The New European, a “Remainer” magazine launched in response to the Brexit referendum, is being renamed to reflect the changing picture of global politics.
The rebrand to The New World is a nod to the “the global unravelling” which started with Britain leaving the EU but is now being seen worldwide in countries such as the US, according to founder and editor in chief Matt Kelly.
“The New European was conceived as a pop-up provocation; a defiant middle finger to the rising tide of right wing populism that brought us Brexit,” said Mr Kelly. “Nine years later, the world and The New European has changed dramatically. This is a reflection of that new reality.
“We know there is enormous appetite for our style of journalism - vibrant, constructive, witty and full of ideas and great reads that make sense of this extraordinary moment in world politics and culture.”
The New European, which has published more than 400 editions, had 35,000 paying subscribers and claim revenues have trebled since the business moved independent three years ago.
Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who is editor-at-large of The New European newspaper, said themes that underpinned Brexit are playing out around the world, including a political shift to the right in many nations.
“We're always going to be very passionately anti-Brexit, very pro internationalism, liberal democracy,” said Mr Campbell. “When we started the paper, you could never have predicted [where we are]. Just to look at United States alone. You wouldn't have predicted that Ukraine and Russia were going to be fighting a war on the edge of Europe. Lots has happened - it's a reflection of that.”
Mr Campbell said he will “never resile from the view that Brexit is the biggest act of self harm that we've inflicted upon ourselves”, but added: “I'm hoping this will be the next chapter of a story that we're going to keep telling, which is that liberal democracy is the way forward, that nationalism is not the answer to the challenges that we face, that populism is doomed to fail, and there's a better way that involves people with an optimistic, internationalist outlook.”
New contributing editors slated to join The New World include Sonia Sodha, formerly of The Observer, The Revenge of Power author Moises Naim and Tom Baldwin, Keir Starmer’s biographer and former senior advisor to Labour.
