After nailing his colours to the mast at the Labour Conference, Andy Burnham has ended the political theatre of reality-denial, grounding politics in the issues of livelihood, argues Anthony Barnett

openDemocracy found its purpose in the need to make sense of the world after the collapse of the twin towers. Revisit our reportage from the time.

In March 1965, Time magazine reported that, “Great Britain has become a hotbed of new sculptors, with three museum shows in London currently devoted to their renaissance.” It opened the article with a

The Prime Minister has just opened the door to a radical change to how we are governed, writes Anthony Barnett. Will he now walk through it?

The Prime Minister has just opened the door to a radical change to how we are governed, writes Anthony Barnett. Will he now walk through it?

Two weeks ago our coordinators shared an enjoyable report on Europe for Scotland’s pioneering event in the European Parliament. It comes at a significant time for Britain, as the world too changes fast and furiously. We need to re-assess. There are

How the Psion founder and tech titan combined scientific brilliance with fearless philanthropy to champion public good

No more Mr Nice Guy? This is the question that confronts Andy Burnham on the threshold of his premiership, a threshold that now leads to an open door following Keir Starmer’s resignation. It is person

Anthony Barnett is a campaigner and author. In 1988, in the pages of the New Statesman, he helped found the pressure group Charter 88, advocating for constitutional reform. Several of its demands – in

Soundings archive

A fundamental break from the old regime is required – it can only come from the outside but must command credibility and popular assent argues Anthony Barnett

A fundamental break from the old regime is required – it can only come from the outside but must command credibility and popular assent

From calling for Tony Blair to be tried, to defending Gaza, Geoffrey always fought for everyone to have the rights they deserved

A hundred years ago, two women were born just six months apart. Together they shaped Britain: Mrs Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth. We are now living in the aftermath of their joint legacy. They didn’t cl

Congressional Democrats should demand that he retract his grotesque claims or resign.

Simply insisting people vote in elections run by a system they rightly distrust will not improve British politics

Great Britain’s largest constituent is a nation lost within a multinational state.

Both Trump and Harris are products of 1960s American politics – and that matters for what they stand for

We Are All Palestinians My entire political lifetime has been accompanied by a deep political myth. That the sheer inhumanity of the Holocaust that annihilated six million Jews means that, at a fundamental level, they represent humanity itself. For…

As William Morgan was being arrested in Liverpool during the riots this August, he can be heard on a police bodycam exclaiming “I’m English, I’m English”. It has the force of outrage, as if it meant they were handcuffing the wrong person – but also…