The Scottish Labour leadership contest this autumn is important for the entire Labour Party in Britain, because how the party performs in Scotland will be a significant factor in whether Labour can form the next UK government. For Labour to win it is vital Scottish Labour improves on its poor performances at the 2015 and […]
Posts under ‘British Regions/Nations’
Labour in Wales: A success that dare not speak its name
Jun 12th, 2017 by Nick Davies.From Bridgend to Wrexham, it seemed that no pub, club, café or shopping centre was without a journalist looking for a Labour voter intending to turn Tory. Anyone muttering about ‘voting for Theresa May’ could be sure of an attentive ear. It was, after all, the official line put out by Tory Central Office that […]
Campaign for Socialism candidates Scottish Executive Committee elections
Jan 2nd, 2017 by Newsdesk.Campaign for Socialism is encouraging all members and supporters to back the below candidates in the upcoming Scottish Executive Committee election. Ballots will start arriving (mostly by email) from the start of January. To help in an individual’s campaign for the SEC, you can contact them directly on the email below.
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 […]
On politicians, patriotism and dog whistles
May 17th, 2016 by David Pavett.Tristram Hunt MP thinks that to gain a majority in England Labour needs to “more obviously show its affection” for the country. In an Observer article of 15 May he argues that the Labour Party has lost contact with its working class constituency. Its former working class voters have gone to UKIP, he says, because […]
The symbolic politics of England football: an imagined community of eleven people
May 15th, 2016 by Mark Perryman.Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football explores what Monday’s announcement of the England Euro 2016 squad tells us about modern Englishness I was six at the time of England winning the World Cup in ’66. Despite it remaining somewhat of an obsession of mine – to declare an interest I’ve just edited the collection 1966 and […]
The canny politics of Ruth Davidson
May 11th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Most lefties have one or two favourite Tories. Me? I own a whole menagerie. Who can resist Nicholas Soames and his waspish tweets? Fabbers’ endless self-parodying? The plastic Thatcher tributes by Anna Soubry? And Rees-Mogg’s distillation of Tory toffism? Yet these colourful characters share a less appetising trait: they’re all irredeemable bastards. I might titter […]
The Beckett report, polls and the Left
Feb 8th, 2016 by Peter Rowlands.On two related issues, the Beckett Report and Labour’s overall level of support, there has not been a sufficiently robust response from the left. On Beckett there would appear to be general agreement that the failure to even attempt to dispel the myth that Labour was responsible for the 2008 crash because of over expenditure rather […]
The SNP motion on Trident was a sectarian stunt, not a blow for disarmament
Nov 25th, 2015 by Jon Lansman.The motion which was put down in the name of SNP Westminster MPs yesterday “that this House believes that Trident should not be renewed” had nothing whatever to do with advancing the cause of disarmament or preventing the renewal of Trident. That is an objective the SNP does not share. If they did, they would seek to […]
Labour needs internal democracy to win in London
Nov 4th, 2015 by Ed Armston.With campaigning kicking off for the London Mayoral Election it would be easy to forget that Labour’s manifesto is yet to be written. We can all see that winning in London requires a strong set of policies which deal with the issues facing Londoners, particularly housing and transport. As Labour Party members, we understand that […]