For those who stand outside the austerity consensus, reading Len McCluskey’s column on Tuesday was like coming up for air. It is a cause of deep frustration that, as the Tories’ economic policies are shown to fail (in terms of jobs, growth, consumer confidence, economic inactivity and borrowing levels), the Labour leadership has moved to legitimise […]
Ed Balls’ surrender is a political disaster
Jan 17th, 2012 by Owen Jones.I never expected to become a defender of New Labour’s record, let alone against its own most zealous supporters. At this point, I should clarify that I haven’t been kidnapped by Peter Mandelson and transformed into a Blairite drone. What I mean is that among all the disappointments and betrayals of the New Labour era, […]
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David Cameron: the master of cynical propaganda
Jan 16th, 2012 by Owen Jones.When David Cameron tires of this prime minister lark (don’t feel you have to take your time, Dave), he should write a self-help book for aspiring rightwing politicians. It could be titled I Got Away With It – And Here’s How You Can Too. I can think of some of the promo lines: “Are you […]
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Liam Byrne’s Capitulation
Jan 5th, 2012 by Owen Jones.This is the kind of piece that delights Liam Byrne. It is an article of faith for the Blairite true believer that, the louder the left squeal, the more confident you should be that you’re doing the right thing. Another vindication is if the swivel-eyed hard right knuckle-draggers of the Daily Mail applaud you. So I’m […]
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Being gay is a class act
Jan 1st, 2012 by Owen Jones.Recently, a close straight friend made a slightly startling, off-hand comment. “Being gay is more common among middle-class people, isn’t it?” He hadn’t thought it through and, when I challenged him, he felt a bit silly. But he was merely expressing a commonly held prejudice – that there’s something a little bit bourgeois about rolling around with […]
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‘We’re All In This Together’
Dec 30th, 2011 by Owen Jones.2011 was the year the phoney war ended or – as the kids say these days, so I’m told – shit got real. When queues of anxious customers demanding their money suddenly formed outside Northern Rock over four years ago, it seemed like a slightly surreal – but one-off – disruption to normality, like an […]
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Trade unions: the big task ahead in 2012
Dec 29th, 2011 by Owen Jones.It was the year that sticking it to the status quo re-entered the mainstream after an all-too-long long hiatus. And yet 2011 showed just how far that resistance remains from mounting a serious challenge to the Tories, let alone giving capitalism much to worry about, four years into its worst crisis since the Great Depression. […]
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Unless we transform wider attitudes, the left is sunk
Dec 21st, 2011 by Owen Jones.I occasionally get a bit of stick from leftists who proudly sit outside the Labour Party. What the hell is a socialist like me doing in a party whose leadership is self-evidently not committed to socialism, they ask? Usually I mumble something about the union link. The clue is in the name: Labour was founded […]
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The age of consensus is over. And I fear things are about to turn ugly
Dec 19th, 2011 by Owen Jones.Watching the trailer for The Iron Lady, the forthcoming biopic of Margaret Thatcher, I shuddered. All the indications are that her adoring fans will have much to be pleased about: the film apparently champions their image of a determined leader battling against the odds, vindicated by events and toppled by the treachery of lesser beings. […]
