The cause of left unity in the face of an all-out assault on the working class by this Conservative government has never been more necessary nor more urgent. But if Left Unity passes its first hurdle, bringing together the myriad squabbling clans who can sometimes seem to spend as much time attacking each other as […]
Labour does not deserve our unwavering loyalty Read More »
The SWP – one of the most successful organising forces on the British left over the last few decades – is close to death, its good work sacrificed on the altar of the cult a flawed model of democratic centralism created. I will spend no time mourning for there is no time to mourn. The
The left must put aside obscure ideological differences and support Ken Loach’s appeal Read More »
Once upon a time, the financial transaction tax (FTT) was the stuff of legend, supported only by radical economists and written off by the European Commission as unfeasible unless introduced on a global scale. But now, with 11 member states moving forward with the Commission’s ambitious plan to place a 0.1% tax on transactions in
Britain must support the financial transaction tax, it’s only fair Read More »
On Thursday, I attended my first meeting of the new Left Unity group. The gathering – refreshingly organised in a circle with all views given time to air – drew a diverse crowd of people from all manner of political backgrounds, but if there was one common theme to them it was homelessness. Socialists made
Left Unity: The task ahead Read More »
This article was originally written for Left Foot Forward. Tonight I will be attending a meeting of Kate Hudson and Andrew Burgin’s new Left Unity project, which will debate the question: why is there no party to the left of Labour? In the traditional sense, they have a point. The two major projects of the
Greens solidify their reputation as the only real party to the left of Labour Read More »
This article was originally written for Left Foot Forward In an open letter to the Shadow Chancellor, historian Anthony Seldon has called on Ed Balls to “fall on his sword” for the good of his party’s electability. According to Seldon, dropping Balls from front line politics would help Labour lose its tax and spend image.
Ed Balls should not fall on his sword, Britain needs him Read More »
I was on Ken Livingstone and David Mellor’s LBC 97.3 show this morning, speaking in support of Ed Miliband’s plan for a 10p tax rate funded by a mansion tax, and how I would go about cracking down on tax avoidance in the unlikely event George Osborne were to call me up. My favourite moment
This article was originally written for Left Foot Forward. I grew up in a household that had voted Labour since time immemorial, but aside from a second preference vote for Ken Livingstone in last year’s London mayoral elections, I have never voted Labour in my life. I came of political age at the height of
Sixteen years of age, a naive young activist who’d read a bit of Marx and wanted to make the world a better place, I was walking along Lowestoft high street when I encountered a stall of scruffy-looking men campaigning against the impending Afghanistan war who were saying all the things I identified with. They called
Left Unity: A vital project for the age of austerity Read More »
This article was originally written for Left Foot Forward When David Cameron blindsided Ed Miliband with an in-out referendum on the EU last month, he hoped to deal a devastating blow to the opposition by painting the Conservatives as the party of democracy with its finger on the pulse of public opinion against an out
Labour’s poll lead over Tories proves austerity is more unpopular than the EU Read More »
