I don’t want to decry those who went to Saturday’s “March for the Alternative” demo. After all, they did it with all the best intention in the world, and they had every right to. But, for the historical record: the demo was an undeniable car-crash for the Party, in which almost all the things discussed… Continue reading The aftermath
Month: March 2011
The wrong demo: five reasons why
On Saturday Ed Miliband will be speaking, but not marching, at one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations for many years. Activist Luke Akehurst writes passionately and eloquently about the need for all of us involved in the Labour movement to march and, on the face of it, it is an obvious way to capitalise on… Continue reading The wrong demo: five reasons why
Dance like no-one is watching
I have been shamed. I am not worthy. For two reasons: firstly I realise that recently I have been posting quite a lot of Centre Left articles on the blogsites Labour List, Labour Uncut and Left Foot Forward (some of them modestly successful, though I say it myself). But you, dear readers, who have been… Continue reading Dance like no-one is watching
Libya: why do we still look at conflicts through 19th Century glasses?
To the intense surprise of everyone, the UN has finally voted for a no-fly zone over Libya. Russia and China were at least convinced not to veto. For the first time since resolution 1441 on Iraq – let’s not forget, unanimous and fairly uncontroversial at the time – the international community has decided to do… Continue reading Libya: why do we still look at conflicts through 19th Century glasses?
The Emperor’s new progressive majority
With his LSE lecture David Miliband is back. We should be delighted: not, one would hope, because there are too many partisan squabblers who wanted him to lead the Party and can’t accept that he lost, but because we are all grown-ups and he is a huge talent which we cannot afford to waste. But some of his… Continue reading The Emperor’s new progressive majority
Genocide, intervention and defending our indefensible institutions
There’s an odd, and slightly twisted argument doing the rounds at the moment. It goes: it’s perfectly ok to let genocide happen, yes, even on your doorstep. Let’s just restrict the discussion to that. Not regime change, not geopolitical advantage, simply the prevention of genocide. It’s ok. And, don’t worry, you can always find a… Continue reading Genocide, intervention and defending our indefensible institutions
Tax: it’s the politics, stupid
Not content with the questionable strategy – not to mention thoughtful gift to David Cameron – of our insisting on the extension of 50% tax band indefinitely, Ed Balls has now indicated in a Progress interview that he is thinking about implementing one of his leadership campaign planks as well, and lowering the threshold of the band. Now, I have no doubt… Continue reading Tax: it’s the politics, stupid