Ben van der Merwe
New Statesman
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Ben:
Liz Truss’s cabinet is the least experienced in modern history
The average secretary of state in the new cabinet has just 17 months of top-level ministerial experience. → Read More
How much will Tory leadership candidates help with energy bills?
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s proposals fall short of what is needed, but there are issues with Labour’s plan too. → Read More
Why Labour can’t afford to lose the trade unions
They have contributed 58 per cent of the party’s donations and loans so far this year. → Read More
Boris Johnson was felled by the biggest mass resignation in history
More than 50 people on the government payroll resigned in protest at the Prime Minister’s handling of the Christopher Pincher affair. → Read More
Exclusive: Poll shows UK voters support universal basic income by 20-point margin
Exclusive: A majority of voters in the UK support a guaranteed monthly income from the state in every region, in both major social classes and in all age groups under 65. → Read More
Exclusive: Poll shows UK voters support universal basic income by 20-point margin
Exclusive: A majority of voters in the UK support a guaranteed monthly income from the state in every region, in both major social classes and in all age groups under 65. → Read More
Can you get Londoners to work on time? Design your own tube network
The Elizabeth Line will shorten commutes for one in four Londoners, according to a New Statesman analysis. Use the interactive tool to do better. → Read More
On abortion, Republicans are out of step with US public opinion
Sixty nine per cent of US adults oppose overturning Roe vs Wade. → Read More
Trafficked women and children “abandoned” in Syria, finds cross-party inquiry
British nationals currently detained in camps include “victims and desperate women who were coerced, manipulated, or criminally forced to travel” to Iraq and Syria. → Read More
How UK exports to Germany have plummeted as EU ones surge
British exports to Germany are 19 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, while EU exports are 30 per cent higher. → Read More
“You know it shouldn’t exist”: Guantánamo at 20
The 39 men still held there have all been detained for at least 14 years, out of reach of the US court system. → Read More
The cost of Brexit chart that Rishi Sunak didn’t mention in the Budget
UK trade with the EU has fallen sharply, new figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility show. → Read More
Are anonymous accounts responsible for most online abuse?
Data analysis by the New Statesman shows the share of abuse from anonymous and named accounts. → Read More
How Facebook’s outage doubled interest in Twitter
In just 25 minutes, Google search traffic for Twitter rose by 50 per cent. → Read More
How the poorest countries are still deprived of Covid-19 vaccines
Low-income countries have received just 0.4 per cent of vaccine doses. → Read More
England is far behind other countries on vaccinating teenagers
With schools reopening across England this week, government scientists have described a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases as “highly likely”. One reason given by the scientists is the extremely low rates of vaccination among school-age children. In England no more than 13.3 per cent of 12-17 year olds had received at least one vaccine dose by 22 August, according to a New → Read More
Why are Australia and New Zealand so far behind on vaccination?
Once praised for their effective containment of Covid-19, the governments of Australia and New Zealand have attracted growing criticism for the slow pace of their vaccine programmes. Only in late July did the pace of vaccination in either country reach levels surpassed by the US and UK in January. In New Zealand, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has extended a nationwide → Read More
Why Joe Biden is wrong to say that Afghans did not fight for themselves
Last night (16 August), Joe Biden addressed the nation from the White House to defend his decision to withdraw US soldiers from Afghanistan. “American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves,” he said. Afghans have borne the brunt of the conflict Death toll of the war in Afghanistan, as → Read More
Chart of the Day: How much land would carbon capture and storage really require?
With the COP26 international climate conference just months away, net zero targets are proliferating. Net zero targets allow governments and businesses to continue emitting carbon into the atmosphere so long as these emissions are offset through carbon capture, such as planting trees or bioenergy crops. But a new report by Oxfam has revealed the amount of land that would need → Read More
Did Scottish fans really cheer England’s defeat in the Euros?
Euro 2020 has prompted much discussion about the impact on English self-identity, but relatively little reflection on the meaning of the tournament for Scotland. Support for Scottish independence has risen since 2017, reaching a peak of 54 per cent last winter. The most recent polling suggests that, of those with a settled opinion, 52 per cent would support independence. As → Read More