Ken Livingstone will guest edit this week’s New Statesman

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

This week’s New Statesman, in the shops tomorrow, will be guest edited by former mayor of London Ken Livingstone.

The special edition of the magazine will include:

* Jarvis Cocker writing exclusively about why he wants the next generation of Trident nuclear weapons scrapped.

* Ken indulging his passion for science fiction in an interview with one of his favourite writers – Iain Banks. Ken and Iain discuss everything from whether living space means you have to have socialism, to Banks’s views on Scottish independence.

* Contributions from Vivienne Westwood, Jo Brand and Bob Stanley of the band Saint Etienne on the London music scene, and figues including Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) and Stephen Fry pick their favourite London songs.

* The New Statesman’s previous guest editor Alastair Campbell takes on pro-Tory drift in the media.

* Charles Kennedy and Jon Cruddas, along with other New Statesman readers, will put their questions to Ken.

* Tony Woodley of Unite calls for higher taxes on the rich.

* Articles with international contributors will address climate change, the prospects for US cities under Obama, and Latin America.

Ken said:

“A magazine like the Statesman is more essential than ever when we face the challenge of global economic crisis and the threat of climate change, and when only progressive politics can provide the answers – or even ask the right questions. My one-off edition will try to get as many of the world’s biggest issues together in one place. It will not flinch from saying why the Tories will be a disaster to why Labour must change. From Obama and US cities to whether or not you need socialism to survive in outer space, it’s all here.”