I grew up in something approximating a ‘white working class’ home. Not that we ever thought of ourselves that way. We just saw ourselves as ‘normal’, though we were keenly aware of the financial distinctions which placed some of our middle class neighbours slightly above us. We never thought of ourselves as white either. In […]
Conspiracy theories have long been considered eccentric and ridiculous in Britain. You may have had a relative who believed the CIA murdered JFK or that Harold Wilson was nearly overthrown by a military coup. But in typically English fashion, we usually laughed at people like that. Yet nowadays it feel as if there is more […]
In a year of sorrow and anxiety, this week has been particularly sombre. On the January 26, almost 12 months to the day since the first British nationals tested positive for Covid-19, Britain passed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from the virus, one of the highest death rates in the world. But though there […]
The continued reverence for certain authoritarian regimes on the fringes of the left is probably a testament to the scale of socialism’s defeat at the close of the 20th century. Since then the left, in both its social democratic and socialist guises, has adopted a broadly defensive stance. Social democrats spend most of their time […]
We’re all looking for things to cheer us up in these apocalyptic times when even a trip to the supermarket is fraught with potential danger. We live online to an even greater extent now than ever before, and it is in the online realm that many are sharing their heart-warming stories of individuals doing good […]
It is difficult to tell whether the Labour leadership contest feels insignificant because of the mediocrity of the candidates or the wider shambles that is the party. The latest episode – or more accurately, the latest ‘Wtf?’ moment – involves the suspension (pending potential expulsion) of the former head of the equalities watchdog, Trevor Phillips, […]
To judge by Constituency Labour Party nominations, Keir Starmer is storming his way to the Labour leadership. Last week the frontrunner even secured the nomination of Islington North CLP – a remarkable win given it is Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency. So far Starmer is well out in front, with 280 nomintions to just 131 for his […]
Public ownership is back on the Labour Party agenda and has been since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader back in 2015. Corbyn is still Labour leader of course – he will officially step down once his successor is elected on 4 April – but his potential heirs are fighting to demonstrate their fealty […]
Class is back on the agenda – in the Labour Party at least. On the back of a disastrous election defeat in which Labour lost many of its former working class strongholds, a debate has begun as to who its ‘core vote’ actually is in the twenty-first century. This started prior to December’s election to […]
As things stand, the most likely outcome of the general election next week is a Conservative majority. The polls have narrowed a little in recent weeks but they still give the Tories a healthy lead of around 9 points. A first outright majority for the Conservatives since 2015 would allow Boris Johnson to get his […]
Jeremy Corbyn is often referred to as a man of peace by his supporters. Based largely on his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which is something of a litmus test in this regard, he is said to have consistently been on the “right side of history”. In 2017, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Emily […]
