Red Pepper has a deserved reputation as one of the liveliest left-wing magazines published out of London - and it has refreshed and developed its editorial team and roster of contributors to reflect the diversity of identities and commitments that will be needed to develop effective radical projects over the coming years.
For these reasons, the announcement that Red Pepper's current business model can't be sustained raises concerns - though these are allayed by the honesty and openness of the assessment of the challenges facing the magazine (and left publishing more generally) which is offered by founding editor Hilary Wainwright and co-editor Siobhán McGuirk (click here).
It's also promising that there's a clear intention by the team to find new ways ahead - and that they are seeking views about how to do this - and participation - from readers and friends.
The magazine's coverage of Scottish issues included this tribute to Tom Nairn on his death in 2023, and Wainwright has spoken at events organised and sponsored by Democratic Left Scotland, including at the Edinburgh Radical Book Fair, and at November 2023's Break Up of Britain? conference.
Published 10 March 2025