Like Thatcher declaring on the steps of Downing Street in 1979 that, like Francis of Assisi, “where there is discord, I will bring peace”, so Cameron in the Queen’s Speech debate has pledged a one-nation Britain – until one looks at the detail and reads between the lines. To take one example, the most recent […]
Posts Tagged ‘One Nation’
For “better politics”, Labour must start at home
Mar 18th, 2014 by David Pavett.I thought that the Labour party’s recent “Education and Children” document was waffle-filled, tendentious, misleading and often wholly wrong. But even that did not prepare me for Labour’s consultation document “Better Politics”, which is aimed at the 2015 manifesto (amendments to be in from constituency parties and affiliates by 13th June). To be fair, the […]
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2014: the year Miliband’s Labour turns left?
Jan 4th, 2014 by Thomas Butler.In 2014, Ed Miliband and his colleagues need to understand once more the reasons The Labour Party came into fruition. And they need to articulate a clear, radical alternative to Tory Austerity with a vision of a post neo-liberal Britain that appeals to swing voters, but also many of those ‘don’t knows’ and stay at […]
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Labour has always been the natural party of “aspiration”
Mar 29th, 2013 by Dominic Curran.Aspiration: its a political buzzword that has been hijacked by the right. The Tories have launched their “aspiration nation” tagline of helping those who want to “get ahead”. Indeed the Blarites in the party have laid the ridiculous charge that “Old Labour” did not understand the aspiration of people wanting to do well for themselves. […]
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One Nation: a smokescreen or a curb on the power of wealth?
Feb 18th, 2013 by David Pavett.The one-nation slogan has many possibilities. It can clearly mean many different things to different people. There is already gross confusion as to what it means when used by Labour politicians. It is not a magic wand which will, when waved at a largely empty policy cupboard, suddenly fill its shelves. Neither is it an […]
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Working class politics, the labour movement and protest
Jan 16th, 2013 by Len McCluskey.This is the full text of Len’s Ralph Miliband lecture at the LSE. For me personally, the three strands of this lecture: working class politics; the labour movement; and protest; are subjects that have been clear defining features of my life – from my upbringing in Liverpool and throughout my adult social and working life. Indeed […]
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The best of 2012: our coverage of the ins and outs of Labour politics
Dec 30th, 2012 by Newsdesk.It’s been a fantastic year for Left Futures – more visitors than ever, many new contributors, and a lively debate in the comment section. But as a grassroots community, we are only as strong as our readers – so thanks for returning to the site again and again! So, a Happy New Year to all […]
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What Ed Miliband needs to spell out in 2013
Dec 29th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.Ed Miliband’s commitment today to set out concrete policy steps in this next year is certainly needed. But the really essential point is that they must deal with the fundamentals, given how dire and precarious the state of Britain has now descended into.
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On the “Connected Nation”: Why Ed Miliband’s speech was on message
Dec 14th, 2012 by Carl Packman.There has been a lot of chat about Ed Miliband’s speech this morning on the social media networks by people who have not read through or heard the speech, so now I’ve read through the transcript I feel in a better place to add comment. Firstly, were this really dog whistle politics designed to please […]
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Two Milibands, One Nation, One Monarchy
Dec 4th, 2012 by David Osler.The late Ralph Miliband made his name as a Marxist theoretician through detailed elaboration of the proposition that the Labour Party can do absolutely nothing for the working class. His two boys, or so the lefty joke has it, have very loyally done their best to prove the old man right. Now it looks as […]
