Summer double issue

[Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [undefined]( After a tumultuous year, politics has entered a rare period of calm. But though parliament is in recess, the spectre of Brexit remains. In this week's summer double issue, Stephen Bush writes that while Jeremy Corbyn's position is assured, his ambitious manifesto could be thwarted by a chaotic EU withdrawal. Elsewhere, Helen Lewis argues that the furore over the BBC pay gap proves that money, not sex, has become the biggest source of scandal, while Mehdi Hasan says that Donald Trump's excesses reveal Barack Obama's ambivalent legacy. In our features section, David Kynaston explains why the history of post-war Britain excludes "unspoken" emotions, Matthew Bremner reveals a true crime mystery on the Costa del Sol and Adrian Pabst hails Ross Poldark, the hero of the BBC drama, as a Blue Labour tribune. Martin Fletcher profiles Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian autocrat who is turning his country into the EU's first rogue state, and Helen Macdonald explores "the thrill" of summer storms. The critics section includes "Unsent Letters", a new short story by William Boyd, Rowan Williams on the tempestuous marriage of Lev and Sonya Tolstoy and Philip Maughan on grime music's unlikely love affair with Jeremy Corbyn. Our selection of the greatest political novels features contributions from Ali Smith, David Hare, Mary Beard, Stephen King, Andrew Marr, Sarah Perry, George Osborne and John Gray. All this, plus Jeremy Bowen on swimming in warzones, Tim Shipman's diary and Ed Smith on why the best sportsmen rarely practice for the most hours. Enjoy the issue and you can subscribe [here.]( Jason Cowley [@JasonCowleyNS]( Editor's Picks [Stephen Bush on Labour's split over Europe]( Corbyn is personally fireproof, but his manifesto could be torched by the Brexit blaze. [Peter Wildeblood: one of the bravest men who ever lived]( Rachel Cooke is gripped by BBC2's historical gay rights film. [The New Statesman guide to great political novels: part one]( Featuring favourites from Mary Beard, Tom Watson, George Osborne and Ali Smith. [Commons Confidential: George Osborne puffs away]( Kevin Maguire has the pick of the best gossip from Westminster. [The Big Sick: well meaning, rather than groundbreaking]( Ryan Gilbey wonders whether stand-up gags can work on film. [www.NewStatesman.com]( ["It feels like a betrayal": EU citizens react to Jeremy Corbyn's migration stance]( How do Labour-supporting European migrants in the UK feel about their leader wanting to control EU migration? Anoosh Chakelian reports. [As bad as stealing bacon - why did the Victorians treat acid attacks so leniently?]( Julia Rampen on the attitudes of 19th century courts. [podcast]( To unsubscribe click: [here](