For over 45 years, and based on my early involvement with the issue in the Foreign Office, I have contested the issue of Britain’s membership of what was the Common Market and then grew into the EU, and I have always been on the losing side. It could be argued that my own political career, […]
Posts under ‘International’
Staring into the abyss
Jun 17th, 2016 by Andy Newman.Sometimes the rush of the commenentariat to express opinions about contemporary events can seem cynical and ill considered. But I was impressed by two articles which must have been written as almost instant reactions to the tragic murder of Jo Cox, one by Alex Massie in the Spectator and one by Polly Toynbee in the […]
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EC referendum: socialists should stay in and fight!
Jun 15th, 2016 by Barry Ewart.An excellent article in New Left Review a while back pointed out that the then Common Market was originally set up to counter the then perceived threat of the USSR, to promote capitalism in Europe, and to give Europe a greater say on the World Stage against the hegemony of the US. In fact it […]
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The EU referendum – nine days to go
Jun 14th, 2016 by Peter Rowlands.Is there anything new that can be said about the EU referendum? Probably not, but it is perhaps worth reflecting on a number of aspects of the campaign and its possible different outcomes, given that it is now apparent that there is a serious likelihood that either Brexit or Bremain win, but by a small […]
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Why Blair is the guy whose face is on the placard
Jun 9th, 2016 by David Osland.Richard Nixon famously told a press conference that he was ‘not a crook’. And in the sense that the late US president was never found guilty of anything whatsoever, the statement is factually incontestable. Likewise, Tony Blair is not a war criminal, even though contention to the contrary is a longstanding commonplace among anti-war campaigners, […]
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The scandal of privatised aid
May 24th, 2016 by Mike Phipps.If you thought energy privatisation was bad for UK consumers, take a look at Nigeria. The result has been up to 45% higher prices, regular blackouts, workers made redundant and the companies involved being bailed out by the central bank. The process is part of a £100 million project being run by consultants Adam Smith […]
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Venezuela: cheerleading the Pinochet option
May 23rd, 2016 by David Osler.When the most constructive thing you can find to say about a country facing the real possibility of a military coup is to brand Seumas Milne the moral equivalent of Gary Glitter, you need to consider whether you ought to be commenting on international politics in the first place. Yet such was the basic premise […]
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Why the Left must stop talking about ‘Zionism’
May 2nd, 2016 by Jon Lansman.There is every justification for talking about the rights of Palestinians, for campaigning against the profound injustice that has been done to them and for criticising the actions and policies of the Israeli government but there is no defence for antisemitism, whoever makes the accusation. As the Jewish Socialists’ Group (JSG) has rightly argued, “accusations of antisemitism are […]
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Why I shall vote to remain in the EU
May 1st, 2016 by Ann Pettifor.Back in 1975 I did not just oppose membership of the EU, I actively campaigned against it. In the 1990s I strongly opposed Britain’s membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). My opposition to the Labour leadership’s support for ERM helped ensure that I did not get chosen as Parliamentary candidate at the time. I […]
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Theresa May’s leadership bid
Apr 28th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.As the EU referendum battle gets nasty and Tory tears lumps out of Tory, spare a thought for the chancellor and the London mayor. At times these last six months, both men have had reason to believe their careers are sloping upwards. Number 10 has conceivably been in reach, but their grip on political gravity […]
