The New Statesman Debate | This house believes that Britain’s best days are behind it

There is in Britain today a widespread mood of public despair, a deep premonition of imminent national decline. According to Ipsos, just over half of Britons feel worse off since Keir Starmer was elected. Going further back, 60% feel the country has gone backwards since 2022. Both right and left have been appealing to an idealised past – before the Tories wrecked Britain, say Labour and Reform, or before New Labour did, says the right generally. At the same time, both left and right have been trying to imagine radical solutions for Britain’s ills, from the Anglo-Futurism of the right, to the radical utopianism of the left. It seems the political landscape could be remapped, not in terms of left and right, but of optimists and pessimists. Should we brace ourselves for a future in which things just keep getting worse, or should we embrace the possibility of genuine progress?

Revisit our lively politically-minded debate, featuring Pratinav Anil, Rachel Clarke, Tanjil Rashid, John Kampfner, Gary Stevenson, Polly Toynbee, chaired by Anoosh Chakelian, to decide where you sit on this issue.