The New Statesman is a British weekly periodical representing the political and social views of the left as a counterbalance to the long-established right-wing Spectator (1828-). It was founded in 1913 by members of the Fabian Society, notably Sidney and Beatrice Webb and George Bernard Shaw. Its first editor was Clifford Sharp, although during his absence on military service in 1917-1918 John Collings Squire became its acting editor. Its influence increased during the post-war years, and when Kingsley Martin became editor in 1931 it merged with two competitors, The Athenaeum and The Nation, to become known until 1957 as The New Statesman and Nation . By 1945 its weekly circulation reached 70,000, and in its heyday in the mid 1960s circulation exceeded 90,000, so that it was indisputably the leading voice in British political commentary. The periodical has always had a significant literary content and interest in addition to its social and political emphasis, so that many prominent literary figures have over the years become associated with it in its correspondence columns, book reviews, and published poetry.
From the guide to the Correspondence and literary papers associated with the, New Statesman, 1914-1919 and 1960-1983, 1914-1983, (Leeds University Library)
