This morning, Diane Abbott gave a heavily trailed speech on the crisis of masculinity. Simplifying her argument somewhat, cultural change and the restructuring of the jobs market has thrown young men into a state of anomie. In one direction they’re being flattered as gendered consumers into clothes, gadgets, cars, booze and footy. From another comes [...]
Posts under ‘Politics’
The recession is a really good time to increase profits?
May 16th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Lord Young, one of Thatcher’s Business ministers, got himself sacked 10 years ago when he made a deeply callous and insensitive remark. He has obviously not lost the knack because he’s just been reported making comments again of similar ilk. Reminiscent of Jo Moore sending round an email on the day of 9/11 which said [...]
Countering lies of immigrant scapegoating
May 16th, 2013 by Callum Smith.What do we talk about when we talk about immigration? Better yet, how should we talk about immigration with voters in the run up to the 2015 election? At a recent Next Generation Labour event, titled ‘Challenging the Tory scapegoating of immigrants’ there seemed to be a great deal of consensus around the need to [...]
Tory grandee bans people saying “Vote Tory”
May 15th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.The Tories may be having a hissy fit over Europe and UKIP, but it comes to something when a Tory grandee bans people from saying “Vote Tory” in comments on their website. But such is the nature of the consternation about UKIP within the Tories, and the triumphalism of the UKIPers, that the debate is [...]
Tories are having a hissy fit, but what’s Labour’s view on Europe?
May 15th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Today we’ll see one of the most bizarre votes that the Commons have ever seen. Here we have the PLP whipped to support the government in rejecting an amendment put down to the Queen’s Speech by the Tory Right which Cameron is now supporting being tabled against his own legislative programme. This pantomime reflects the [...]
Forty years of CLPD – a cause for celebration
May 14th, 2013 by Billy Hayes.This article first appeared in the CLPD’s Campaign Bulletin 40th Anniversary issue which was published last week, and can be downloaded here. The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy’s fortieth anniversary is indeed cause for celebration. Our campaign has registered a number of important successes in its existence. Yet surely its importance really lies in its [...]
The Spirit of ’43
May 14th, 2013 by Mark Perryman.Mark Perryman from Philosophy Football explores a year when the tide turned against Fascism Ken Loach’s recent film Spirit of ’45 brilliantly celebrates the triumphant mood that delivered a Labour Landslide election victory at the end of World War Two and the establishment of both the Welfare State and nationalised public utilities. What is made [...]
EU Referendum is really about divisions within Tory/UKIP camp
May 14th, 2013 by Andy Newman.The issue of Europe certainly makes stange bedfellows, and the cockles of Nigel Farage’s heart will have been warmed by Bob Crow’s statement yesterday: RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: RMT’s position is clear, not only should there be an early in/out referendum but also we are calling unequivocally for British withdrawal. Across Europe, and [...]
Len McCluskey & Lutfur Rahman uniting the community of East End battleground
May 14th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.There are two stories here. The first is that Unite the Union’s strategy of taking trade unions into the community was launched yesterday in a particularly tangible way with the opening of the first Unite Community Centre. The second is that it represents a collaborative enterprise between Len McCluskey and Lutfur Rahman, independent Mayor of [...]
Mandelson’s got a nerve
May 14th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.It takes quite a lot of gall to be accusing the unions of trying to fix Labour parliamentary selections when you yourself have been engaged on doing exactly that for the last 20 years. When I first joined the PLP in the 1970s, it was composed very broadly of 40% on the Left and 40% [...]
