The day before yesterday, I had an online discussion with a couple of comrades (Jonathan Todd and Tom Watson, if you must know) on the subject of Michael Gove’s proposals for blanket banning mobile phones in schools and the wider subject of school discipline. First of all, to be clear, I have always thought that… Continue reading School discipline: an open goal for the Tories?
Author: robert.marchant
Green stuff
Courtesy of Climate Progess and Bill Becker I realise that, having been engrossed with the goings-on in the Labour Party recently, I have not done anything on green stuff, despite being a budding eco-entrepreneur and generally interested person in this area. I have to confess that, politically, my problem is finding people who think climate… Continue reading Green stuff
Demo good, media bad?
There is surely no need to add to the articles Saturday’s demo dissecting the actions of UK Uncut and the black bloc, although it seems uncertain whether these groups were not, in the end, a sideshow to the principal lessons from it all. Perhaps trickier to explain was the laying of any remaining blame, as… Continue reading Demo good, media bad?
Cameron’s new weapon: the Portuguese man-o-war
Read my first-ever article for Progress, on the Tories’ clever use of the Euro crisis, here.
The aftermath
I don’t want to decry those who went to Saturday’s “March for the Alternative” demo. After all, they did it with all the best intention in the world, and they had every right to. But, for the historical record: the demo was an undeniable car-crash for the Party, in which almost all the things discussed… Continue reading The aftermath
The wrong demo: five reasons why
On Saturday Ed Miliband will be speaking, but not marching, at one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations for many years. Activist Luke Akehurst writes passionately and eloquently about the need for all of us involved in the Labour movement to march and, on the face of it, it is an obvious way to capitalise on… Continue reading The wrong demo: five reasons why
Dance like no-one is watching
I have been shamed. I am not worthy. For two reasons: firstly I realise that recently I have been posting quite a lot of Centre Left articles on the blogsites Labour List, Labour Uncut and Left Foot Forward (some of them modestly successful, though I say it myself). But you, dear readers, who have been… Continue reading Dance like no-one is watching
Libya: why do we still look at conflicts through 19th Century glasses?
To the intense surprise of everyone, the UN has finally voted for a no-fly zone over Libya. Russia and China were at least convinced not to veto. For the first time since resolution 1441 on Iraq – let’s not forget, unanimous and fairly uncontroversial at the time – the international community has decided to do… Continue reading Libya: why do we still look at conflicts through 19th Century glasses?
The Emperor’s new progressive majority
With his LSE lecture David Miliband is back. We should be delighted: not, one would hope, because there are too many partisan squabblers who wanted him to lead the Party and can’t accept that he lost, but because we are all grown-ups and he is a huge talent which we cannot afford to waste. But some of his… Continue reading The Emperor’s new progressive majority
Genocide, intervention and defending our indefensible institutions
There’s an odd, and slightly twisted argument doing the rounds at the moment. It goes: it’s perfectly ok to let genocide happen, yes, even on your doorstep. Let’s just restrict the discussion to that. Not regime change, not geopolitical advantage, simply the prevention of genocide. It’s ok. And, don’t worry, you can always find a… Continue reading Genocide, intervention and defending our indefensible institutions