As the Labour leadership election picks up pace, and some of the dividing lines between the candidates are beginning to emerge, I feel that it is becoming increasingly necessary for the some of the so-called frontrunners to revisit the career of Barbara Castle. One of the most esteemed figures from Labour’s history, Castle proved that […]
Posts under ‘Migration/Immigration’
Immigration and benefits: the political economy of scapegoating
Jun 2nd, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Immigration and benefits. Immigration and benefits. Immigration and benefits. I can barely remember a time when these weren’t commanding headlines or the imaginations of politicians. One might say that this is no surprise, seeing as they are both hot button issues for the public – though it might be said these issues are fabricated and […]
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Labour needs to confront not appease the UKIP agenda
May 29th, 2015 by Barry Gray.In the wake of UKIP’s electoral advance, both at this year’s General Election and last year’s European Parliament election, the Labour Party has come under growing pressure, from inside and outside its own ranks, to adapt to UKIP’s anti-immigrant and English nationalist agenda. Backed by the right-wing media, the Blue Labour current within the party in […]
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If you think Ed Miliband was too leftwing you weren’t paying attention
May 14th, 2015 by Diane Abbott.It is alarming how quickly the myth has taken hold that Ed Miliband lost the general election because he was too “leftwing”. On the one hand, it might seem a reasonable guess at all the reasons for our failure. Miliband is, after all, the son of one of the 20th century’s most distinguished Marxist academics. But in […]
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The Tories won a tactical victory – not an endorsement of austerity
May 14th, 2015 by Mike Hedges.The general election result was not an endorsement of austerity but was a stunning Tory tactical success. The Tories adopted a policy of defending key marginal seats against Labour and UKIP and attacking in Liberal Democrat seats. The strategy worked and lead to a Tory majority government for the first time since 1992. This was […]
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Let’s celebrate the positive role of migration in building modern Britain
May 2nd, 2015 by Diane Abbott.As the general election campaign comes to a climax it remains open season on migrants. London needs to voice its resistance. London is a world class city. Its cultural and economic power comes from its openness to the people of the world. International investment and international relations drive its contribution to the economy. The contribution […]
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Immigration is a mugs game for Labour
Mar 29th, 2015 by Jon Lansman.Whatever you think about immigration, the idea that you can sum up your policy on a pledge card in a soundbite of just three words – “Controls on immigration” is absurd. Doing so on a pledge card is pandering to UKIP. Doing so on a bit of cheap merchandising is tacky, stupid, gratuitously offensive, and […]
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There is nothing radical about little Englandism
Mar 21st, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I’m not an avid follower of Paul Kingsnorth’s work, but I do remember his One No, Many Yeses. This was a contribution – some may say cash-in – to the burgeoning library on the internationalist, anti-capitalist, and fashionably networky movement of sundry NGOs, anarchists and occasional Trots of the early part of the last decade. […]
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How Ukip and their friends are re-writing history
Dec 30th, 2014 by Conrad Landin.If you’ve picked up a newspaper or turned on the radio in the past week, you might have heard about Martyn Heale. He’s Ukip’s branch chairman and election agent in South Thanet – the constituency where one Nigel Farage hopes to be elected an MP next May. He’s also, you’ll probably have heard, a former […]
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Pandering to xenophobia is rooted in an acceptance of austerity and recession
Nov 26th, 2014 by Kate Hudson.Many on the left will be dismayed by the furore surrounding Emily Thornberry’s recent tweet. Whatever the thinking behind the posting of the image, the reality is that the Labour leadership’s subsequent actions have come to symbolise the latest shameful stage in the race to the bottom over immigration. How the Labour leadership has allowed […]
