In an exclusive and edited extract from the new book The Corbyn Effect Mark Perryman argues there are similarities but important differences too. Alan Freeman in his 1982 book The Benn Heresy described the mood in the Labour Party while Jeremy Corbyn was getting ready to stand for the first time as Labour’s candidate for […]
Making an Art of Revolution
Sep 17th, 2017 by Mark Perryman.Mark Perryman invites us to wear our dancing shoes to celebrate the October 1917 centenary To sort of coin a phrase ‘ How do you solve a problem like VI Lenin?’ As the centenary of the October revolution fast approaches the accolades provided by the likes of the Royal Academy, British Library and Design Museum […]
Were You Still Up For? Summer post-election reads
Aug 20th, 2017 by Mark Perryman.The shock of the General Election hasn’t even begun to settle down. Mark Perryman recommends summer reads to help grapple with interesting times. The audacity of hope versus the mendacity of the weak n wobbly. Twenty years ago it took until the early hours before that ‘were you still up for Portillo’ moment established the sheer […]
Nothing to lose but our chains: Marx on cycling
Jul 2nd, 2017 by Mark Perryman.As the annual cycling spectacle of the Tour De France begins Mark Perryman argues the case for two wheels good Who would have guessed it. Karl Marx was clearly a bike mechanic when he wasn’t plotting the downfall of capitalism. “Nothing to lose but your chains” is handy advice when the derailleur slips and furious […]
A Riot of Our Own
Apr 1st, 2017 by Mark Perryman.8th April is the 40th Anniversary of The Clash’s debut album. Mark Perryman asks what the 1977 punk and politics mix was all about. The birth of punk for most is dated on or round 1976 with the November release that year of the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the UK with both music and movement kickstarted […]
What kind of centenary celebration does 1917 deserve?
Feb 10th, 2017 by Mark Perryman.A century ago, 23rd February 1917, Russian women marched out in protest from the St Petersburg factories where they worked to defy Cossacks armed with swords and took control of the city’s streets. In less than a week they had been joined by hundreds of thousands of other workers. The St Petersburg Military Garrison mutinied […]
Review: After the eating and drinking, the sporty?
Jan 5th, 2017 by Mark Perryman.A selection of 2017 sporting reads by Mark Perryman for the post-festive recovery period There’s nothing like Christmas to put on an inch or two where we don’t want to. Sitting in front of the TV for hours, days even, on end doesn’t help much either. For many, a New Years resolution to add more […]
Christmas Book Review
Dec 12th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.Mark Perryman provides a seasonal round-up of the best books to cheer up the radical spirit From #chaoticbrexit to the triumph of Trump via the summertime Labour coup, 2016 will be a year to forget for many who cling on to an optimism that a better tomorrow remains not only necessary but possible too. The […]
We Were their Flowers in the Dustbin: 40 Years of Anarchy in the UK
Nov 26th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.40 years ago today The Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the UK was released. Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman remembers For some of us of a certain age it still seems like yesterday. For others it is something to breathlessly boast to our children, or grandchildren, that yes, we were there. 26th November 1976, the Sex Pistols […]
Where have all the poppies gone?
Nov 11th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.Ahead of the England vs Scotland game Mark Perryman responds to FIFA’s Poppies ban The last time England played Scotland in a competitive match at Hampden Park, in November, 1999, it was preceded by none of the manufactured row about whether the teams should have poppies embroidered on their shirts. The tabloids were more interested […]