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Anoosh Chakelian

@anooshc.bsky.social
2K followers 1.2K following 568 posts

Britain editor, New Statesman. Lead host, New Statesman Podcast (Publisher Podcast Award winner '21-24) & co-host Westminster Reimagined with Armando Iannucci.

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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 10h
Interesting report from Claremont - which the Reform council candidate running for election there is describing as the worst place in the country - by Steve Robson. A far cry from "Hope Again":
inews.co.uk
The seaside town Reform calls ‘the worst in the UK’ – which could still back Farage
Reform candidate Mark Butcher said Claremont, which includes a large part of Blackpool town centre, is ‘the worst ward in the whole country’ – but support for his party is growing in the area
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 11h
Fascinating interview by @tommctague.bsky.social with Shabana Mahmood - particularly as she reflects on the kind of dark humour in the conversations her family and community are having about their future: youtu.be/roEkSqEY4Io?...
youtu.be
Shabana Mahmood interview with Tom McTague | Labour Conference 2026 | The New Statesman
YouTube video by The New Statesman
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 11h
This is now out of the paywall and free-to-read!
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 12h
Latest @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @pronouncedalva.bsky.social, @ethangcroft.bsky.social and my on-the-whistle take on Andy Burnham's policy-packed speech to Labour conference:
shows.acast.com
Burnham delivers packed conference speech | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 12h
“I expect the next general election will be a Labour-Tory fight.” My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on how Labour navigates multi-party politics, and warnings of “complacency” about the Reform threat, and tactical voting:
newstatesman.com
Labour doesn’t know who it’s fighting any more
Nigel Farage? The Tories? It’s anyone’s guess
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 16h
“We can’t be complacent at all just because this bar-chart exists that shows there are more people who are anti-Reform than pro-Reform.” My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on how Labour navigates multi-party politics, and warnings of “complacency” when it comes to Reform and tactical voting:
newstatesman.com
Labour doesn't know who it's fighting anymore
Nigel Farage? The Tories? It's anyone's guess
042
Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 15h
Great sketch from @willdunn.bsky.social as always, but I particularly enjoyed the observation that Healey looks like a butcher. He really, really does!
newstatesman.com
In Liverpool, the Labour Party hopes for hope
Why can't we just swerve between rage and indifference again?
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 16h
“We can’t be complacent at all just because this bar-chart exists that shows there are more people who are anti-Reform than pro-Reform.” My @newstatesman1913.bsky.social column on how Labour navigates multi-party politics, and warnings of “complacency” when it comes to Reform and tactical voting:
newstatesman.com
Labour doesn't know who it's fighting anymore
Nigel Farage? The Tories? It's anyone's guess
042
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"We're becoming complacent about Reform" My column for this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social on rumblings of Reform complacency and wishful thinking about tactical voting at Labour Party conference:
newstatesman.com
Labour doesn't know who it's fighting anymore
Nigel Farage? The Tories? It's anyone's guess
122
Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"We're becoming complacent about Reform" My column for this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social on rumblings of Reform complacency and wishful thinking about tactical voting at Labour Party conference:
newstatesman.com
Labour doesn't know who it's fighting anymore
Nigel Farage? The Tories? It's anyone's guess
122
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This by @anooshc.bsky.social should be required reading for anyone considering a new-build, and also every politician ever www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...
newstatesman.com
Britain’s new-build nightmare
How the dream of home ownership ran into the reality of an under-regulated market.
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Really enjoyed this chat with the brilliant @luketryl.bsky.social:
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
From fashion and football to protest and crime, the balaclava is becoming ubiquitous in Britain - my column for this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social:
newstatesman.com
The rise of balaclava Britain
How the surveillance state created the aesthetic of the 2020s
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“If I look back on myself in ten years’ time, or my kids were reading about what I’d done, that’s just not really what I would want them to see.” Great @pronouncedalva.bsky.social interview with a politely savage Darren Jones on the Starmer ousting:
newstatesman.com
Darren Jones: “I was asked whether I would call for Keir Starmer to resign”
The former cabinet minister on the dirty deals behind the No 10 takeover, and what Labour should do next
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
From fashion and football to protest and crime, the balaclava is becoming ubiquitous in Britain - my column for this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social:
newstatesman.com
The rise of balaclava Britain
How the surveillance state created the aesthetic of the 2020s
042
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My piece on government meekness in the face of rising vigilantism:
newstatesman.com
Danny Tommo’s battle for the Channel
The far-right agitator slashed a dinghy with a lifeboat crewmember still onboard
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megan kenyon @meganekenyon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Scoop: Outsourced workers on publicly owned TransPennine Express are to strike during Labour Party Conference in a move designed by the RMT Union to pressure Andy Burnham to fulfil the government’s promise to “end the era of outsourcing by default”. www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
newstatesman.com
Rail workers to strike during Labour conference
Outsourced workers on publicly owned TransPennine Express will stage a walk out
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My piece on government meekness in the face of rising vigilantism:
newstatesman.com
Danny Tommo’s battle for the Channel
The far-right agitator slashed a dinghy with a lifeboat crewmember still onboard
1126
Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Such a great profile of Kibo, and by association Harrow, by @niamhmcintyre.bsky.social, who beautifully captures the distinctness of outer west London: woodencity.substack.com/p/nobody-has...
woodencity.substack.com
“Nobody has ever repped Harrow like this”
A few pints with Kibo, the acclaimed HA3 rapper finding the myth in the mundanity of London’s outer suburbs. By Niamh McIntyre
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“I mean, the point about the bond markets, it holds – in that what I was saying was the country has left itself over-exposed.” Excellent profile of Andy Burnham by @tommctague.bsky.social and our cover story this week - revealing personal and political reflections on his first weeks in the job:
newstatesman.com
Andy Burnham seizes control
The Prime Minister on life, fate and his plan to make Britain believe again
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dancariad.bsky.social @dancariad.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
@anooshc.bsky.social catching up on the summer issue, please can I congratulate you on the coinage "blood and terroir" nationalism.
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Inspired by the success of Zohran Mamdani, one big idea that has gained some purchase on the left is "cost of living populism". @steveakehurst.bsky.social, @anooshc.bsky.social & @samalvis.bsky.social what that could (and shouldn't) mean. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Cost of Living Populism: A Discussion
Could ‘cost of living populism’ offer a way forward for the left? Chris Bick of IPPR sat down with Persuasion UK's Steve Akehurst, the New Statesman's Anoosh Chakelian, and IPPR's Sam Alvis to talk t...
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timnewton75.bsky.social @timnewton75.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
@katie0martin.ft.com @helenlewis.bsky.social @anooshc.bsky.social @pollymackenzie.bsky.social Big fan. Don’t give up. Don’t back down.
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Fascinating and fun on the bizarre saga of charter renewal by @barbaraspeed.bsky.social - no one should opine on the BBC's future without reading this must-read first!
theguardian.com
‘A completely unique opportunity’: the secretive process that will decide the BBC’s future
The long read: Every decade, the BBC’s continued existence must be secured through an elaborate multi-year negotiation with the government. But what does charter renewal actually involve – and will it...
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timnewton75.bsky.social @timnewton75.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I grew up in the ’80s, when DEI was just a kind of VOX and you often left your revulsion at Bernard Manning unsaid. Now my three girls can grow up listening to Katie Martin, Helen Lewis, Anoosh Chakelian, Polly Mackenzie and Marina Hyde. Articulate, funny, forensic. Real reasons to be cheerful!
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The New Statesman @newstatesman1913.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The violence in Portsmouth and the rise of vigilante Britain, by @anooshc.bsky.social
newstatesman.com
The violence in Portsmouth and the rise of vigilante Britain
This has become a country where men in balaclavas target lifeboat volunteers
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
When I visited a nearby village where the men had stopped off on the night before the Dover protest – parking their cars all over the main road and blocking spaces at the butcher and village hall – locals told me it had quickly become clear what they were planning to do.
newstatesman.com
The violence in Portsmouth and the rise of vigilante Britain
This has become a country where men in balaclavas target lifeboat volunteers
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
When I visited a nearby village where the men had stopped off on the night before the Dover protest – parking their cars all over the main road and blocking spaces at the butcher and village hall – locals told me it had quickly become clear what they were planning to do.
newstatesman.com
The violence in Portsmouth and the rise of vigilante Britain
This has become a country where men in balaclavas target lifeboat volunteers
0109
Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
More evidence for the "Woke Blue Labour" theory... (piece here: www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...)
ucl.ac.uk
UCL academic and Director of UCL Policy Lab appointed special advisor to the Prime Minister
Professor Marc Stears, Director, UCL Policy Lab and Pro-Provost for Policy Engagement, has been appointed as a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Andy Burhnam.
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
My column in the latest @newstatesman1913.bsky.social inside the search for Andy Burnham's missing metaphor:
newstatesman.com
Andy Burnham can't explain the economy
Forget "broken" – the economy is "on its arse"
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
My column in the latest @newstatesman1913.bsky.social inside the search for Andy Burnham's missing metaphor:
newstatesman.com
Andy Burnham can't explain the economy
Forget "broken" – the economy is "on its arse"
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megan kenyon @meganekenyon.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Loved listening to this v funny, v insightful pod in its new format “The Sketch” from my talented colleagues @willdunn.bsky.social and @anooshc.bsky.social Go listen!!! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Andy Burnham can’t explain the economy
Podcast Episode · The Politics Show · 5 September · 36min
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Magnus Ramage @magnusramage.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Enjoyed the new Sketch podcast from @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, feat. @anooshc.bsky.social and @willdunn.bsky.social (can't find a link to share). Laughed a lot at the toothbrush colonoscopy routine - not an obvious subject for political satire!
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Rob Baker @robnitm.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Very good pod I thought
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Latest @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @pronouncedalva.bsky.social, @tommctague.bsky.social and I discuss Holborn & St Pancras, Andy Burnham's Commons performances, the Tory reshuffle and look ahead to Reform UK's conference:
shows.acast.com
Burnham vs Badenoch: PMQs, round one | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This was a fun conversation - transcribed for the @ippr.org's Progressive Review here: bsky.app/profile/npjg...
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
2) Interesting example here - @anooshc.bsky.social argues centre-left politicians need to be much less squeamish about picking some fights on this stuff:
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"Cost of living populism" is having a moment. This is a really illuminating conversation in @ippr.org Progressive Review, with @steveakehurst.bsky.social, @anooshc.bsky.social and @samalvis.bsky.social. Few of the more interesting points: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Cost of Living Populism: A Discussion
Could ‘cost of living populism’ offer a way forward for the left? Chris Bick of IPPR sat down with Persuasion UK's Steve Akehurst, the New Statesman's Anoosh Chakelian, and IPPR's Sam Alvis to talk t...
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
My recent column on my first ever encounter with Keir Starmer - as a candidate for Holborn & St Pancras - and very aware of the Green challenge even back then:
newstatesman.com
Labour's Reform defectors are never coming back
After years of neglecting progressives, the party must learn there is no such thing as a “hero voter”.
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
NEW @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @willdunn.bsky.social is back - and we discuss unauthorised parties, stockpiling, Andy Burnham's jam session, as well as Will's very strong opinions on papal menswear. Listen here!
shows.acast.com
The investigation into “Farage Fest” | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
My recent column on my first ever encounter with Keir Starmer - as a candidate for Holborn & St Pancras - and very aware of the Green challenge even back then:
newstatesman.com
Labour's Reform defectors are never coming back
After years of neglecting progressives, the party must learn there is no such thing as a “hero voter”.
051
Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Lovely piece by @rmcunliffe.bsky.social on Hounslow and how one council is making a virtue of the mattress-strewn wasteland issue:
newstatesman.com
In Hounslow, they are letting a hundred flowers bloom
In the most unpromising urban environments, local councils are protecting nature for a new generation
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
NEW @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @willdunn.bsky.social is back - and we discuss unauthorised parties, stockpiling, Andy Burnham's jam session, as well as Will's very strong opinions on papal menswear. Listen here!
shows.acast.com
The investigation into “Farage Fest” | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
New @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @pronouncedalva.bsky.social, @meganekenyon.bsky.social and I discuss the Greens as Zack Polanski's one year anniversary as leader approaches:
shows.acast.com
Zack Polanski's honeymoon is over | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
New @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @pronouncedalva.bsky.social, @meganekenyon.bsky.social and I discuss the Greens as Zack Polanski's one year anniversary as leader approaches:
shows.acast.com
Zack Polanski's honeymoon is over | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Amazing interview with Heston Blumenthal in our summer issue - by top interviewer Kate Mossman: www.newstatesman.com/culture/food...
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"The UK really does have less state than it did" - and no, spending more as a share of GDP on certain things doesn't change that. Another banging column by Stephen:
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
New @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @pronouncedalva.bsky.social and I on Andy Burnham's North Sea drilling dilemma:
shows.acast.com
How will Burnham navigate the North Sea? | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
New @newstatesman1913.bsky.social pod! @pronouncedalva.bsky.social and I on Andy Burnham's North Sea drilling dilemma:
shows.acast.com
How will Burnham navigate the North Sea? | The Politics Show
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Curious, sensitive, funny - masterful profile writing here from @ethangcroft.bsky.social:
newstatesman.com
Steve Bray is ready to move on
He couldn’t stop Brexit and Brexit couldn’t stop him. Now he’s getting his life back
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