Arguably Newsletter
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Arguably starts from a simple belief: that ideas are the lifeblood of politics. In an age of permanent crisis they matter more than ever. Confronted by economic stagnation, a crumbling global order and an ascendant far right, progressives need an intellectual project that is equal to this moment. Our challenges will only be solved through sustained inquiry and a free and open battle of ideas. Through our editorials, columns and interviews we aim to offer a routemap for Britain’s renewal.
Arguably was co-founded by George Eaton, who recently left the New Statesman after 17 years, and Cam Vargas. Our regular columnists include contributing editor Ben Judah, a former Foreign Office and Ministry of Justice special adviser and author of This is Europe and This is London, David Lawrence, co-founder of the Centre for British Progress, Martha Dacombe, tech and AI commentator, Renie Anjeh, writer and researcher, and Zoë Grünewald, political journalist and broadcaster. Source
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| Scope | Local |
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| Language | English |
| Country | United Kingdom |
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Recent Articles
Search ArticlesBurnham’s revolution depends on growth
Become a paid subscriber today to receive an invite to the next Arguably drinks in Westminster on Thursday 29 October, when George Eaton, David Lawrence and Martha Dacombe will discuss the Burnham government’s first Budget.
The speech Andy Burnham should give
(Simon Dawson /No 10 Downing Street) This will be the first Labour Party conference in five years where I do not have a degree of agency over what the leader will say. To which I can only say: good! In fact, to paraphrase Sir Steve Redgrave, anyone who sees me skulking around a Liverpool rehearsal suite now has permission to shoot me. Still, like any Labour member, there are things I want to see on Tuesday. And chief among them is the hope that Andy Burnham chooses the right cause.
Collective stupidity is a security threat
(Margarita Young/Shutterstock) The announcement this week by Andy Burnham of a new National Centre for Information Defence (NCID) marks an important change in how we think about security and a potentially radical shift towards what I call ‘cognitive rearmament’. The background to this shift is a dawning realisation that cognitive security can’t be taken for granted. Most would agree that happy and healthy societies depend on people who can think for themselves. Workers who can solve problems.
Burnham should call a Europe election
Become a paid subscriber today to receive an invite to the next Arguably drinks in Westminster on Thursday 29 October, when George Eaton, David Lawrence and Martha Dacombe will discuss the Burnham government’s first Budget. Andy Burnham delivering his first speech as Prime Minister on 20 July. (Fred Duval/Shutterstock) Only the most churlish Starmerite would deny that Andy Burnham’s No 10 operation has got off to a flying start.
Why Burnham needs a ‘DOGE on tax’
Chancellor John Healey speaks as Andy Burnham hosts his first weekly cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, 2026. Photo: Lauren Hurley. CC. Announcing his 1988 Budget, Chancellor Nigel Lawson said that “while tax reform is a simple matter for the armchair critic, it is very much more difficult in practice. It is difficult technically and difficult politically — since any tax system, however it arose, creates powerful vested interests in favour of the status quo.” He wasn’t wrong.
Britain can’t ban its way to AI power
UK Government hosts AI Summit at Bletchley Park, 2023. Picture by Kirsty O’Connor / No 10 Downing Street. CC. The long-expected news came last week. The FT reported that the UK’s AI Security Institute (AISI) had not been offered access to Anthropic’s latest large language model (LLM), Claude Mythos 5.1. For the institute, widely lauded as a successful UK initiative and described internally as “a start-up in the government”, this was a humbling moment.
Fiscal hawks of the left, unite
(Muzahid Karim/Shutterstock) In 1981, a socialist leader was elected promising public control of industry, higher wealth taxes and a “complete rupture” with capitalism. François Mitterrand is now a curiously neglected figure – given that he ruled France for 14 years – but as Andy Burnham vows to end “40 years of neoliberalism”, Mitterrand’s fate feels once more instructive.
Labour shouldn’t undo Gove’s success
Today on Arguably, Daisy Christodoulou, the author of Seven Myths about Education, writes on the lessons Labour should draw from England’s recent school success. Former education secretary Michael Gove (ITS/Shutterstock) Every three years, the OECD publishes the results of its PISA assessments – a worldwide study of how well 15-year-olds do in reading, maths and science. Last week, the results of PISA 2025 were published and were among the most dramatic on record.
The techlash is all about timelines
EMPORIA, KANSAS, US - JUNE 23, 2026: No Data Center protestors inside the Civic Auditorium during the town hall meeting (Shutterstock). Everyone seemed to write essays this summer. Tony Blair, Andy Burnham and, of course, Mark Zuckerberg. In “The Future is for Everyone”, Zuckerberg claimed that the world of superintelligence would not only consist of existential risk and threats to jobs and people alike, but, ultimately, opportunities for all to revel in the fruits of technology.
James Marriott: Can democracy survive without reading?
Reading Room, Suzzallo Library, University of Washington, (CC. Curtis Cronn). Today’s edition of Arguably features an in-depth interview with Times columnist James Marriott on his new book, The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society. James and George Eaton discuss AI’s effect on universities, the legacy of TV on literacy, Andy Burnham’s English degree and whether the decline of reading threatens liberal democracy itself.