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 […]
Posts under ‘Culture’
The alt-left: A critical appreciation
Jun 27th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Among the big winners of the general election are the wave of new blogs collectively dubbed the “alt-left”. You know who I’m talking about. The Canary, Skwawkbox, Novara, Evolve Politics and Another Angry Voice have been singled out by the mainstream as the authentic voices of the new socialism that has seized hold of the […]
NPF Policy Responses: Environment, Energy and Transport
Apr 4th, 2017 by Chris MacMackin.The National Policy Forum has made the strange decision to group culture with the environment and energy. Meanwhile, transport is placed, not completely without justification, with local government and housing. However, as transport is a major consumer of energy and a transport policy will be essential to fighting climate change, I decided to address it […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Our Front is Popular: The 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street
Sep 16th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.Mark Perryman revisits 1936 when anti-fascism was the cause home and abroad ‘Hurrah for the Blackshirts!’ The notorious Daily Mail headline is just one chilling indication of the very real threat Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists posed in the mid 1930s. Inspired by the successful rise to power of Mussolini in Italy and Hitler […]
Mark Perryman’s Summer Book Review
Jul 12th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.Don’t burn the books A scorching hot list of summer political reading selected by Mark Perryman A year ago as Labour sought to recover from the May General Election defeat halls were starting to fill up for Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign rallies. But even as the halls got bigger and the queues round the block longer […]
Englishness and Welshness in the Battle of Britons
Jun 15th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.Mark Perryman previews England v Wales as competing versions of nationhood The traditional ‘Battle of Britain’ match is of course England v Scotland, the very first recognised international football match dating back to 1872 and the most intense of rivalries ever since. The last time two ‘home’ nations met in a major tournament it was […]