The Big Issue

The Big Issue is one of Britain’s leading news and cultural magazines. Every week’s edition is packed full of original takes on the biggest issues of the day as well as interviews with the most significant figures in politics and entertainment. The Big Issue was founded 1991 to give people experiencing homelessness the opportunity to earn their own income. We continue to support hundreds of vendors across the UK and all proceeds from sales go to help anyone wanting to lift themselves out of poverty.

States of play

THE DISPATCH

FOR /AGAINST • Should there be a ban on social media for under-16s?

What is Keir Starmer’s legacy on the biggest issues in Britain?

PM FOR THE PM • In comedian and podcaster Mike Wozniak’s latest show, The Bench, he plays an amateur detective attempting to solve a small-town mystery, only to become embroiled in scandal. Should be ideal preparation for his afternoon as prime minister

YOUR LETTERS

Meeting UNCLE Sam

THE BIG ISSUE

No matter who the PM is, we need a governmental revolution

Frank Cottrell-Boyce • With his term as Children’s Laureate drawing to a close, the novelist and screenwriter looks back on a lucky life of storytelling

25 Americans on the state of the States

‘Billionaires have no one to blame but themselves if they’re hated’

Heading for nut country

How the Madman Theory links Trump and Nixon

Data is the gift that keeps on giving

Bubble

A life less ordinary • Bevis Hillier coined the term Art Deco. He wrote the life of John Betjeman. And he played the most celebrated literary hoax of the 21st century. At 86, he’s still writing books, including a thriller

RECOMMENDED READS

‘The traditional media, they want to buy into our world’ • As part of the Sidemen, Vikram Singh Barn has been at the vanguard of the creator revolution that upended traditional popular entertainment. The mainstream now wants a slice of the pie, but can Vikkstar keep calling the shots as he enters the music industry?

Why I wrote an opera about Greta Thunberg

The relatable genius of Caroline Aherne

LUCY SWEET ON TV

Music is medicine

A grand old look at York • Invisible Cities is an organisation that trains people with experience of homelessness to guide visitors around streets that they know better than anyone else. As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, Big Issue is looking at less-seen sides of city life. First, let’s join Gav in York

BIG Kids • ISSUES / IDEAS / IMAGINATION

Puzzles

MY PITCH • MARTIN HAWES, 66 TRAIN STATION, SWINDON

TOP 100 CHANGEMAKERS 2026

THE TEENAGER TACKLING THE HOUSING CRISIS • Scarlett Chapman is aiming to house homeless families through Mission: HOME. She says being named a Big Issue Changemaker has helped open doors

WELCOME TO EartH • When Big Issue throws a party, even the venue is a Changemaker. EartH in Hackney is not just one of the finest gig venues in the country, it’s also a creative community driving positive change in the neighbourhood