Matt Kelly

London

Editor-in-Chief at The New European

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theneweuropean.co.uk

Articles

Can Starmer make the case for a new world?

1 week ago | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

In a plastic folder in my study, I have three copies of the first-ever edition of the New European. Not quite hermetically sealed, but kept from direct sunlight to avoid what the book trade calls foxing or fading. As historical documents go, they may not be the Gettysburg Address or the handwritten lyrics to Yesterday, but I did once see a copy for sale on eBay for fifteen quid.
“White British” gives the game away about racism in the UK

1 week ago | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

“All the people complaining that the police have said the Liverpool attacker was white British are the same people who made it necessary for the police to say he was white British,” so tweeted “Parody Keir Starmer” on X last night, after social media’s reaction to the awful incident in which dozens were injured but — so far at least — miraculously nobody was killed. The point was well made.
Wild camping is a holiday for the soul, and now it’s legal

2 weeks ago | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

I don’t remember much from the post-Covid fortnight in the Caribbean that cost the price of a small car, apart from how wildly overrated Barbados is. But the three days, twenty-five years ago, that my wife and I spent hauling our arses through the Lake District on a wild camping trip in preparation for a longer Alpine adventure — that, I remember almost everything about.
Misan Harriman: A lens on a world in protest

1 month ago | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

There are two sides to Misan Harriman. The self-taught photographer who rose to become one of the world’s most sought-after chroniclers of fashion and celebrity; the first black man to shoot a Vogue cover; friend and photographer to the stars, including Harry and Meghan, Tom Cruise, Rihanna and Stormzy; and since 2021, the chair of London’s Southbank Centre. That’s one side.
Two men trying to lead the Middle East to peace

2 months ago | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

Maoz Inon, a 50-year-old Israeli, speaks first. His farmer parents Bilha and Yakovi burned to death in their home in the village of Netiv HaAsara on the northern border of the Gaza Strip. They were two of 20 residents murdered by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Aziz Abu Sarah, a 45-year-old Palestinian, follows. During the first Intifada, when Aziz was 10, his elder brother Tayseer was arrested by the Israeli Defence Force for throwing stones.
We're hiring: Head of Audience

Feb 4, 2025 | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

The New European is the fastest-growing political/cultural periodical in the UK. We want to keep it that way and are looking for a HEAD OF AUDIENCE to join our team. This senior role is a mish-mash of digital marketing and commercial skills, with a bit of editorial nous thrown in. Some of these skills you will already possess, others you will develop. A willingness to experiment and learn is essential. This is definitely a job for a doer as well as a thinker.
Question Time was a microcosm of the coming battle for Britain’s place in the world

Dec 5, 2024 | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

Last night’s BBC Question Time squaring-off between Alastair Campbell and Nigel Farage turned out, instead, to be a battle between one red jumper and one red jacket. The red jacket belonged to a woman, a pensioner, whose view of immigration dove-tailed neatly with Farage’s narrative; dismissive, ignorant and bigoted. “I don’t believe in any asylum.” Nor did she pity the refugees fleeing conflict and persecution. “Too much is made of it,” she said.
Next week... Feargal Sharkey guest edits The New European

Oct 25, 2024 | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

I’m taking a backseat next week as editor-in-chief, handing over the job of editing your favourite newspaper to a man I think it’s safe to say we have all come to admire, Feargal Sharkey. Feargal has campaigned tirelessly for years to bring the issue of our filthy waterways to the front pages. Well, now he’s got his own front page to play with.
The story of Chris Kaba’s killing is now clearer. Except on the BBC News website

Oct 22, 2024 | theneweuropean.co.uk | Matt Kelly

The acquittal of armed police officer Martyn Blake for the murder of Chris Kaba was, yesterday morning, the focus of intense national debate. But it was a debate based on incomplete evidence. Absent from that debate – due to reporting restrictions imposed by the Old Bailey judge – was one critical fact. It’s a fact that changed everything. The fact is this: a week before he was shot and killed, Kaba, 24, had been filmed shooting someone in a nightclub in the feet and legs.