As is traditional at this time of year (well, we did it last year and thought, what the hey), the top five best-read posts from the year at the Centre Left:
Even before her now-notorious tweet asserting that “white people love to play divide and rule”, her disturbing views on race were clear: that somehow she had a deep insight into the mind of a Bradford Bengali Muslim voter because of the fact that she is also from a (completely different) ethnic minority. Almost as good as Lee Jasper’s “black people can’t be racist”.
When the dear old Guardian decided, astonishingly, that it would celebrate Holocaust Memorial Day by publishing an op-ed by a known anti-Semite. Nice.
3. Me, Galloway and the appreciation of irony
After my Independent piece about George Galloway’s Respect Party, he took to the Internet and was granted a response piece by the good offices of IndyVoices. Although more of an incoherent rant than a considered defence, it required a response.
2. Livingstone logic
As Livingstone’s mayoral campaign slowly imploded, he had tried everyone’s patience to the limit, especially London’s Jewish community, who he managed to successfully alienate by suggesting that, being rich, they were not really his target demographic. No offensive Jews-as-usurers trope implied, of course.
As Livingstone’s mayoral campaign slowly imploded, he had tried everyone’s patience to the limit, especially London’s Jewish community, who he managed to successfully alienate by suggesting that, being rich, they were not really his target demographic. No offensive Jews-as-usurers trope implied, of course.
And, at Number One: after the polls closed in London, this was written after wrestling with my own conscience. For the first time ever in almost twenty years’ party membership, I felt unable to support the Labour candidate in an election, something I hope I will never need to do again (I was not, I should add, the only one).
That’s it, folks – thanks so much for all your support in 2012, and hope you keep enjoying the blog in 2013.