Long before I’d ever been on an anti-war march or read of book of Marx, the first spark of left wing thought emerged in my brain as I was growing up listening to The Levellers. It was this Brighton-based folk-punk outfit that provided the voice of a generation opposed to repressive Tory rule, sticking two […]
Managed to get this letter into the Guardian today, signed by director Ken Loach, Only Fools and Horses actor Roger Lloyd Pack, former Children’s laureate Michael Rosen and a number of other famous writers, academics, activists and musicians supporting Left Unity. This summer will be remembered for Labour‘s final betrayal of the working-class people it
Letter in the Guardian: Left Unity ready to offer an alternative Read More »
Chavs author, Independent writer and Labour activist Owen Jones talked to Salman Shaheen about the People’s Assembly and the prospects for resistance to austerity If the People’s Assembly could be summarised in a word, it would be optimism. From the opening speeches it crackled, infusing enthused activists with the idea that austerity – a failure
Owen Jones calls on the left to unite against austerity Read More »
It’s a curious irony that with the death of Margaret Thatcher and the release of Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45, the two great ideological consensuses of the 20th century should return to sharp focus at the same time. Both ideologies emerged from a country in ruins. On the one hand, a spirit of unity,
Did Thatcher make Britain a more selfish country? Read More »
My editorial from the April issue of International Tax Review. The annual circus of jibes, justifications and recriminations visited Britain again last month when Chancellor George Osborne unveiled his latest budget. Osborne faced a particularly rough ride this year, even with a tax agenda which has been broadly welcomed by British business. After all, with
Margaret Thatcher died today. They say you should not speak ill of the dead, so I shan’t be writing any long obituaries. Thatcher was my ideological opposite, after all. Born in the year of the miner’s strike, I was too young to remember much of her time in power, but looking back on her record,
Margaret Thatcher’s death is nothing to celebrate, her legacy lives on Read More »
After Iain Duncan Smith claimed he could live on £53 a week in benefits instead of his £1581 a week post-tax salary, he was challenged by an online petition to put his money where his mouth is. Within a day the petition attracted more than 200,000 signatures. Petitions are hardly the strongest form of political
The government of millionaires needs to wake up to the lives of millions Read More »
Ed Miliband says that British politics will be a “poorer place” now that his brother David is stepping down as an MP to run the International Rescue Committee. This is likely to be a contentious point for many on the Labour left who will be keen to see the party cleansed of Blairite clones like
David Miliband’s departure shows Ed is set to be the next Prime Minister Read More »
Eddie Mair did what few journalists have thus far managed to do: find a chink in Boris Johnson’s armour. No doubt Johnson expected that his usual arsenal of bumbling buffoonery, humorous soundbites and foppish charm would allow him to walk the interview as easily as he walked into voters’ affections. But in landing three damaging
Boris Johnson: Fears of a clown Read More »
I was on RT News at noon on Wednesday giving my predictions for a predictably dire budget and giving Osborne both barrels. Watch here
Appearance on RT News: Bashing the budget Read More »
