Poll: Speccie is decision-makers' favoured read
A new report out by Portland Communications polls what 529 decision-makers from the public and private sectors are reading every day. It reports that:
Although our panel skewed to the left politically, one interesting finding is how much more influential the right-wing Spectator is compared to the left-wing New Statesman. We found that 27 per cent of decision makers read the Spectator, compared to just 19 per cent who said they read the New Statesman. Despite a Labour government, the NS has a narrower audience.
Not a bad result, even if Mr S says so himself. Still, both the Staggers and the Speccie finish behind the Economist, which is preferred by 58 per cent of respondents as the most popular news and current affairs magazine for decision makers. Watch out Bagehot: Steerpike is coming for you…
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
17 hours ago
- Spectator
Labour's biggest union backer suspends Rayner
Some big news in Labour land today. Angela Rayner, the party's deputy leader, has had her membership of Unite suspended following her comments on the Birmingham bin strike. The trade union accused Rayner of supporting a Labour-run council that had 'peddled lies', after she urged bin workers to accept its pay offer. Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, told its annual conference that 'Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.' The move marks a significant deterioration in relations between the Labour leadership and the trade union movement. Unite boasts 1.2 million members and gave more than £500,000 to 88 of Keir Starmer's MPs last year. But its conference has now voted to 'discuss our relationship with Labour', which could trigger a formal split between the two organisations. That could herald a financial crisis for the party, amid ongoing challenges in attracting wealthy donors. Having bankrolled Labour under Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, Unite has since switched to funding individuals rather than the central party. Will support for those individual MPs now be turned off? Unite has long been the most awkward union for Keir Starmer during his leadership. During last year's election, Graham refused to endorse the party manifesto at a 'Clause V' gathering of union leaders and party officials. She has repeatedly criticised Labour's policy of blocking new North Sea oil and gas licences, for diluting the 'New Deal' on workers' rights and for trying to scrap winter fuel. But today's motion marks a new low point in relations between Unite and Downing Street. The decision to single out Rayner for merely repeating the No. 10 line on Birmingham is especially notable, given how much she has been billed as the 'keeper of the cloth cap' in government. Will other Labour-affiliated unions now follow Unite's lead? A key bellwether will be Unison, Britain's biggest trade union. Its general secretary, Christina McAnea, is widely seen as a Starmer loyalist. She is battling for re-election against a left-wing rival who rails against the government, and her result will be closely watched by other chiefs. The British Medical Association – which, importantly, is not affiliated to the party – clearly smell an opportunity with its pay demands to Wes Streeting. If other unions decide that now is the time to make a Labour government's life difficult then expect an even trickier Budget for Rachel Reeves come autumn.
Spectator
2 days ago
- Spectator
Poll: Speccie is decision-makers' favoured read
Like Forrest Gump, The Spectator has an amusing habit of turning up at the right moments in history. Boris during Partygate? There was a copy of our mag in one of the No. 10 snaps. The latest season of Industry? There was a fake front cover proudly on display. And now it seems that this august institution is turning up on the right peoples' desks in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond… A new report out by Portland Communications polls what 529 decision-makers from the public and private sectors are reading every day. It reports that: Although our panel skewed to the left politically, one interesting finding is how much more influential the right-wing Spectator is compared to the left-wing New Statesman. We found that 27 per cent of decision makers read the Spectator, compared to just 19 per cent who said they read the New Statesman. Despite a Labour government, the NS has a narrower audience. Not a bad result, even if Mr S says so himself. Still, both the Staggers and the Speccie finish behind the Economist, which is preferred by 58 per cent of respondents as the most popular news and current affairs magazine for decision makers. Watch out Bagehot: Steerpike is coming for you…
New Statesman
3 days ago
- New Statesman
The rise of Britain's radical right
The past week has been fun. Following our cover story urging the government to 'Just Raise Tax', the New Statesman has come in for a veritable cascade of condemnation from the broad conservative right in Westminster. The noble David Frost – he of Brexit fame – took to X to dismiss us as a bunch of 'deranged leftists'. The Tory frontbencher Alex Burghart urged people to read the magazine 'and weep', which I feel I can at least partially endorse, while the Daily Mail felt the need to warn its readers about what we – 'the socialist bible' – had advocated. As the very first leader of the New Statesman made clear in 1913, this magazine has 'no axe to grind, no panacea to advertise, no theory which we should abandon with regret'. We are, in fact, 'bound by no ties of party, class or creed'. The point of this magazine – then and now – is to examine the great social, political and cultural issues of the day with a dispassionate, curious and, yes, progressive eye. This week's edition is a case in point. One of the most startling facts of British politics today is the rise of the radical right. Something close to half the electorate tell pollsters they plan to vote for one of either Reform UK or the Conservative Party. This means that there is now a realistic chance that the two parties will, together, have enough seats in parliament to form a majority government after the next general election – with Nigel Farage emerging as prime minister. This, to put it mildly, is not something that would have been seen as even vaguely possible as recently as May 2024. And we worry it is not something enough people are taking seriously. Hovering somewhere close to the centre of this potential revolution in British politics is the curious figure of Robert Jenrick, the defeated Tory leadership hopeful who has somehow survived his loss in November to emerge as the party's prince across the water through sheer force of will – and a determination to push the boundaries much further than his own party leader seems comfortable. Armed with a mobile phone camera, a desire to thrust himself in front of the public – supportive or otherwise – and a savvy social media team, Jenrick has carved out a new position for himself in British politics as the first gonzo politician: both recognisably Tory and a harbinger of a new and harsher politics to come. Harry Lambert profiles the man now widely expected to lead the Tories into the next election. Elsewhere in the magazine, Anoosh Chakelian demolishes some of the myths being spread by Jenrick's army of online supporters, while Oliver Eagleton breaks down the reasons right-wing populism is gaining ground all over the Western world. Meanwhile, from Washington DC, our US correspondent Freddie Hayward offers an eye-watering insider account of how the American right talk behind closed doors: a grim vision of a future foretold. As ever, there is much to lift the mood too. The entries for the caption contest alone are a source of great joy for us all here in New Statesman towers. Please keep them coming. Nicholas Harris delights in poking fun at the lost boys still yearning for mummy – or Margaret Thatcher, as she is more commonly known – while George Eaton has great fun with another set of nostalgists in Cardiff, moshing for the Gallagher brothers. Are Oasis really an Irish band, he asks, in what might be our most controversial question of the week. In a few days the wonderful Tanjil Rashid joins us as our new culture editor. We'd love to hear your views on the shows, people, literature and exhibitions you want to read about. We have also relaunched our weekly culture podcast, which will come out each Tuesday. Please do let us know what you'd like to hear more about (or, indeed, what we spend too much time thinking about). We not only want you to read the New Statesman every day, but for us to be part of your daily life online through our newsletters, podcasts and videos on YouTube – even, yes, on TikTok! Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe In general, do keep the letters coming in: it has been lovely to see a marked uptick in correspondence since I began as editor. It seems our club of 'deranged leftists' has quite a few ideas for dealing with the state of the country, to which our leaders would do well to listen. [See also: Stop taking Glastonbury so seriously] Related
