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Andy Beckett

Andy Beckett

The Guardian

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Labour and Tories, beware: endlessly shifting to the right won’t save the country

T his autumn, more than ever, British politics is a waiting game. Waiting for the Tory and Labour party conferences. Waiting for possibly pivotal...

friday 1

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Is the UK falling behind other rich economies? Yes, but that’s only part of the story

N ow, more than ever, complaining about the state of the country is one of the main ways that Britain talks about itself. But in all the endless...

03.09.2023 1

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

The 1973 coup against democratic socialism in Chile still matters – there, in Britain and beyond

F ifty years on, the 1973 coup in Chile still haunts politics there and far beyond. As we approach its anniversary, on 11 September, the violent...

18.08.2023 300

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

It’s time for a new climate populism, to show how the super rich got us – and the planet – into this mess

I n Britain and far beyond, anti-environmentalists have a new favourite argument. No longer able to claim the climate crisis isn’t happening, they...

11.08.2023 100

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Even Britain’s free market bible has turned on the Tories. Do they have any friends left?

O ne of the difficulties with trying to make sense of what has happened to this country since 2010, when the Tories took office, is the absence of...

20.07.2023 80

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

If Labour wins power, will Starmer’s safety strategy become a huge risk?

T he bigger Britain’s problems get, the more Labour seems to shrink. As almost every economic, social and public sector indicator flashes red,...

14.07.2023 50

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

I watched Cameron and Osborne in the dock. They still refuse to take any blame over Covid

D avid Cameron’s government feels so long ago. Seven years of almost constant Tory turmoil, upheaval in all the other parties, huge strikes and...

23.06.2023 40

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

So long as we treat Boris Johnson as a lone wolf, the other Tory beasts will roam free

B oris Johnson is history. Or so hope Rishi Sunak, many other Tories, the sober parts of the media and most voters. Johnson’s terrible government,...

16.06.2023 100

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Starmer is right – giving young people the vote will mean fewer big Tory wins

I n a democracy, who is allowed to vote – and why – are basic but always interesting questions. Especially in a democracy as old and bodged-about...

26.05.2023 7

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

I went to the NatCon conference expecting sinister exuberance. But all I found was doom and gloom

F or anyone who has grown up with the idea that the right dominates Britain, it can be a shock to discover that its members are often anxious or even...

19.05.2023 8

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Is there a future for protest in Britain? Standing in the muted republican crowd, my fears only grew

L ast Saturday morning, it felt strange setting out to take part in the republican protest in London while knowing that its organiser had already...

11.05.2023 6

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Britain once rioted over the price of bread. What would it take for us to confront greedflation today?

T his country’s rate of inflation, the worst in western Europe, is everywhere in most people’s lives: in our anxious shopping and conversations,...

28.04.2023 300

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Britain is the most socially liberal it’s ever been. Could somebody let our politicians know?

I f you’re a social conservative in Britain, these are the best of times and the worst of times. They are the worst because, as the rightwing press...

21.04.2023 10

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

We cannot lose another generation of our children. Listen to the voices of central Australia

W e are representing families, traditional owners and senior cultural leaders in Mparntwe. We stand together to condemn the media representation of...

21.04.2023 20

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

It’s tempting for Starmer to fall back on the Blair playbook – what are the risks?

T ony Blair’s triumphant time as opposition leader was more than 25 years and several political eras ago. But it still casts a huge shadow over our...

31.03.2023 30

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Behind the smile, smart suits and ‘reasonable’ solutions lies Rishi Sunak the authoritarian

I n some ways, this has been a good year so far for Rishi Sunak. His young government has produced a succession of solutions to problems that have...

24.03.2023 200

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

A lesson for Sunak: when the Tories take on striking workers, they don’t always win

The prime minister is pitting the public against trade unionists — forgetting that, in millions of cases, they are the same people, says Guardian...

13.01.2023 70

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

Starmer may lack Blair’s charisma, but he may well change Britain more than New Labour ever did

Without the optimism that carried Labour to power in the 90s, the party now has to go big on reform, says the Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

06.01.2023 60

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

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