The Tory election campaign is not – so far – going well. Kicking off with a Boris Johnson editorial in the Telegraph that looked like someone forgot to remove the hyperlink from the front page and continuing with an ongoing row over Tory MPs insulting the memories of the victims of Grenfell.
Read MoreLabour HQ will be asking themselves two questions today: Can we stop this from being a Brexit election and should we try?
It seems from the outset that the answer to the first question is likely to be no. That makes the second part redundant.
Read MoreDavid Cameron used to describe himself as the heir to Blair. In some facile ways this was true. They both had an approach to politics that was more about media management than a commitment to an ideology. They were both fairly proud centrists – on the internal edges of the places where their parties met the country. While on domestic economic policy they differed somewhat – particularly after the 2008 crash which Cameron used to undo much of Blair’s previous investment instincts – on domestic social policy areas like gay rights, Cameron delighted in going against the small c instincts of the Conservatives.
Read MoreStudent politics barely matter to most students and really shouldn’t matter to anyone more than two years out of university or college. Anyone who thinks too much about the complex voting system of a student organisation they've long since left is not the kind of person you want to be stuck with at a party.
Read MoreIs Amber Rudd a hero—or villain? There has been a lot of friction recently between FBPE-types who think Rudd is a hero for resigning the Tory whip, and her cabinet job, over Johnson’s extremist behaviour, and those to their left who blame her for a series of wider societal issues—in particular, the Windrush scandal over which she had to resign after misleading the house of commons (what a long time ago that seems).
Read MoreIf you ever got bored of seeing Ed Miliband eat a bacon sandwich, just wait until you see the mileage people get out of this one
Read MoreThe National Union of Journalists (NUJ) have called for a reversal of changes to the way Companies House list Director’s details. After a recent change, the full date of birth and home address of company directors is no longer listed. This can make it harder to verify who they are – especially for journalists for whom this information can be vital to confirm a story.
Read MoreChange UK’s all-but-demise is hardly unexpected. It was a poorly conceived and inadequately run outfit from the start. Given that it was apparently planned for months in advance, that it was so shambolic throughout its short life was even more telling of the failures of those who ran it. Yet even though I didn’t expect it to succeed, I never expected it to fail that badly, that quickly.
I was never going to vote Change and I would never have suggested anyone else do so. I want a socialist government and I vote for a socialist party. But I want that socialist government to be internationalist in its outlook, and an essential part of that for me is campaigning to keep us in the EU.
Read MoreThere’s no spinning this – these elections were a disaster for Labour. We bled votes almost entirely to Parties who supported Remain and halved our representation in the European Parliament. That’s ten excellent Socialists who will no longer be fighting on the international stage for Labour values.
Read MoreFollowing David Lammy's recent comments comparing the European Research Group (ERG) to Nazis, and the ongoing dispute over the dismissal of government adviser Roger Scruton for appearing to make what Downing Street described as "deeply offensive" comments, some people have been invoking Godwin's Law. This is the internet “rule” that the longer an argument goes on the more the likelihood that someone will invoke the Nazis and that then shuts down all debate.
Read MoreMust our politicians disappoint? That is the question that is keeping some of us on the liberal left up at night.
The latest let down is Justin Trudeau. He of the bilingual social media, refugee welcoming press stunts and (somewhat performative) feminism. While Trudeau was never as left wing as many of us economically, his leadership style on social issues did seem like a breath of fresh air. He appeared to be willing to take action that went against the narrative of the day, making genuinely tough decisions on issues like immigration where the easy option would have been to turn people away.
Read MoreThere’s no other way to say it: Brexit is a mess right now. So it’s not a great shock that the public would prefer to remain in the EU rather than accept Theresa May’s deal or a no-deal Brexit, according to a recent poll.
This pro-EU stance is likely to be bolstered on Saturday with a mass demonstration in favour of a people’s vote. The upcoming march will be a long cry from the soggy, bedraggled mess that was the Brexit Betrayal march. Not least because those who called for this one might even bother to take part.
Read MoreI was a guest host on Fubar Radio where I discussed the impacts of austerity. Guests included Stephen Canning, Mike Galsworthy and Sophie Walker. Here I argue that the divisions on social media are not new. They are reflected in the way the Sun acted over Hillsborough.
Read More“Bringing the Party into disrepute” is a complex, catch-all phrase. Hard to truly define, butyou know it when you see it. And in Chris Williamson MP we have seen it for quite some time.
This week matters came to a head. In the space of 48 hours we have seen Williamson attempt to host an event in Parliament with a woman who has been suspended from the Labour Party under investigation for antisemitism before telling an event in Sheffield that the Party has been“too apologetic” about the same topic.
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