Author: robert.marchant

And so it was that, last Thursday, we learned that John McDonnell MP wanted to abolish Labour’s Compliance Unit (£), which deals with constitutional and disciplinary issues. “The NEC of the Labour Party are looking at the whole exercise — how we can move away from this regime that expels people, prevents people joining.” Not… Continue reading The slow, inexorable takeover of the party machine

A brief thought about this, having just read this piece by my good comrade Dan Fox: At time of writing, six days on from the row described in my last post, what has Labour done about the rampant anti-Semitism happening in Oxford, which symbolises something terribly wrong amongst its membership? Has it prompted a comment… Continue reading Oxford Labour Students and anti-Semitism: a post script

On Monday, the chair of Oxford University Labour Club, starting point for generations of Labour cabinet ministers, resigned, claiming a number of his fellow Labour Students were showing anti-Semitic behaviour. Which begs a reasonable question: should the British left, and Labour in particular, be worried about the resurgence of anti-Semitism? Or is this all just… Continue reading Anti-Semitism: head-in-the-sand Labour still does not see the danger

The UK’s national media, not to mention Labour Uncut and this blog, have not spoken much about Scotland recently but, as the gaze of Britain’s political machine turns briefly northwards, as it does every four years, that will change. It is right that it will, and this time it should not be brief. This is not… Continue reading The Tories are within 4 points of Scottish Labour. What a time to try to outflank the SNP from the left

While the party membership has been convulsed by the burgeoning civil war over the Corbyn leadership phenomenon, policy has – understandably – taken something of a back seat. However, in recent weeks it has been in the news over one area. Surely, you say, it must be how to rework Labour’s economic policy to make… Continue reading Seven rubbish defences for Labour’s defence policy review

And so we come to the traditional year-end round-up of the Centre Left’s most popular posts:5. Five dangers for Labour as the finish line approaches – In those heady days when we had merely slightly-hopeless Ed Miliband rather than disastrous Jeremy Corbyn as party leader, there was actually a time when many felt that Miliband was… Continue reading The best of 2015

Twas the night before Christmas, and in Labour’s houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St Jeremy soon would be there.Corbynistas were nestled all snug in their beds,Political utopias danced in their heads.It’s ok, they dreamt, don’t pay heed to the polls,The party… Continue reading Twas the night before Christmas (with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

groupthink, n., [grüp-ˌthiŋk]: a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics – Merriam-Webster online dictionary The saddest thing about party conference this year, as commentator Iain Martin remarked, was “otherwise nice/sensible people trying to persuade themselves it will be ok”. If there were a fortnight to… Continue reading Labour has reached peak groupthink

It was no surprise, naturally, when the Stop the War Coalition (or rather, Stop The Wars That I Say But Not The Other Ones) decided to blame the horrific bombings and shootings in Paris last Friday night on “Western intervention”.But the first post which came out from this perennially dreadful crew was particularly crass, even… Continue reading Paris, the Stoppers and straight talking, honest politics

It’s easy to read the politics pages of national newspapers and think that the real problem of Labour’s moderates is that they’ve got to get a shiny new strategy together that is neither New Labour nor Miliband Labour, but something which will get Labour back in power. That, in short, it doesn’t really know what… Continue reading Labour moderates should stop worrying about the next high-falutin’ political strategy and get organising