How would you feel about being rich? As Scottish Finance secretary, John Swinney, says, Scotland would be the sixth richest country in the world, while the rest of the UK would be a mere 16th if they are lucky. So that is one up on the Southerners, who we have apparently been subsidising. Even if this was […]
Posts under ‘Ideology’
On socialism, nationalism and anti-English sentiment in Scotland (part 1)
May 6th, 2014 by Greg Philo.
Ignoring the debate on Europe does Labour no favours
May 3rd, 2014 by Thomas Butler.In three weeks time, voters go to the polls to elect their representatives to the European Parliament. Not surprisingly, Labour and a majority of the affiliated Trade unions have been very vocal on the need for a big push in the European elections to kick out the scourge of UKIP and BNP MEPs plus valiant […]
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Millions struggling to make ends meet isn’t a recovery, it’s desperation
Apr 26th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.From the constant hurrahs about the brilliant success of government employment policy (official figures now say there are 30.39m in ‘employment’), you would never guess that unemployment has hardly shifted under this government – it’s down from 2.5m to just 2.4m. Previously when real recoveries took hold, the unemployment figures fell by 100,000 a month, […]
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Blairites, Valls and Renzi, offer little hope for Eurozone
Apr 23rd, 2014 by Michael Meacher.Valls and Renzi, the new prime ministers of France and Italy respectively, have made clear their respect for Blair and their intention to follow his example. That’s bad news for the Eurozone and for the EU in general. Blairism is not an economic ideology, but rather a style of leadership that is far more about […]
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What lies behind Blairite calls for “an avowedly pro-business agenda”?
Apr 15th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Alan Milburn was once a Trotskyist, who co-ran a small left-wing bookshop in Newcastle, Days of Hope (aka Haze of Dope). Now he is better known as the New Labour politician and former Secretary of State for Health whom David Cameron appointed as his “social mobility Tsar”. He is also one of those Blairite heavyweights […]
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Where’s Labour’s strategy for working class voters?
Apr 1st, 2014 by Michael Meacher.As Labour’s lead in the polls narrows to 1-2%, we need to keep our nerve, and get our priorities right. The previous Blairite electoral rule was to focus exclusively on middle class marginal seats with a narrow majority. This was on the grounds that working class constituencies were bound to vote Labour anyway – if […]
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Labour’s significant divide – between renewal and decay
Mar 31st, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.It must be quiet for the lobby hacks at the moment if Andrew Rawnsley’s Observer piece is anything to go by. With a nod to the silly dichotomies of managerial speak, simmering beneath party unity are five divisions: the 35%’ers vs “majoritarians“, “transformers” vs “realists“, “devolvers” vs “centralisers”, Camp Miliband vs Camp Balls, and “Gloomsters” vs “Zennists“. In the interests […]
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On Lawson’s letter, jargon and how not to unite the left
Mar 25th, 2014 by David Pavett.Most readers of Left Futures will by now have read the letter from Neal Lawson (he of Compass fame) and others in yesterday’s Guardian. The purpose of the letter is said to be to stiffen Labour’s resolve to be radical and not to try coasting to power on the back of Coalition failure. So far, so […]
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Why Marx was right
Mar 19th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I’m currently reading Terry Eagleton’s Why Marx Was Right, a little book that came out in 2011. And, I have to say, it is possibly the best short introductory work to Marx and Marxism I’ve read. And I’ve read a lot. Taking a set of common charges made against Marx (Marx was a determinist, Marx hated individualism, […]
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Reclaiming our Labour party – from the bottom up
Mar 18th, 2014 by James West.JAMES WEST reports from the inaugural meeting of the Derby Red Labour group Recently, a few members of my local Labour party in Derby met up to discuss how we can make Labour more representative of our class, and of our communities. The meeting took place under the banner of “Red Labour” – an informal […]
