Jonathan Freedland
Verified- Columnist, The Guardian
- Presenter, BBC
- Co-Host, The Guardian UK: Politics Weekly Podcast
- Host, Politics Weekly America
London
Guardian columnist. Presenter: BBC R4's The Long View, the Guardian's Politics Weekly America and Unholy with @leviyonit. Author: THE TRAITORS CIRCLE Sept 2025
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Articles by Jonathan Freedland
The ghosts of Downing Street past may have some advice for Andy Burnham
The first piece of unsolicited advice I would offer to Britain's incoming prime minister is: don't take unsolicited advice. Don't be one of those leaders who's swayed by the last person in their ear. That's what they used to say about Boris Johnson, that he was a cushion that bore the imprint of the last person who sat on him. Instead, Andy Burnham should study closely the experience of Johnson and the rest of his recent predecessors – and, let's face it, there's plenty of them.
The ghosts of Downing Street past may have some advice for Andy Burnham
Photographs of previous prime ministers at No 10 Downing Street, London. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images The first piece of unsolicited advice I would offer to Britain’s incoming prime minister is: don’t take unsolicited advice. Don’t be one of those leaders who’s swayed by the last person in their ear. That’s what they used to say about Boris Johnson, that he was a cushion that bore the imprint of the last person who sat on him.
I used to revere the great experiment that is the United States. After Trump, I'm not so sure
America's big birthday has come at a bad time. On Saturday it will be a divided nation that marks 250 years since 13 North American colonies declared their independence from the Great Britain of George III. Many will be anxious that the republic they established that day is fragile – not least because of the would-be emperor in the White House. Some will console themselves that hope and angst have always been intertwined in the American story.
I used to revere the great experiment that is the United States. After Trump, I’m not so sure
The US Department of Labor building, Washington DC, 3 July 2026. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images America’s big birthday has come at a bad time. On Saturday it will be a divided nation that marks 250 years since 13 North American colonies declared their independence from the Great Britain of George III. Many will be anxious that the republic they established that day is fragile – not least because of the would-be emperor in the White House.
Climate sceptics cheering as they melt in record temperatures? This heatwave is where satire has come to die
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Climate sceptics cheering as they melt in record temperatures? This heatwave is where satire has come to die
People walk across the Millennium Bridge in London on Thursday as record June temperatures hit the UK. Photograph: Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/Shutterstock It was hardly a perfect film, but I keep thinking of Don’t Look Up. In its depiction of a world that stubbornly refuses to heed the warnings of an imminent planetary disaster, it was perhaps too on the nose. But these days, reality itself is too on the nose. This week served up ample evidence, on both sides of the Atlantic.
The rise and fall of Keir Starmer: where did it all go wrong?
Historians will puzzle over this one. Of the six prime ministers that have led Britain over the last decade, with a seventh now on the way, it will be the fall of Keir Starmer that will most perplex the political analysts of the future. They will ponder a man who won a landslide victory in July 2024 only to be pushed out less than two years later, having started no illegal wars, having triggered no grave economic crises, having been accused of no scandalous act of corruption.
Britain is a swamp of lies and disinformation – and we got here on the Brexit bus
When the anniversary comes, later this month, few will be in the mood to look back. All the political talk will be of the Makerfield byelection, of the future of this government and this prime minister. And yet, it would be wise to reflect on what happened on 23 June 2016 – if only because the choices Keir Starmer and his would-be successors face, indeed the entire political and cultural landscape we now inhabit, are informed or were shaped by that event. We are living in Brexit Britain.
Tony Blair says he is all about the future – but his vision is woefully stuck in the past
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Tony Blair says he is all about the future – but his vision is woefully stuck in the past
‘His view has not shifted from the one he held with such calamitous consequences a quarter-century ago’. Tony Blair in March 2006. Photograph: PA Give the man credit. Tony Blair has achieved a goal that even a week ago seemed impossible, and which he scarcely managed in office: he has brought the Labour party together in sweet, harmonious unity.
Arsenal’s title win should be studied by politicians everywhere – and especially Keir Starmer. Here’s why
‘The impromptu crowd that assembled was made up of all those diverse communities, and generations, said to be at each other’s throats.’ Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Obviously, I know that politics and football are different. One is a high-stakes endeavour that affects the lives of hundreds of millions of people, with an impact felt around the globe and down the generations – and the other is politics.
Arsenal's title win should be studied by politicians everywhere – and especially Keir Starmer. Here's why
Obviously, I know that politics and football are different. One is a high-stakes endeavour that affects the lives of hundreds of millions of people, with an impact felt around the globe and down the generations – and the other is politics. I know too that there will be plenty of readers who will be like I was until nearly a couple of decades ago: cheerfully indifferent to the beautiful game, even after a week like this one, when the top prize in English football was won.
‘An orgy of antisemitism is overtaking the west’: Son of Saul’s László Nemes on Hollywood hypocrisy
We’ve been talking for less than five minutes when I spot the swastika. It’s just above the head of László Nemes, one of Europe’s most acclaimed directors, as he sits in the suite of a London hotel, talking about Orphan, his intensely personal new film that dwells on – among other things – the impact of the Holocaust on the generations that followed. It’s an ancient, Hindu swastika, part of a decorative wall-hanging – but still. I’m halfway through a question when I notice it.
No more chancers or failures – the coming contest must produce a British PM worthy of the name
Keir Starmer walks up the staircase of 10 Downing Street in 2024, with portraits of previous prime ministers on the walls. Photograph: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street They’re looking like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.
Is Britain doing enough to fight antisemitism?
04 May 2026 Der Standard (AT) Der Standard Country of media outlet Austria Language of media outlet German Type of media outlet Daily newspaper Frequency of publication Monday to Saturday Area of distribution Nationwide Political orientation Centre-left Circulation 66,000 (2023) Visits 20.000.000 – 30.000.000 Publisher Standard Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H / Oscar Bronner Online payment model All content for free The Independent (GB) The Independent Country of media outlet United Kingdom...
A British minority faces a murderous threat on our streets. Where are the so-called anti-racists?
A member of private security group CST, a charity dedicated to protecting the Jewish community, on patrol in Golders Green, London, 1 May 2026. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock For me, it’s mostly sadness. Among others, the overriding emotion is fear. For some, it’s anger. It was certainly anger that was most vividly on display in Golders Green after the stabbing on Wednesday of two men, both Jews, in the broad daylight of a spring day – much of that fury directed at the government.
A British minority faces a murderous threat on our streets. Where are the so-called anti-racists?
For me, it’s mostly sadness. Among others, the overriding emotion is fear. For some, it’s anger. It was certainly anger that was most vividly on display in Golders Green after the stabbing on Wednesday of two men, both Jews, in the broad daylight of a spring day – much of that fury directed at the government. When the prime minister came to visit, they shouted: “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer.” I understand that fury, even if I think it’s aimed at the wrong address.
It’s no surprise Trump has met his match in Pope Leo – the US president represents the polar opposite of Christianity
Pope Leo XIV leads the mass in the Malabo Stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on 23 April 2026. Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA It’s no accident that the figure emerging as the global challenger to the might of Donald Trump is a priest in white, known as Pope Leo XIV. In recent weeks, the pope has issued a string of barely coded denunciations of the US president, unfazed by the insults that have come his way in return.
After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one?
Keir Starmer at a summit in Paris on how to resume shipping in the strait of Hormuz on Friday. Photograph: Tom Nicholson/PA Keir Starmer is dull and managerial, they said. He’s a process-obsessed technocrat, they said.
After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn't he supposed to be one?
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Netanyahu-ism has achieved nothing for Israelis – and come at a monstrously high price
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on 19 March. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/AFP/Getty Images It is a record of abject failure. I am not speaking of Donald Trump, though I could be. Instead, I am talking about his partner in this terrible war. Naturally, Trump has been the star of the show.
Netanyahu-ism has achieved nothing for Israelis – and come at a monstrously high price
Jonathan Freedland It is a record of abject failure. I am not speaking of Donald Trump, though I could be. Instead, I am talking about his partner in this terrible war. Naturally, Trump has been the star of the show.
An irresistible adventure activity for New Zealand visitors? Delivering the mail by boat
‘Six days a week, the mailboat leaves from Picton, the skipper doubling as postman for the three- or four-hour voyage.’Photograph: Matt Croad (Photograph: Matt Croad) For a travel destination famous for offering the adrenaline rush of extreme sports, from bungee jumping to the parachute drop, it’s an unlikely tourist activity – but an irresistible one. If you’re travelling in New Zealand, don’t miss out on the chance to deliver the mail. By boat.
The most beautiful coast in the world? Exploring New Zealand’s overlooked Nelson Tasman by sand and sea
The turquoise water and golden sand of Awaroa Bay in Abel Tasman national park, New Zealand.Photograph: Nelson Tasman The visitor to New Zealand’s South Island knows what they have to see. There’s a well-trodden circuit. Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook, to gaze at the stars. Queenstown, for a spot of daredevil adventure. The glaciers, Fox and Franz Josef. And then down to Milford Sound, for the fjord, cliffs and waterfalls.
Big tech has taken two body blows in the courtroom
By Jonathan Freedland / The Guardian Good news is so rare these days, you do not quite know how to take it. You want to celebrate, but a rival instinct tells you it would be pulled back somehow, the same feeling you get when your team scores a late winner, but you are filled with instant dread that the goal could be overturned on a video replay.
At last, David has landed a double punch on the tech Goliaths. Now to hit them even harder
Good news is so rare these days, you don't quite know how to take it. You want to celebrate, but a rival instinct tells you it'll be pulled back somehow, the same feeling you get when your team scores a late winner, but you're filled with instant dread that the goal will be overturned on a video replay.
At last, David has landed a double punch on the tech Goliaths. Now to hit them even harder
Campaigners celebrate outside the Los Angeles superior court on 25 March 2026. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images Good news is so rare these days, you don’t quite know how to take it. You want to celebrate, but a rival instinct tells you it’ll be pulled back somehow, the same feeling you get when your team scores a late winner, but you’re filled with instant dread that the goal will be overturned on a video replay.
Attacks on synagogues and Jewish shops in the UK, Europe and the US don’t hurt Netanyahu. They just hurt ordinary Jews
Members of the Jewish community after an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, December 2025. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA By way of evidence, she cited the name of the synagogue – Temple Israel – apparently unaware that Jews have referred to themselves as “the people of Israel” for millennia, long before there was a state of that name, and that there are, for that reason, countless synagogues in the US called Temple Israel.
Even taking Trump’s confused reasons for the Iran war at face value, it’s still a total disaster
A picture of Donald Trump is burned during a protest against Israel and the US in Istanbul on 13 March 2026. Photograph: Francisco Seco/AP It’s not easy, but let’s try to look at this war in the best, most charitable light. Let’s try to see the US-Israel conflict with Iran as its prosecutors and advocates would want us to see it. They would say that it has two aims, both legitimate. The first is to weaken if not remove a regime that has done terrible evil to its own people.
‘Trump’s not enough. And he knows he’s not enough’: California governor Gavin Newsom on populism, ‘purity tests’ and whether he’ll run for the presidency
Jonathan Freedland Sat, February 28, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. UTC 22 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Portraits: David Vintiner/The Guardian. Set styling: Lee Flude.
Trump, Musk and now UK billionaire Jim Ratcliffe – they are the enablers, making racists feel great again
Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Wolverhampton, 8 December 2025. Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images It lacks the elegance of “greed is good”, but as a distillation of the spirit of the age, it’s right up there. “I feel liberated,” a top banker told the Financial Times shortly after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election. “We can say ‘retard’ and ‘pussy’ without the fear of getting cancelled … it’s a new dawn.” So that’s what they meant by “vibe shift”.
Gordon Brown by James Macintyre review – a very different kind of politician
For a while, during the 13 years when Gordon Brown was at the apex of British politics, it became fashionable, and then a cliche, to depict him as a Shakespearean protagonist. He was the Scot who would be king, consumed by vaulting ambition for the throne, or else the powerful man of action, devoured by envy of his onetime friend.
Gordon Brown by James Macintyre review - a very different kind of politician
Gordon Brown at the 2009 Labour party conference.Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images (Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images) For a while, during the 13 years when Gordon Brown was at the apex of British politics, it became fashionable, and then a cliche, to depict him as a Shakespearean protagonist. He was the Scot who would be king, consumed by vaulting ambition for the throne, or else the powerful man of action, devoured by envy of his onetime friend.
There’s one argument Starmer could make to save his skin – but he won’t dare do it
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There’s one argument Starmer could make to save his skin – but he won’t dare do it
Peter Mandelson and Keir Starmer at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington DC, 26 February 2025. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images Everything Donald Trump touches dies. He put his name on the Kennedy Center in Washington, prompting artists and performers to flee in such numbers that the venue will now shut down for “approximately” two years.
It is beyond naive for Democrats – and Europe – to think Trump’s retreats are real. He never backs down for long
Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the White House on 27 January 2026. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/UPI/Shutterstock Don’t be fooled. When it comes to Donald Trump, what might look like a full retreat is almost always a mere tactical withdrawal, designed to buy time. He’ll step back when he’s forced to, under pressure, but will then revert the instant the pressure lets up.
As the world finally punches back, was this the week Donald Trump went too far?
The temptation is strong to hope that the storm has passed. To believe that a week that began with a US threat to seize a European territory, whether by force or extortion, has ended with the promise of negotiation and therefore a return to normality. But that is a dangerous delusion. There can be no return to normality. The world we thought we knew has gone.
Don't look away as the people of Iran cry out for our help
Did you notice history being made this week? I am not referring to what may have been the most pathetic moment in recorded time – Donald Trump gratefully taking the Nobel peace prize medal from the woman who actually won it – nor the defection of a politician from one British rightwing party to another, but something grimmer. For this week witnessed what could well prove to be a landmark chapter in the blood-soaked history of the Middle East.
From Caracas to Minneapolis, the threat is the same – an American president ruling like a global emperor
For a serial liar, Donald Trump can be bracingly honest. We've known about the mendacity for years – consider the 30,573 documented falsehoods from the president's first term, culminating in the big lie, his claim to have won the 2020 election – but the examples of bracing candour are fresher. This week both began and ended with the US president speaking the shocking truth.
From Donald Trump to Benjamin Netanyahu, let 2026 be a year of reckoning
It's not quite a new year resolution, and it's certainly not a prediction. Think of it instead as a hope or even a plea for the next 12 months. May the coming year see those leaders who have done so much damage to their own countries, and far beyond, at last be called to account. Let 2026 be a year of reckoning. Start with the man whose reach is longest, by dint of the mighty power he wields.
‘The sight of it is still shocking’: 46 photos that tell the story of the century so far
At the turn of the century there was a modest debate, mainly conducted on the letters pages of the newspapers – back then, still the prime forum for public discussion – as to when, exactly, the new millennium and the 21st century began. Most assumed the start date was 1 January 2000, but dissenters, swiftly branded pedants, insisted the correct date came a year later. As it turned out, both were wrong.
The End of Jewish Dreams: Australia No Longer a Haven
The Jewish Independent acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and strive to honour their rich history of storytelling in our work and mission. Enter site Mourners look at flowers laid next to the beach in memory of victims of a shooting at Bondi Beach on December 21, 2025.
At the dark end of a brutal year, I'm grateful to these heroes for showing us the light
Some traditions are getting harder to maintain. Among them, my own custom of devoting the last column before Christmas to reasons to be hopeful. In recent years, amid war and bloodshed, that task has been especially challenging – and this week was no exception. It began with the news from Bondi beach, where 15 people were gunned down and dozens more injured, most of them Jews celebrating the festival of Hanukah.
At the dark end of a brutal year, I’m grateful to these heroes for showing us the light
Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral is illuminated with a menorah during a light show on 19 December 2025, in tribute to victims of the Bondi attack. Photograph: Audrey Richardson/Getty Images Some traditions are getting harder to maintain. Among them, my own custom of devoting the last column before Christmas to reasons to be hopeful. In recent years, amid war and bloodshed, that task has been especially challenging – and this week was no exception.
Donald Trump Is Pursuing Regime Change - in Europe
The US made it clear this week that it plans to help the parties of the European far right gain power. Keir Starmer and his fellow leaders have to face this new reality When are we going to get the message? I joked a few months back that, when it comes to Donald Trump, Europe needs to learn from Sex and the City’s Miranda Hobbes and realise that “He’s just not that into you”. After this past week, it’s clear that understates the problem.
Donald Trump is pursuing regime change – in Europe
Jonathan Freedland When are we going to get the message? I joked a few months back that, when it comes to Donald Trump, Europe needs to learn from Sex and the City's Miranda Hobbes and realise that “ He's just not that into you ”. After this past week, it's clear that understates the problem. Trump's America is not merely indifferent to Europe – it's positively hostile to it. That has enormous implications for the continent and for Britain, which too many of our leaders still refuse to face.
The Trump administration sinks to a new low – opening fire on drowning men
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The Trump administration sinks to a new low – opening fire on drowning men
People protest against the US military's deployment and targeting of suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, Tampa, Florida, 16 November 2025. Photograph: Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock The Trump administration looks ever more like a criminal enterprise – and now it seems to have added war crimes to its repertoire. Though even that may be too generous a description.
Antisemitism allegations against the teenage Farage matter – look at what he went on to do
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Antisemitism allegations against the teenage Farage matter – look at what he went on to do
Nigel Farage being interviewed at the Reform UK rally at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, 24 November 2025. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Nigel Farage could have strangled this story at birth.
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