The Lead

Founded in 2022, The Lead is a lean, mean site on politics, culture, and everything in between. We cover the sharp angles that define our life in the UK today: poverty, racism, climate change, corporate and government malfeasance, the breakdown of our healthcare system and the fracturing of the state. So far, so worthy. Most decent media aspires to do the same. But our aim is not just to inform: it’s to restore agency. We launched in a period of simmering discontent, cascading economic crises, a swelling environmental emergency and deep political stagnation. We’re all bombarded by bad news pretty much everywhere we look, and each of us takes part, actively or passively, in the disconsolate social media hum that this news produces. The more these crises grow, the less in control we feel. True, the Conservative era is over, at least for now. But Labour’s approach leaves much to be desired, not least because it got so committed to winning this election on the Tories own terms that it’s yet to come up with a compelling narrative of its own. We may protest (within the limits of draconian Tory laws no one seems to be in a hurry to revoke.) We can snipe on podcasts. And mostly, we can vent online. But online outrage without a path to action amounts to little more than static. Our aim here at The Lead is to convert this static into energy. We’ll lean hard into organising open letters, campaigns and, while it’s still legal, direct action. We’ll do our best to keep you up to speed with actions and the motivations behind them — irrespective of who you vote for, if you vote at all. Faced with the prospect of another decade of Tory rule, we can’t afford to be territorial or precious. Alongside all this we will be covering the stuff worth living for: things to read, things to see, things to listen to and watch, things to eat and feel. Focusing only on the fight is the road to burnout: we’re here to debate, agitate and celebrate and we hope that you join us.