Politics

Labour Rose

Labour is not losing support because left-wing policies are not popular: it’s losing support because they are

The conventional narrative that framed New Labour’s dominance over the party and subsequent election victories went that traditionally left-wing ideas are no longer popular and that votes had to be attracted from the centre and the right. Thus the Labour Party marched ever rightwards, confident in the assumption that its working class and left-wing base

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Left Unity Guardian

Letter in the Guardian: The diminishing influence of the left in the Labour party

I have a letter in today’s Guardian: Ken Loach’s article (Labour is not the solution, 28 March) has received a fantastic response – 250 people joined Left Unity over the weekend, when we held our first national conference. But Labour supporters would rather see us pack up our things and go home. They tell us

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Labour must watch its left flank in months to come

Left Unity is the hottest thing on the left right now. In a few short months, it has attracted more than 1,800 members. With a new member joining every 10 minutes over the weekend, the party is going from strength to strength. On Saturday, Left Unity held its first national conference in Manchester. After a

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Salman Shaheen - Andrew Neil - Daily Politics

Appearance on BBC Daily Politics: Andrew Neil interviews me about Left Unity

  Left Unity has been making headlines in the mainstream media lately. Over 200 people joined on Friday after Ken Loach wrote an article about it for the Guardian and Russell Brand tweeted it. Amid the media buzz, I was interviewed by Andrew Neil on the Daily Politics, talking about how Labour’s support for the

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Nick Ferrari

Appearance on LBC Radio: Nick Ferrari interviews me on inheritance tax

In a bid to shore up his right flank from the UKIP onslaught, David Cameron is once again suggesting the Tories could pledge to raise the inheritance tax threshold t the next election. It’ll be a popular measure for owners of the 3% of estates which actually pay the tax, but does it actually matter

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Nick Clegg lies

Did Nick Clegg receive a spine for Christmas, or just a second face?

Either it’s an election year, or Nick Clegg has suddenly discovered some principles. This week, George Osborne announced that there would be another £25 billion in spending cuts after the 2015 general election and around half of that would come from the welfare budget. For Clegg, who must have been given a spine at Christmas,

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Salman Shaheen RT Going Underground

Appearance on RT Going Underground: People power party

I was back on RT on Saturday, this time talking to Afshin Rattansi for their UK political talk show, Going Underground. Ten minutes to chat about the formation of Left Unity and why we need a new political party to provide a voice for working class and vulnerable people in Britain, long since abandoned by

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