Category: Uncategorized

Between Miliband’s speech last week and Cameron’s imminent one, there have been many pieces on Labour’s audacious, and slightly unexpected, pitch for the centre ground. It still has drawbacks: it does not deal with the state of the party organisation, and it does not deal with the deficit. But it is a good strategy, and… Continue reading Why One Nation is a great attack strategy for Labour, and why that is not enough

This morning, news came in of Hugo Chávez’s not entirely unexpected win in Venezuela’s presidential election. Now, today is not the time to review the man’s record in office on areas such as the economy, human rights or foreign policy, although these things are important – but, from this election result hangs an illuminating tale of the… Continue reading Labour, Venezuela, and the strange tale of “official observation”

Last week there was much speculation about whether or not Salma Yaqoob, the former leader of Respect who understandably resigned rather than share a party with George Galloway, might join the Labour Party, should she so desire. Indeed, local Labour MP Richard Burden on Thursday extended the hand of friendship, saying she would “be an… Continue reading Respect: the case against allowing extremists into the Labour party

Just to note that 1.5 MILLION people today demonstrated in Barcelona for Catalan independence. I have written before  how I don’t think that either that or Scottish independence will happen any time soon, and continue to do so. But if they keep this up, I may have to revise my opinion. 1.5 million, is, I reckon,… Continue reading UK Unionists: don’t take your eye off the ball

Who’d be David Cameron right now? Mired in political treacle, this week he is trying to divert attention away from his problems with a reshuffle, and wrest back the initiative by lots of serious-sounding pronouncements about economic growth which is proving highly elusive. The public doesn’t seem to be very impressed by him or his… Continue reading Aspirational Britain lies waiting to be claimed

Once upon a time, there was a left-wing newspaper. Its founder, C.P. Scott, clearly saw it as less of a paper and more of a social mission. My grandfather, a true Socialist all his life, religiously took the Guardian every day, and I would leaf through it as a teenager, mulling over its worthy appraisals… Continue reading Comment Is Free: eating the Guardian

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks currently claiming asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy, is only the last in the long line of distinguished anti-Western campaigners, so adored by the liberal left. Assange may or may not be guilty of rape, and you may or may not agree with the motivation of Wikileaks as a liberating… Continue reading Thank you Julian Assange: you have shown your true colours and got George Galloway to show his

The average reaction of most Labourites to last Monday’s news from Corby must surely have been: we never really took to you as an MP, but hey, thank you so much, Louise Mensch. To have pulled out of her marginal seat after only two years in the job, forcing an unwanted by-election in the middle… Continue reading Corby is a not just a by-election Labour ought to win: it is one it cannot afford to lose

Banks, eh? On the British left, we’re often so busy disliking them in general that we don’t always take the time to differentiate between their misdemeanours. While we’ve been exercising ourselves greatly about irresponsible bankers who have largely been operating within the rules – and where arguably we ought to be looking first to governments,… Continue reading Standard Chartered: these are the real ills of modern banking

My fifth post for the New Statesman, essentially about why I think François Hollande’s maths is fundamentally flawed, is here. UPDATE: I should point out, that the excellent Chris Dillow, who understands these things (he is a professional economist, as well as a very good blogger) agrees with me on the pensions question.