The Labour Assembly Against Austerity saw over 200 party activists come together to discuss the cost of living crisis being caused by coalition austerity and the need for Labour to present an inspiring alternative vision that will win the 2015 election and then go on to change people’s lives for the better. With activists attending from […]
Unions show Labour how to win
Sep 20th, 2013 by Ben Folley.With less than twenty months to go before the general election this week’s TUC helped Labour focus public attention on the damage being wrought by the Tory – Lib Dem coalition. Unions spent their week at TUC Congress directing their fire against the government, concentrating on the issues of wide public concern; living standards, wages, […]
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Bail-out banks need a strong-arm, not a sell-off
Aug 4th, 2013 by Ben Folley.The announcement that Lloyds TSB are back in profit has automatically triggered discussion of the government selling off its 39% share in the bank, back to the private sector. For Labour, it should trigger a discussion on an increasingly interventionist approach to the economy. Britain’s privately-owned banks were bailed out with billions from the taxpayer […]
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‘Go Home’ vans must be challenged
Jul 24th, 2013 by Ben Folley.The scenes in the film Children Of Men, where Britain in 2027 has public adverts on buses encouraging people to report illegal immigrants, doesn’t seem too far fetched after yesterday’s Home Office announcement. Vans with giant billboards featuring the slogan ‘Go home or face arrest’ will be driven around London this week in an attempt to scare illegal […]
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We need a Labour Assembly Against Austerity
Jun 25th, 2013 by Ben Folley.Talk of ‘tough decisions’ and ‘iron discipline’ on spending demonstrate the dominance of Tory thinking over economic policy in Westminster, even as its effects cost them support in the polls. Labour needs to start thinking and acting for itself and for the people it represents. The Tories are tanking as the impact of austerity, trashing the economy and tearing up lives, […]
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Investment not cuts – Labour needs to deliver a decisive break from austerity
May 20th, 2013 by Ben Folley.Ed Miliband has a significant opportunity to decidedly shift the terms of the debate on the economy, but to do so he will have to turn Labour policy on its head. The austerity agenda which has dominated the UK’s economic debate since 2010 is increasingly seen as inseparable from a stagnant economy and growing poverty […]
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Universalism and Tory small state ideology
May 1st, 2013 by Ben Folley.The Tory attack on universal benefits this weekend is part of an ongoing ideological assault on the public sector, dressed up as an attempt to cut the deficit through the destructive austerity program. Iain Duncan Smith’s attempt to play down the story today is clever, but the proposal is out there and the narrative set. […]
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European Socialist leader sees danger in austerity
Apr 22nd, 2013 by Ben Folley.Europe’s social democrats need to recognise the consequences of imposing austerity on their own voters. Support is declining, or at best stagnating, as parties fail to offer an inspiring alternative to spending cuts. But there is evidence in Brussels that some are taking this seriously. In some measured comments, Hannes Swoboda MEP, the leader of […]
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Labour, austerity and immigration
Mar 26th, 2013 by Ben Folley.With the economic crisis projected to extend into the next parliament and forming the longest economic slump in modern history, two opposing political narratives are building up support, testing Labour in the coming months and years. The anti-austerity movement is growing, which the increased protests around hospitals, fire stations and thebedroom tax and a planned People’s Assembly Against […]
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The inspiring figure who renewed and revived socialism
Mar 7th, 2013 by Ben Folley.Hugo Chavez must be remembered for his leading role in transforming the lives of millions of people. Chavez’s stand for democracy and equality, his commitment to social justice and his opposition to western militarism over the past ten years or so has been part of my political awakening and inspired a new generation on the […]
