The Saturday Read: Aftermath
What comes after the historic election results?
Good morning. Welcome to the Saturday Read. Here is the best of the New Statesman to read this weekend. You can follow the results of the local, Scottish and Welsh elections on our live map.
1—All eyes on Angela Rayner
Ailbhe Rea asks if Rayner will go over the top and challenge Keir Starmer.
And also in reaction to the results, we have:
A tracker of the Labour MPs calling for Keir Starmer to go
Anoosh Chakelian on a potential opening for Labour
Stella Creasy on the path to recovery
Jonathan Rutherford on whether this is the end for Labour
Megan Kenyon on the Green wave
Rachel Cunliffe on the Lib Dems’ stealth campaign
Owain Williams on Plaid Cymru in Wales
Keep an eye on the site across the weekend for more.
2—”Paging Prime Minister Farage”
Andrew Marr imagines life under a Reform government.
3—“Britain is still breaking up”
As the results come in from Scotland and Wales, read Alex Niven on the future of the union.
4—“The case for Manchesterism”
Matthew Lawrence argues that a courageous Labour party could truly reshape Britain.
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5—“David Attenborough’s natural habitats”
Our most nationally treasured national treasure turns 100.
6—“Democrats need Hasan Piker”
Freddie Hayward explains why no party can afford to ignore the new media.
7—“Miranda Priestly is still my hero”
Hollywood female leads expressing a preference for work over children still feels a little transgressive, writes Susie Goldsborough.
8—“Vladimir Putin’s nightmares have come true”
How Russia’s leader created the world he always feared.
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Keep an eye on the site across the weekend for more news about and reaction to the results. Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend.
— Tom
















The attempts to keep Andy Burnham out of Parliament now look more counterproductive than ever.
Starmer needs a face saving way out which would spare Labour a needless internal conflict which would only make things worse.
Constitutional reform often comes up and Sir Keir may be a good choice to lead a parliamentary commission tasked with it. While Labour still has a majority, it should put it to good use.