New Statesman (1996)

Gerhard Richter: Panorama Tate Modern, London SEI In the mid-ig6os, a few years after he had smuggled himself and his young wife out of East Germany and into the west, Gerhard Richter wrote a note in his diary: "I like everything that has no...

Hook, Line and Singer Radio 4 A nice, one-off documentary about angling was presented by the singer and DJ Cerys Matthews (12 October, 11am). Followers of her Sunday-morning show on 6 Music would immediately recognise the tone: polite, enthusiastic,...

Both David Cameron and Ed Miliband continue to believe that elections are won from the centre ground. Miliband insists that he does not need to move the centre to the left - the centre has moved itself But where do voters place the parties on the political...

With the refusal of New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie, to join the fray and the Texas governor. Rick Perry, imploding in slow motion, Mitt Romney is odds-on favourite to win the Republican presidential nomination and face off against Barack Obama...

Watching the drama engulfing Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, I am reminded of my late father. He had little patience with theatre - or TV drama - and would say: "If everybody told the truth from the start, there wouldn't be any play." Fox may not...

Cut VAT back to 17.5 per cent Christopher Pissarides Dear Chancellor, The advanced economies of the world are not yet out of recession. As you know, this recession is different from previous ones. It was caused by financial failures. These...

Graphics by Henrik Pettersson When George Osborne unveiled his deficit-reduction plan in June 2010, he claimed not only that it would reduce government borrowing, but that it would increase growth. An adherent of the theory of "expansionary fiscal...

Literary theory looms large in your new novel, The Marriage Plot. Would you say that being put through the theory machine is the defining experience for American writers of your generation? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I think it probably is. Theory...

Those who seek to win easy votes by legislating to protect children from pornography often fail to envisage the creativity of kids looking to get their hands on any smut at all. When I was in Year 8, if you went to a certain field behind the school...

What would be the fastest way of decarbonising the economy by 2030? There is no silver bullet. There is huge uncertainty about the future and about new technologies, so the best way would be to use a portfolio. Renewables, nuclear power, carbon...

Kick-starting growth The "low-carbon economy" has become one of the most repeated buzzwords in the debate about climate change - the ultimate goal of any policymaker. In basic terms, it's an economy that minimises its output of damaging greenhouse...

If ever a group of people knew how to undermine years of hard PR graft by displaying their self-doubt, it's those who want to bring us a new batch of nuclear power plants. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) had planned to run a...

I am 15 minutes late to interview Michael Wil-shaw, principal of Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney, east London, a school famed for its excellent results and strong discipline. This kind of behaviour would get a student in trouble. "People...

Frieze, the annual international contemporary art fair directed by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, founders of the magazine of the same name, takes place in London from 13-16 October. Occupying its usual temporary headquarters in Regent's Park,...

Perhaps the strongest indication that change may at last be under way in Burma came on 19 August. It was not Aung San Suu Kyi's meeting with President Thein Sein, though that was surprising enough. What made jaws drop was what followed: dinner for...

1. Africa I The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, met with Zimbabwean church leaders and President Robert Mugabe in Harare to discuss the persecution of Anglicans in the country, on 10 October. Williams presented a dossier outlining alleged...

Steve Hilton is becoming the Bore of Britain, acquiring a wearisome reputation in Downing Street, where staffers work in fear of the Thatcher-on-a-bike guru encountering a "real" person. The otherworldly Hilton doesn't mix much, so he sounds as if...