The EU/US trade deal (TTIP) is a vast power grab on behalf of the world’s biggest corporations, and there’s still time to stop it. In this new international order – or disorder – the economic, military, political and even moral leadership of the West is increasingly challenged” Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner, 12 June, on the […]
Posts Tagged ‘Democracy’
Labour needs to design a co-operative, democratic economy
Feb 19th, 2014 by James Gibson.The very ideas of ‘guild socialism’ and ‘distributism’ have been rarely advocated since the early 20th century, yet the case for equality and common ownership is stronger than ever. Perhaps the marginalisation of guild socialists is a product of the global polarisation that has made us forget about the fundamental power of economic co-operation? We have […]
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Westminster MPs: herded through the lobbies without knowing what they’re voting for
Nov 7th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.It’s a case not so much as turkeys voting for Christmas as turkeys voting to reject their escape into freedom. The House yesterday debated the proposal, originally put forward by Parliament First (the All-Party Parliamentary Group on reform of parliamentary procedure which I chair), that all amendments tabled at the committee and report stages of […]
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Europe needs a citizens’ revolution, declare Lafontaine and Mélenchon
Nov 23rd, 2012 by Newsdesk.The following declaration was yesterday issued by Oskar Lafontaine, who has previously been German finance minister, chair of the SPD and co-chair of Die Linke (Left Party), and Jean Luc Mélenchon, the Presidential Candidate for France’s Front du Gauche: We note with dismay the use made of the European Union as a tool of widespread austerity. […]
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Democracy’s a great system – shame we don’t have it
Nov 15th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.A remarkable thing happened in Parliament in this last week, but it passed without notice. The government lost a vote, but then opted to ignore it. It was an important vote – namely whether Cameron’s mandate in the Brussels negotiations should be for an increase or a cut in the EU budget – but having […]
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Labour Students: “inward-looking”, “exclusive” and “undemocratic”
Aug 14th, 2012 by Keith Wright.An active university Labour club has accused the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS) of being “inward-looking”, “exclusive” and “wilfully undemocratic”. In a damning and revelatory letter, Cambridge Universities Labour Club has explained its reasons for disaffiliating from the national organisation.
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The Ukrainian goose & Greek gander
Feb 21st, 2012 by Ann Pettifor.The following is about the Ukraine, hardly a model of transparency, accountability and democracy. But it is interesting for what it tell us about the thinking of the great imperial powers (GIPs). On the one hand today’s GIPs make a great to-do about the need for democracy, often insisting that it is a condition for […]
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The Labour Right and democracy
Feb 21st, 2012 by Conrad Landin.Many in the Labour party, including myself, have criticised far-left outfits for their lack of accountability and democratic control. Members of such parties, which often describe themselves as ‘leaderless’, get purged at the whim of those who call the shots. Appointments are made to top positions, and the organisation’s members won’t hear until it’s final. […]
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The terrifying intentions of Eurozone technocrats
Nov 22nd, 2011 by Ann Pettifor.As the world economy fails to recover, and instead threatens to implode we are now witness to political and social developments in Europe that are deeply alarming, even if inevitable. It is important that we understand and prepare for the implications of recent events. The good news is that both politicians and official policymakers at […]
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Greece, Italy: now markets choose prime ministers
Nov 18th, 2011 by David Osler.I am not entitled to vote in either Greece or Italy; even if I were, I would not support either George Papandreou or Silvio Berlusconi, anyway. In the normal run of events, I would greet their departure from office with Zen-like equanimity. But what we have seen in the last week or so is not the […]
