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New Statesman
09-07-2025
- Politics
- 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


Telegraph
10-06-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Public confidence in the Chancellor's judgment is lower than ever
SIR – During my career as a journalist and producer, I worked at TV-am as an occasional researcher for Sir David Frost. A highlight was a post-show breakfast one Sunday in 1989 with Sir David and a guest I had booked for the show – Frederick Forsyth (Obituaries, June 10). It was fascinating listening to both men discuss their careers, Mr Forsyth's writing and the general state of the world – over plates piled high with eggs and bacon. Mr Forsyth was kindness and civility personified, and, at one point, deep into a trenchant analysis of the geopolitical future of Russia, turned to me and said, 'What do you think, Gary?' I nearly fell off my chair To this day, I treasure my battered copies of The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File, which he signed for me that morning, but I treasure more the kindness and encouragement he offered to that young hack. Sometimes it's great to meet your heroes. Gary Curtis Wexford, Ireland SIR – I first met Freddie Forsyth in 1968, when he was a journalist in Biafra, and was often at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Umuahia. If wounded Biafran soldiers were being brought in, it meant the Biafrans were advancing; if none were injured, the front was in full retreat. Freddie was always hungry for a story and, knowing that I was associated with the relief airlift, he would trade cigarettes for information. Many years later, in 2000, he kindly wrote a foreword for my book, Shadows, and came to a launch party in the House of Commons. Michael Draper Nether Wallop, Hampshire SIR – For the past 13 years, Frederick Forsyth had table seven in our pub, The Jolly Cricketers, booked on a permanent basis. The reservation sign simply said 'Freddie 1pm'. He would arrive through the front door, with a copy of The Telegraph folded under his arm. He would then nod and smile at the landlord, before taking his seat for lunch, and he always completed the crossword before leaving. Freddie was a loyal supporter of the pub and a dear friend. He was our 007. We had a plaque put on the wall to mark Crossword Corner. Chris and Amanda Lillitou Seer Green, Buckinghamshire SIR – I was sorry to hear of the death of Frederick Forsyth. As well as greatly enjoying his books, I was always uplifted by reading his excellent and thoughtful letters to The Telegraph. I shall miss his common sense.


Time Out
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time Out
South Africa remains a safe and welcoming destination for travellers
In response to renewed international scrutiny following recent political commentary, South Africa's hospitality leaders have stepped forward to reaffirm the country's unwavering commitment to visitor safety and world-class service. The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA) and the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) are united in their message: South Africa remains a safe, vibrant, and welcoming destination for international and domestic travellers. 'Our hospitality industry upholds some of the highest service and safety standards globally,' says Rosemary Anderson, National Chairperson of FEDHASA. From luxury hotels to intimate guesthouses, South African establishments follow stringent health, safety, and security protocols, ensuring peace of mind for millions of guests each year. Despite ongoing national challenges, not uncommon in many parts of the world, the hospitality sector has implemented robust systems to safeguard travellers. These include integrated security technology, highly visible policing in tourism hotspots, real-time support platforms like the Tourism Safety Support Unit, and extensive staff training in emergency response. SATSA CEO David Frost echoes these sentiments, cautioning against sensationalised narratives that don't reflect the real experiences of travellers. 'Millions of tourists arrive safely every year and leave with memories filled with awe, not fear,' he says. Visitor satisfaction remains high, and travel demand from key markets like the U.S. has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with 372,362 American tourists arriving in 2024. Safety-focused initiatives — including a national helpline, the Secura Traveller App, and public-private collaboration — contribute to the continued smooth operation of tourism hubs across the country. 'This industry supports livelihoods across the nation,' adds Frost. 'A single visitor's journey can ripple out to benefit entire communities.' For those planning a trip, the message is clear: South Africa is open, ready, and eager to share its legendary hospitality, diverse landscapes, and resilient spirit with the world.


Irish Times
02-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
How hard do you have to work to build muscle?
You're sweaty and sore, and just hoisting your gym bag on to your shoulder makes you groan. The workout was exhausting, but was it effective? Many trainers and athletes have long believed that lifting to failure – the moment when you can't complete another repetition of an exercise – is the best way to build muscle. But recent research has challenged that idea, suggesting that training at a slightly lower intensity can produce similar results. 'The question I ask people is: 'Are we getting better or are we getting tired?'' said David Frost, an associate professor in the kinesiology department at the University of Toronto. If you're new to lifting, it can be tough to know how hard your workout should feel. Learning what failure feels like – and understanding when you should push that far – can help you build a sustainable strength-training routine and allow you to safely progress as you get stronger. READ MORE Training to failure? There are two types of failure in strength training. 'Technical failure' is when you can't do another repetition with proper form and control, so you may have to rely on other muscles and joints to lift the weight. 'Muscular failure' happens when your muscles are so fatigued that you can't lift the weight at all. Although you can build muscle mass by training to failure, some experts say the risks may outweigh the benefits. 'If you push yourself to failure and damage your muscles to a very extreme degree in a single workout, that's going to impair what you can do the next day and the next day,' Frost said. Pushing yourself to lift with poor form can also increase your risk of injury. [ Should you push through exercise pain? Opens in new window ] What matters more is that you're working hard each time you step into the gym. Challenging your muscles creates microdamage in the tissue, which is what makes them change. When you rest, that tissue repairs, grows and gets stronger. 'You don't need to necessarily be pushing to failure, but a high level of effort is required over time,' said Brad Schoenfeld, a professor in the exercise science programme at Lehman College in New York who studies how different methods of resistance training affect muscle growth. How much to lift? When you're starting out with strength training, perform new exercises with just your body weight first so you can learn proper form, said Elizabeth Davies, a strength coach in Kent, in England, who works primarily with women who are relatively new to lifting. Once you're ready to add weight, start by picking up a weight that feels light to you. Focus on moving with good form rather than trying to do as many repetitions as possible. You can use what's known as the reps-in-reserve, or RIR, scale to find out how much weight you can handle for a full set. When you perform an exercise, estimate how many more times you could lift the weight – your RIR – before feeling maxed out. You want to choose a weight where at the end of your set, you feel like you have a few repetitions left in the tank. The RIR method lets you adjust your workouts for how you feel – which can vary based on everything from sleep and diet to hormonal changes and stress – rather than sticking to a set amount of weight. Working to build muscle As a new lifter, your muscle tissue will generally adapt quickly to training, so you can stop when you feel like you have five or six RIR and still see progress, Davies said. As you get stronger, research suggests that stopping two or three repetitions before failure can be ideal for maximising muscle growth. Once you're able to complete the same number of repetitions in a given set for two or three weeks in a row, add a bit more weight and see how that changes your sense of effort, Frost suggested. When you're familiar with an exercise and can practice it consistently with good form, it can be worthwhile to occasionally train to failure to refine your sense of how hard you need to work. After all, 'if you don't train to failure, you don't know how far away from failure you are', Dr Schoenfeld said. When your body is pushed beyond its limits, it will also try to adapt to meet that challenge more easily next time, he said. [ Fitness: Is it better to eat before or after exercising? Opens in new window ] If you really enjoy the feeling of hitting your maximum effort, failure can have an occasional place in your workouts. Davies gives her clients that opportunity on single-joint moves such as bicep curls that won't leave them too exhausted and hinder their progress, she said. The key to getting the most out of strength training is stacking up hard work over time, Frost said. On most days, that means aiming to push yourself a little bit more than you did the day before. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times

Travel Weekly
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Travel Weekly
Trump's contentious meeting with South African president sparks tourism concerns
Dorine Reinstein Political soundbites from President Trump during his White House meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have reignited safety fears around South Africa and has put the tourism industry on edge. With Trump's references to "white genocide" during that tense Oval Office meeting, local tourism operators are bracing for potential ripple effects on inbound tourism from America. "Travelers don't wake up hell-bent on visiting South Africa. They can go anywhere in the world," said David Frost, CEO of Satsa, South Africa's inbound tourism association. "But if they start hearing inflammatory things -- like Johannesburg being a murder capital -- they rule us out." Tourism officials say the reality is that while crime does exist in South Africa, it is concentrated in a small number of urban areas, away from tourism hot spots. Claims like white genocide also remain unsupported by data. Between April and December 2024 there were 19,696 murders reported nationally; only 34 involved farms, and just seven victims were farmers. Following the Oval Office meeting, minister Senzo Mchunu issued a statement saying: "We have respect for the USA as a country, we have respect for the people in that country and for President Trump, but we have no respect for this genocide story -- at all. It is totally unfounded and unsubstantiated." Terry Murphy from African Budget Safaris said that most clients understand the reality in South Africa. "Most clients who travel to South Africa are aware that there are issues with crime," he said. "But we always go above and beyond in terms of educating our clients on how to conduct themselves in terms of awareness of their environment when they are here, especially in the bigger cities when they are not on Tour or Safari with us. Our U.S. clients spend most of their time in the national or private parks under the guidance of seasoned guides." Perceived safety risks have always been part of selling Africa, said Craig van Rooyen, director at Tour D'Afrique. Despite a recent rise in quote requests, he notes that "when USA citizens get worried about the news, they tend to hold off on booking." "Every day seems to bring new developments and news from Trump, and the Oval Office meeting might soon be forgotten," van Rooyen added. "Only time will tell if our current requests will be confirmed or if clients will decide to postpone their plans to another period," van Rooyen added. From the U.S. market perspective, Jim Holden, president of Holden Safaris, said he believes any fallout will be limited. Although there will be some cancellations and postponements, "It won't be like Covid," Holden said. His advice to the South African trade is to show goodwill: "Being ready and willing to delay safaris at crisis time creates so much goodwill." But are Americans welcome? Holden also flags an emotional undercurrent that is currently determining American travel behavior abroad: "Americans think the world now hates all Americans," he said, and even had one client cancel over fears they'd be spat at or met with hostility in South Africa. Murphy has heard similar concerns but emphasizes that U.S. tourists are welcomed warmly in South Africa: "The only concern is this unfounded perception that if South Africans hear someone is from the USA, they wouldn't be warmly welcomed, but that's not the case all," Murphy said. He said he believes most South Africans see through what he calls political showboating: "I firmly believe the USA will continue to be a great source market. … Judging by our bookings, traveler numbers will keep growing." Yet it's not just immediate reactions that worry operators, it's how long negative perceptions stick around. "The real risk lies in narrative lag," said Don Scott, owner of Tanda Tula Lodge. "For the tourism industry, especially at the luxury and conservation-oriented end, trust and perception are everything. We'll need to be proactive in communicating the realities on the ground: that travel here remains as safe, enriching and life-changing as ever; that our conservation and community models are robust and apolitical; and that South Africa's natural beauty and hospitality continue to shine through despite the noise." The country has invested heavily in proactive visitor safety efforts, including the national Tourism Safety Helpline, enhanced security visibility around tourist hotspots and the Secura Traveller App for 24/7 emergency assistance. "South Africa isn't perfect. Like every country, we face challenges. But what we don't have is a crisis that justifies global panic or distorted narratives," Satsa's Frost said. "What we do have is millions of tourists arriving safely every year, and leaving with stories that have nothing to do with fear and everything to do with awe." He urged responsible engagement when discussing complex issues that affect tourism. "This sector employs hundreds of thousands. It puts food on tables from Soweto guesthouses right through to safari camps in Limpopo. And in South Africa, one tourism job typically supports up to seven people, meaning a single traveller's decision has a ripple effect across entire households," Frost said. "If you want honest answers about what travel here looks like today, ask someone who's actually been, or better yet, come and see for yourself."