Oh dear. To read the Observer report of Shaun Woodward’s leaked memo on how Labour should attack the Tories, the question which springs to mind is not so much, is this going to be genuine Labour strategy as, what on earth was he thinking? The thrust of the piece is that Labour should attack the… Continue reading Brand the Tories right wing? I Woodwouldn’t
Author: robert.marchant
Hard choices (reprise)
Nearing the end of the Mandelson memoirs: love or hate the Prince of Darkness, they are essential reading for those who want to understand Labour’s last twenty years, and the Brown years in particular. Memoirs must always be read with the caveat that you view the world through the author’s prism. However, at their best,… Continue reading Hard choices (reprise)
Warning: Euro-iceberg approaching
As we pass an unusually newsworthy summer on the domestic front with phone-hacking and riots, not to mention economic wobbles in the US and China, let alone Libya, it might be wise to return for a moment to the iceberg edging towards our own continent, its long-term significance for Britain ultimately liable to outstrip all… Continue reading Warning: Euro-iceberg approaching
Labour’s riots response: wrong on tactics, wrong on strategy
It was a mere few days ago that we were praising the willingness of a reinvigorated Ed Miliband to make hard decisions. The dumping of the Shadow Cabinet elections. The explicit non-backing for an unpopular strike. Most striking of all, two occasions on which he had gone out on a limb against powerful interests –… Continue reading Labour’s riots response: wrong on tactics, wrong on strategy
The week the tectonic plates shifted
Night view from the Peace Hotel, Shanghai Think for a moment, if you can, beyond the riots. Beyond the slow-burning flames engulfing parts of the Murdoch empire. Beyond the British cuts and the British growth problem, to that delicate balancing of immense forces which is global geopolitics. And, last week, amongst the domestic news, you… Continue reading The week the tectonic plates shifted
Parliamentary recall: the return of gesture politics
So, parliament is to be recalled for a day to debate the disturbances in London and elsewhere. Now, there is clearly an arguable case for the home secretary, the mayor of London and even the Prime Minister to be there for COBRA, but…parliament? Why? First, a necessity for parliament sitting arises if we need to… Continue reading Parliamentary recall: the return of gesture politics
In the hands of the many, not the few
So, we are having a debate about the role of unions in the Party. Perhaps Ed, as my Uncut colleague Peter Watt suggests, is on a hiding to nothing: he is paddling against a strong current of realpolitik that dictates that this cannot change, at least whilst the party is taking ninety per cent of… Continue reading In the hands of the many, not the few
How pseudo-democracy fools us all
Democracy, as even that oft-pessimistic Marxist historian, Eric Hobsbawm, noted in his rather good volume Age Of Extremes, is one of the great unsung advances of the twentieth century. The post-war period, especially, saw a huge increase in the proportion of the population living in democracies, a development for which we should all be thankful.… Continue reading How pseudo-democracy fools us all
Racism: you couldn’t make this stuff up
“Appeasing racists and the…ideology that is behind them does not lead to success or cohesion. Concessions and encouragement…lead them to demand and get more.” Jeremy Corbyn MP, who continues to defend racist Islamist preacher Raed Salah, rightly vilifies white racists in the Morning Star. But without, apparently, seeing the slightest hint of irony.
What the hell were you doing in Gaza, Mr Lloyd?
A piece of late news: last Sunday, Tony Lloyd MP led a delegation to meet with Hamas leaders in Gaza. A Labour Party spokesman said yesterday: “Labour supports UK policy not to speak to Hamas. MPs’ visits arranged privately are a matter for them to comment on as individuals.” But Tony Lloyd is not any… Continue reading What the hell were you doing in Gaza, Mr Lloyd?