The New Statesman magazine is introducing new columnists to its stable and giving the magazine and website a new look and feel.

It will also have a greater focus on photography with the appointment of the New Statesman’s first ever picture editor.

New columnists include the novelist Will Self on strange social phenomena and high street food; the comedian Mark Watson on ethical dilemmas; David Blanchflower on economics; Phillip ‘Red Toryism’ Blond on political ideas.

Blanchflower is a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, and professor of economics at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.

John Gray has been appointed lead book reviewer. Mehdi Hasan is now senior editor (politics) and will be its polemicist, in print and online.

Michael Hodges will write a weekly column on class; historian Dominic Sandbrook will explore counterfactual history; and the writer/activists Mark Lynas, Sophie Elmhirst and Bibi van der Zee will write columns on green issues, the environment and direct action.

They join the established team of columnists: John Pilger (World Citizen), James Macintyre (Politics), Peter Wilby (First Thoughts), Hunter Davies (The Fan), Nicholas Lezard (Down and Out in London), Gideon Donald (Preparing for Power), Ryan Gilbey (film), Rachel Cooke (television), Antonia Quirke (radio), Jude Rogers (pop music), Andrew Billen (theatre) and Leo Robson (fiction).

Rebecca McClelland has been appointed as picture editor. She joins from Wallpaper magazine and was previously picture director with the Sunday Times and ES magazines.

Jason Cowley, editor, says:

We are independent of all political parties and beholden to no one individual or group. But we will continue to campaign for fairness and greater equality, to challenge and provoke as well as amuse and entertain. We shall remain at the forefront of political commentary and analysis; on the staff we have the best two young political journalists in Britain, Mehdi Hasan and James Macintyre.
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We are, also, in the process of a major expansion of our online operation. Newstatesman.com has been stylishly redesigned and we have launched our popular blogs, Free Speech. Over the next few months, we will be rolling out a series of exciting digital projects which will utterly transform our online presence as the New Statesman seeks to become the world’s leading progressive voice.

A press release stated it will, “remain left-of-centre in politics and true to its radical heritage, but will be more nuanced in tone, more plural and sceptical.”

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