Student Life
Tanjil Rashid on diversity and the future of journalism
Tanjil Rashid is currently the Culture Editor of the New Statesman, although he has worked previously as a bookshop assistant and a civil servant and even, unfortunately, endured torrents of abuse as a comprehensive-school supply teacher. Having grown up in Ilford in East London, he now lives marginally to the north in Walthamstow. “I haven’t moved very far in life,” he jokes. In fact, he has been on quite a journey.
Rashid was born in 1990. “My parents had quite modest lives and I grew up in an immigrant Muslim Bengali family. My father immigrated to Britain to provide labour in the post-war economy, working up north in factories and then worked as a waiter and eventually getting an office job. My mother has been a housewife all her life. But they stressed education, as families like mine tend to; I went to a grammar school and became interested in literature and the arts. Public libraries were very good back then, they had lots of old books that you don’t find there anymore.”
He got into Cambridge and had a very good start in journalism at the Financial Times. After that he ended up landing in television, which he didn’t enjoy, and remained a freelance writer for many years until he was chosen to become the Culture editor of the New Statesman. He is doubtful, however, that people from backgrounds like his would in the future end up with such a prestigious position in the literary world.
“I grew up in a world that was changing and was still pretty analogue. The first fifteen years of my life were pretty much internet-free. Children from families like mine probably don’t have much exposure to print culture anymore. Children in intelligentsia families, the kind where they get the London Review of Books in the mail, probably still do. When I was growing up, my father was a great reader of newspapers, he’d sit there reading the paper while my mother was doing the shopping, and she also enjoyed reading Bengali newspapers.”
It was the early exposure to print culture which, though not a unique experience, turned Rashid towards the world of letters. “There are two kinds of people who go into journalism: one, people who really love news and current affairs; the other, people who like the written word. I’m someone who loves words, likes reading and writing. It’s hard to say why I specifically became interested in culture, art, fiction – I just for some reason got interested in that.” He pauses. “In some way literary journalism is a strange career to have. It’s not really a real career. It’s really too fun to be taken too seriously.”
Rashid, who has been a journalist for over a decade, is ruminative about the state of his chosen profession. “Fifty or a hundred years ago, it was in book reviewing and literary journalism that the great journalists were to be discovered.” Indeed, his predecessors as literary – now Culture – editors of the New Statesmen include V.S. Pritchett, Claire Tomalin, and Martin Amis.
While he does not agree the literary world is in the crisis some make it out to be in, he accepts changes are afoot. “The novel, like the epic poem, is no longer as central to the culture as it was. It’s impossible to know what new literary forms will take the place of the novel. The old ways of writing and understanding the world are changing. Critics must respond to this in a critically intelligent way. The people who are just being born or will be born in ten years’ time will express themselves as humans always do, but perhaps not writing novels. We recently did a piece, for instance, on how AI is reshaping the opera.” He stresses, however, that continuities remain. “Even now there are brilliant writers coming through in journalism. That supply of literary talent is proliferating. I’m constantly being amazed by youngsters who want to write about literature, and are remarkably well-read and write impressively.”
Identity is a recurring theme in Rashid’s writing. When I ask him about this, he reflects that this is not a conscious choice. “It happens to be the case that I am Muslim, I am British, and I am many other things, and these things inevitably shape what I write. These things are probably just noticed more because I have an – unusual identity. There aren’t many Bengali journalists in the media. There are so few of us that we often get mistaken for each other. For instance, I’m always getting mistaken for Faisal Islam, for some reason.” He laughs. “There are probably only two or three British Muslims in literary journalism. So, if you read my writings you’ll probably notice I have a slightly different identity, different perspective because of it. My identity doesn’t completely determine my perspective, but it certainly informs it.”
Earlier this year, Rashid interviewed Salman Rushdie. “Certainly, when it comes to a writer like Rushdie, a British Asian of Muslim heritage, there will be a way that I relate to his work and his life in a way that others don’t, because we share something of the world. There has been a lot of talk about diversity in the last decade or so but actually I don’t see the literary world becoming any less parochial. Things probably were better in decades past. In the decades after decolonisation you had Commonwealth writers such as VS Naipaul and Salman Rushdie being widely read and acclaimed, but today, even though we like to think of ourselves as more modern and contemporary and open, a novel such as Midnight’s Children would not be understood or read as widely.”
Identity certainly informs the multicultural Britain depicted in Rashid’s fiction. (As well as literary essays, articles, interviews, he has turned his hand to short stories, too.) “The Fanatic”, is particularly funny in the way it turns tropes and stereotypes on their head: it is the story of an imam who is expelled from his mosque for being a dangerous fanatic, but the fanaticism of which he stands accused is an inflexible, irrational love of Manchester United. “It was a wonderful thing to have short stories published in magazines and that sort of thing,” Rashid admits, “but it’s not a living.”
I ask him about his future ambitions. He pauses and looks down at the magazine – guess which one – that lies on the table. “My ambition, really, is to keep producing good literary coverage, good writing by the famous and brilliant writers I’m already publishing as well as finding new ones. The New Statesman has always been a venerable institution but since Tom McTague became editor the magazine has become absolutely essential to the national conversation – see the coverage of the Labour leadership contest, for instance. I would like to keep the literary pages of the New Statesman among the best in the world.” On the question of whether he might follow up his short stories with a novel, the reply, hesitantly given, is, “No comment.”
Many Cherwell readers – and certainly most Cherwell editors – are mulling over the prospect of a journalistic career, and will be seeking tips as to how to thrive in the profession. Rashid advises: “Have a day job: at this point in history, writing is an amateur sport, not a career. More importantly: Read. Read everything. Don’t just read what’s fashionable. Read science writing, travel writing, the Bible, read all kinds of words. Go back in time and read Shakespeare and Dickens. If you want to be a writer you have to understand language in all its subtleties, and to do that you have to read omnivorously.”
Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord William Hague, delivered the 2026 Europaeum Annual Lecture at the Sheldonian Theatre on 4th November. Hague called for closer UK-EU ties as a matter of urgency, including strengthening cooperation on technology, defense, and climate change, whilst upholding democracy and doubling down on multilateralism.
Hague’s wide-ranging speech is the second ever Europaeum Lecture. The series brings together high-profile speakers from top European universities to discuss Europe’s challenges. Describing the current era as “the most dangerous period since 1945”, Hague outlined his vision for Europe to escape decline by rebuilding through renewal and resilience. In response to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s call for the UK to eventually rejoin the EU, Hague expressed scepticism about the move’s feasibility, but declared that “our fate is as entangled with the fate of the continent as it has ever been”.
On technology and the rise of artificial intelligence, Hague warned that Europe risks becoming either a “digital colony of the US or a tech dependency of Beijing”. He urged the continent to “take back control”, including by ensuring the “free cross-border flow” of global talent. The Chancellor portrayed universities as “engines of ideas” crucial to spurring innovation. Oxford ranks as Europe’s leading university for spinout value creation, accounting for 20% of all investment into spin-outs across Europe.
Noting Britain’s record summer temperatures, the Chancellor called for new measures to adapt to the effects of climate change and greater investment into “novel technologies”. These included carbon capture, geoengineering, and genetic engineering. Citing Greece’s recent launch of a satellite system for wildfire prevention, Hague urged the UK and EU to work together on a similar scaled-up Europe-wide solution. He also encouraged both sides to unify carbon markets and simplify trading of electricity.
Cherwell asked the Chancellor about possible reductions in tuition fees for EU students at UK universities, currently under consideration as part of UK-EU negotiations. In his reply, Hague told Cherwell: “We’d love to see it easier for EU students to come to our universities, but it does require governments to reach agreement.” He expressed support for a youth mobility scheme enabling young British and EU citizens to live and work in each other’s countries. However, Hague also referred to negotiating conflicts over equalising tuition fees for EU nationals with British citizens to pour cold water over a deeper UK rapprochement with the EU.
In exchange for a youth mobility scheme, the Chancellor encouraged the EU to involve Britain in its “Made in Europe” industrial policy. He also endorsed closer defense cooperation through the EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan scheme, as well as joint UK-EU leadership on international governance of new technologies, including creating guardrails against artificial intelligence.
Founded in 1992 by former Oxford Chancellor and the only-ever British President of the European Commission, Roy Jenkins, Europaeum offers postgraduate programmes to students across 17 European universities. The network describes itself as “an alliance of pre-eminent universities” focused on interdisciplinary learning to tackle Europe’s major issues. The University of St Andrews is the only other UK member of the organisation, which continues to be headquartered at St Antony’s College, Oxford.
When I sit down to interview second-year Ancient and Modern History student Robin Munday, he happens to be wearing his Swiss Glacier Pistol Club fleece. The Oxford University Pistol Club (OUPC) captain is right to sport his discipline with pride. In his first year at the club, the team beat Cambridge twice: in an official varsity match in Hilary, and an unofficial competition in Switzerland during the long vacation. A few further victories against other university teams in the summer also contributed to OUPC’s “moderate success” last year, he tells me.
This year does not look set to disappoint either. Competition has not started yet, but since an appearance at Freshers’ Fair, the club’s weekly training sessions at Iffley Road Sports Centre are fully booked, and its group chat has over 200 members. “There are some very talented freshers,” Munday tells me. “By and large most have never touched a gun before, but some of them have and are very promising shots.” Munday mentions how some of the new members are getting to grips with trickier techniques, like aiming at targets that collapse when the bullet hits.
The incoming pistol shooters could not be in safer hands. “I’d always grown up around shooting,” Munday says. “The first time I was on a shooting range I was a few weeks old, and I started shooting aged five, with an air pistol I got for Christmas. When I was six, I was on centre-fire, more powerful revolvers.” Munday started competitive shooting at the 2015 Swiss Federal Shooting Festival aged ten, the youngest of around 35,000 competitors. He went on to win the under-21 division of the Swiss Feldstich contest in 2024, and a year later placed third.
His affiliation with OUPC, though, started well before its recent successes. Munday’s parents met at OUPC as undergraduates. His father served as “one of the early captains” after the club broke off from the Rifle Club in 1976, and his mother became captain a few “generations” later. He still owns and occasionally wears a size XS OUPC polo shirt which the club gave his parents as a gift for him.
“For a very long time, I’ve wanted to become captain of the OUPC – I’m proud partly because I’m following in my parents’ footsteps,” Munday tells me. The club’s events lined up for this year will certainly make his tenure an exciting one. “In a couple of weeks there’s the Oxfordshire Rifle Association Gallery Rifle Championships, and, like every year, there’s the Faded Blues.” In part of the latter event, Munday tells me, OUPC alumni compete against current members, who, he adds, “are almost always defeated”. Whatever the case, there cannot be anyone better placed than Munday, with his unique overview of OUPC’s history, to take part.
Oxford City Council has approved plans to transform Oxford’s Clarendon Centre into a new public square, with trees, seating, and a water feature.
The redevelopment, proposed by the site’s owner Goldmoney Properties, will involve removing the shopping centre’s roof to create an open-air square measuring approximately 41 by 42 metres. The pedestrianised space is intended to host events including Christmas markets, ice skating, and outdoor concerts.
Council planning officers concluded that “the proposal would make best and most efficient use of the existing site” and that “economic benefits would be derived from the provision of high-quality retail, food and beverage and office uses”.
Plans for Clarendon Square were first submitted earlier this year. On 24th February, Goldmoney Properties Ltd submitted an application for planning permission, proposing the demolition of over 8,000 square metres of existing floorspace and the removal of the centre’s roof to create a large public square open to the sky.
The 3.5-acre site, located on the corner of Cornmarket Street and Queen Street, was conceived by Roy Sebag and designed by Quinlan Terry CBE. Terry’s design features classical stone facades along both streets.
Goldmoney Properties acquired the site in a £30 million deal after its previous owner, Lothbury Property Trust, entered liquidation. Sebag, the investor behind the redevelopment, outbid a joint venture involving the Crown Estate, Pioneer Group and Oxford Science Enterprises.
The Council accepted a previous application, submitted in July 2024. It also aimed to remove the roof of the Clarendon Centre and create a new public space, but included plans for student accommodation that are not in the current proposal.
The approval marks a significant step toward the redevelopment of one of Oxford’s central shopping sites. Sebag told Cherwell: “I am delighted that Clarendon has received planning approval and grateful to everyone who has helped us reach this point. My intention is to create a beautiful public square in the heart of Oxford: somewhere people can meet, sit and enjoy the city.”
A spokesperson for Goldmoney Properties Clarendon Square Ltd told Cherwell: “At Clarendon, we have made a deliberate and quite radical choice: to reduce the amount of built space and open the estate to the sky, creating a substantial outdoor square and open-air streets.”
They added: “We believe the relative scarcity of this kind of setting in central Oxford, together with the quality of the architecture and the interest we are seeing from prospective occupiers, gives the scheme a strong commercial foundation.”
Councillor Susanna Pressel, who previously welcomed the plans, told Cherwell: “I’m glad this planning application got permission – with some sensible conditions. I think the new Clarendon Centre will be a great asset to the city.
“Students are lucky to have access to dozens of college quads, but most townspeople would never think of going through those private-looking doors, so a new green space will be very welcome.”
Pressel added: “The developers have promised to seek out lots of independent stores and cafes, and not charge ridiculously high rents, so let’s hope for some interesting new places to go to.”
The redeveloped Clarendon Centre is set to open in 2028.
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