chancellor raised taxes on the rich, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, urged the government to move left, Nigel Farage led a populist right insurgency, and the SNP ruled Scotland. It’s customary when leaving a publication to reflect on how much has changed, but I’m more struck by what has remained the same. The financial crash began an er…