On Saturday 6th August the Guardian carried an article by house-journalist Jonathan Freedland entitled ‘Corbyn can’t dismiss the importance of MPs. On Brexit, they’re centre stage.’ The aim of the article was to expose the absurdity of the anti-Parliamentary stance of the “Corbynistas”. On the slightest examination, however, Freedland’s argument falls apart exposing the vapidity his […]
‘Genius of the modern world’ or hackery at the BBC?
Jun 21st, 2016 by David Pavett.A new BBC Channel Four series on Genius of the modern world was launched on Thursday 16th June. The series is to deal with Marx, Nietzsche and Freud – one 60 minute programme for each. The presenter of the programmes is historian Bettany Hughes (BH). In the opening passages BH says that her three […]
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On politicians, patriotism and dog whistles
May 17th, 2016 by David Pavett.Tristram Hunt MP thinks that to gain a majority in England Labour needs to “more obviously show its affection” for the country. In an Observer article of 15 May he argues that the Labour Party has lost contact with its working class constituency. Its former working class voters have gone to UKIP, he says, because […]
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Education, the National Policy Forum and Labour policy
May 9th, 2016 by David Pavett.Meanwhile, back at the policy making process … There is very little informed debate in the Labour party about education. There is very little informed debate in the Labour party about anything. It is a Party with various groups and individuals pushing for their particular viewpoint but organising informed discussion in which all of these […]
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Putting members in charge of the Party: are we up to it?
Apr 28th, 2016 by David Pavett.I remember a television programme about the death penalty many years ago in which the Governor of a US state (I can’t remember which) said that the death penalty was supported by the majority of voters and that therefore it required no further justification. That is one view of democratic power and voting: the rule […]
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Labour Party Policy – your chance to demand a radical turn
Apr 12th, 2016 by David Pavett.Labour Party members have been invited to participate in the Party’s policy formation leading to Annual Conference 2016. The invitation came from Angela Eagle, Chair of Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF), in an email of 7 April. Links were given to discussion documents for which responses are required by 8 June. This is an exceptionally short […]
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Labour, John McDonnell and the New Economics
Mar 13th, 2016 by David Pavett.Once the surprise and the shock of Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader had sunk in, many (including me) became impatient for policy initiatives and membership involvement in policy formation to come to the fore. Clearly cutting through media hostility is a major task but I find it difficult to see that more could not […]
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Trident advocates must answer their critics
Feb 24th, 2016 by David Pavett.On 23 February the Guardian carried an article entitled Labour’s Trident debate needs to be based on facts by former Labour Defence Ministers John Hutton and George Robertson who start by saying that disagreement over Trident is “legitimate” but that the case for nuclear weapons is “self-evident“. This ‘my opponent has a right to his/her views but […]
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Is Labour’s EU campaign a one-man band?
Feb 7th, 2016 by David Pavett.The left and the right are politically conflicted on the question of the EU membership. I write as a somewhat reluctant supporter of EU membership. My problem, which I know is shared by many others, is that (1) I have very strong objections to the EU as presently constituted but (2) I nevertheless see many […]
Our debates must be comradely and informed
Mar 31st, 2016 by David Pavett.Recent discussions on Left Futures have shown a disturbing tendency on the left which at best gets in the way of meaningful debate about the many problems we need to resolve and at worst puts others off from participating and feeds straight into the image of the left that the right-wing media tries to cultivate. […]
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