Posted by Tom King

Red scare: could a socialist break through in Seattle?

SawantMuch of the UK coverage of America’s off-year elections has focused on the results coming from the East Coast. The election of a Democrat Mayor of New York (and a pretty left wing one at that) for the first time since 1993. The re-election of New Jersey Governor, and potential GOP presidential candidate, Chris Christie. The victory of moderate Democrat Terry Mcauliffe over a Tea Party insurgent in Virginia.

What has passed with little remark has been the tightly contested City Council race in Seattle which sees long term incumbent Democrat Richard Conlin under threat from socialist Kshama Sawant. Continue reading →

Full employment must be at the top of Labour’s 2015 agenda

create jobs buttonAusterity continues to ruin economies across Europe; the EU’s unemployment rate has hit a record high of 11%, France has been plunged back into recession and Britain has narrowly avoided a similar fate.

Even Germany’s economy only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter. 

Despite the OECD’s recent downgrade of its growth forecast for the UK economy this year and next,Osborne is ploughing ahead with a new tranche of £11.5 billion spending cuts. It is becoming increasingly clear that by 2015, Tory austerity will have delivered a flatling economy for five years. Continue reading →

What’s the welfare state without universalism?

A few weeks ago, Jon Cruddas appeared on Newsnight to float a number of policy ideas mostly related to the future of the Welfare State. On the whole there was little to give comfort to the millions of people suffering from brutal Tory austerity – the take home line was “foodbanks are here to stay”.

The most radical of Cruddas’ suggested was a fundamental challenge to the Welfare State as we know it. To me (at least), the basic social contract in this country has been that everyone contributes to a Welfare State according to their ability to pay and then everyone has access to the support they need in times of hardship.

Continue reading →

Trident: Labour cannot stay silent

Labour’s policy review, much needed after 13 years in Government and a drubbing in May 2010, was said to have started from a blank page and would review all our commitments across the board. All, it seems, except Trident.

There has been some positive movement, the Britain in the World policy document stated there will be a discussion about Trident – but only once the Lib Dem alternatives review has been completed. The fact that Ed Miliband welcomed the review is in itself an important step in itself. But why should Labour let the Liberal Democrats lead this debate?

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‘Openness’ critical for Young Labour to be a cohesive force

Recently, Conrad Landin wrote of how some of the boldest and most radical policies passed at Young Labour conference seemed to have disappeared into a policy making abyss.

At a time, coming out of a successful conference, when our party has never been so united and when our people are under attack from this vicious Tory Government, we simply cannot afford for our youth wing to be divided.

The failings of Young Labour’s policy making process, in particular the lack of transparency, have shifted focus from standing up for young people, fighting the Tories and winning for Labour, on to unnecessary internal divisions. Continue reading →