Lutte Ouvrière: savoir faire trotskyiste
Arlette Laguiller – veteran presidential candidate for French Trots Lutte Ouvrière – has launched a massive poster campaign on the other side of the Channel, according to Le Monde [in French]. In line with French electoral law, at this stage the publicity makes no reference to her party or her candidature for the top job [...]
Labour and the trade unions: what next?
Could Labour survive without a formalised link to the unions? According to this report in The Guardian, it seems Blair believes the answer is yes, providing that state funding can be secured instead: ‘Union members would be required to agree to annual donations to the party through their unions, it was alleged at a private [...]
Chile: hasta la vista Pinochet
This footage – showing a lot of evidently very happy Chileans, some of them waving red flags – has been posted on YouTube in the wake of the death of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, with the following simple explanation: ‘A dos horas de la muerte del tirano una multitud espontánea de más de 6 mil [...]
Unions: emergency £500,000 bail out to New Labour
Financially speaking, New Labour remains a long way up a well-known creek without any paddle. Fortunately for the Blairites, the unions have come to the rescue with a £500,000 bail-out. Today’s FT reports: ‘The need for an emergency cash boost underlines the scale of the party’s financial problems. Saddled with debts of £23m, owed for [...]
Why I have rejoined the Labour Party
Yes, I have rejoined the Labour Party. Dave Osler – a bloke who has spent most of the last decade arguing and working for a new political party to the left of New Labour, even writing a book making an extended case as to why such a party is essential – is now member L0093001 [...]
Sheridan turns down Big Brother
After earlier drawing attention to a story suggesting that Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan would be featuring in the next edition of Celebrity Big Brother, it’s only to fair to give the same prominence to his decision not to appear on the reality television show. Here are The facts, according to the Daily Record: ‘Tommy Sheridan [...]
Dave’s Part: Best non-labour blog 2006
It’s official. Dave’s Part has been selected as the Bloggers4Labour best non-labour blog of 2006, in a very narrow win over Stumbling and Mumbling, written by another East Midlands ex-grammar school boy. Thanks to all who voted for me. Except … I am afraid I am going to have to return the gong, as I [...]
Kentish Town: why Labour loses safe council seats
Camden council’s Kentish Town ward used to be classic safe Labour territory. Not any more. The Lib-Dems picked up two of the three seats last May. Last night they secured the third, topping the poll by a healthy margin. The Greens – represented by principle speaker Sian Berry – pushed Labour’s Sam McBratney into third [...]
Trotsky Vengaran: Uruguay’s top punk band
I knew I couldn’t be the only person in the world working towards an insidious fusion of Fourth Internationalism and punk rock. And I was right. Quite by chance, I have discovered that Uruguay’s top punk band is an outfit called Trotsky Vengaran. The name means literally ‘Trotsky Will Be Avenged.’ Judging by this video, [...]
John McDonnell: rebel, rebel
It seems former home secretary Charles Clarke is no fan of the Labour left’s standard bearer, according to blogger parburypolitica, who writes today: ‘I went last night to a meeting organised by Bethnal Green and Bow Labour Party where Charles Clarke called for Labour leadership contender John McDonnell to leave the Labour party because he [...]
