We’re like that in the Labour Party, aren’t we? Oh, he’s a nice bloke, he deserves a shot at this. One of us. Can’t we swing it to get him on the list? Or, worse: we’d better put him on the list, or there’ll be hell to pay. Never mind that the rules of the… Continue reading This is a competition between individuals who aspire to govern a country. It is not a charity event
Month: June 2015
Hobsbawm on authoritarian ambitions
While we have all been a little preoccupied with the Labour leadership race, the Centre Left has not talked recently about foreign policy. But, a thought from that great historian, Eric Hobsbawm, on the run-up to the Second World War: “However, another thing wove the threads of national politics into a single international web: the… Continue reading Hobsbawm on authoritarian ambitions
In the battle for post-Miliband Labour, Unite’s leadership fights from a position of weakness, not strength
When you are on the back foot, play the victim. The underdog. Under attack from the establishment. If they ask awkward questions, do not accept the premise of the question. Thus has the hard left defended itself against any kind of rational criticism based on mere facts, for decades.In a remarkably disingenuous, more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger piece at… Continue reading In the battle for post-Miliband Labour, Unite’s leadership fights from a position of weakness, not strength