Jonny Ball

Dec 2, 2024 | newstatesman.com | Jonny Ball

During the First World War, in the overcrowded tenements of Glasgow, a key battle in Britain’s labour history was taking shape. The Glasgow rent strikes of 1915 were part of an emerging phenomenon that came to be known as Red Clydeside – a period of industrial and political militancy in the factories, slums and shipyards around the River Clyde. Housing shortages had accompanied rent increases in wartime.

Nov 15, 2024 | newstatesman.com | Jonny Ball

As Joe Biden prepares to exit the White House, he leaves a  complicated legacy. Principally as a result of a global energy shock and post-Covid supply chain disruptions, he has presided over the largest spike in inflation since the days of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and his personal popularity ratings among the public have proved dire.

Oct 29, 2024 | newstatesman.com | Jonny Ball

Nigel Lawson, Margaret Thatcher’s longest-serving chancellor of the Exchequer, once said: “The NHS is the closest thing the English have to a religion.” If that’s the case, then perhaps the religion is in need of a Reformation, because the English are becoming more agnostic and less evangelical. (The healthcare systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are run by devolved assemblies, but are in no less of a sorry state.)And who can blame the public for its loss of faith?

Jul 22, 2024 | newstatesman.com | Jonny Ball

This article was originally published as an edition of the Green Transition, New Statesman Spotlight’s weekly newsletter on the economics of net zero. See more editions and subscribe here. Every country has its foibles and its own version of state-sanctioned pomp and ceremony. At US presidential inaugurations, we get treated to pop mega stars like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga or Bruce Springsteen belting out patriotic ballads over the crowds in Washington.

Jul 15, 2024 | newstatesman.com | Jonny Ball

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has hit the ground running. Since entering Downing Street, the new prime minister has been keen to give the impression that a new era has begun. There have been surprise ministerial appointments from outside of parliament, and a flurry of policy announcements, belying the accusation that the party is devoid of ideas.