Posted by Ken Livingstone

Andy Burnham’s policy on railway ownership is too weak

railwaysI like Andy Burnham: he clearly has been on a political journey and he has played a good role on the NHS, but in my view his position on rail policy today not only doesn’t go far enough – it indicates the disconnect between voters and Westminster politics that we must repair.

In the National Policy Forum process last year, Labour agreed a new deal for the railways. This included a commitment to allow a public sector operator to take on franchises and challenge the train operators on a level playing field in the public interest. This was the basis of our position at the election. Continue reading →

Attlee and Thatcher transformed Britain. Ed Miliband is next in line

laaa-tall-smallOut of every great crisis comes some recognition that the old order has failed. As a result there is an opportunity to create an entirely new way of doing things. For most people alive in Britain today the two prime ministers who radically altered British society were Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher. One remade Britain for the better, the other transformed it for the worse.

The current Tory-led government is doomed to fail in 2015 partly because it is trying to breathe life into an economic system that has already expired, a form of political necrophilia. Ed Miliband has the opportunity to become a political leader who radically changes the British economy and society by replacing the failed Thatcherite model. Continue reading →

Progress, class and parliamentary selections

I am one of those who wants to see more working class people – and a bigger range of people generally – active in the highest levels of politics. So I welcome the emphasis the party is placing on broadening the social composition of parliament. That process is certainly not going to be resolved across the course of one term. The work that is done in this period will help lay the groundwork for what needs to be achieved and then sustained.

But I am sure that the one way not to broaden representation in Parliament is to follow the advice of those who would give full advantage to a privileged layer of professional activists and members of the existing political class. Continue reading →

Moving on from ‘Ken and the Jews’

The last week saw my relationship with the Jewish community in the headlines. I agree with those including in my own party who want to break out of the “drama” of “Ken and the Jewish community” – it’s time to move on from that, onto something less headline-grabbing but more dynamic.

I understand the dismay caused when these kinds of controversies hit the headlines. Politicians ought to have humility when things like that happen. I am no exception. Continue reading →

#OccupyLSX is a peaceful protest and deserves a hearing

This has been a peaceful protest, and it should be approached on that basis. City Hall has a duty to accommodate those who wish to protest in London and ensure their safety whilst ensuring the London does not grind to a halt. No one wants or expects there to be permanent camps – all protests have a beginning and an end – but the scale of the problems ordinary people are facing mean these international protests are inevitably not yet over. Continue reading →