In defence of Socialist Action. Sort of.
A Channel Four documentary tonight is set the launch the first full-on mainstream media attack on the evils of nasty, nasty Trotskyism for at least 20 years. As a middle-aged ex-Trot myself, I feel two decades younger already. It’s been too long, guys. If advance write-ups in the Sunday Times and Observer yesterday are anything [...]
Pierre Lambert 1920-2008
Pierre Lambert – leader of the French Trotskyist organisation Parti des travailleurs, pictured left – has died at the age of 87. You can read his obituary in Le Monde – in French, what else? – here. Born as Pierre Boussel in Paris in June 1920, the son of a Russian-Jewish émigré tailor, Lambert was [...]
Uncomradely
I know I should be honoured that the hit counter gods of the far left deign to mention me at all. But it seems that two of Britain’s best-loved socialist bloggers have unaccountably been moved to say unkindly things about poor little me. Lenin of Lenin’s Tomb fame remarks in the comments box of AVPS: [...]
Anarchy in the UK: remembering the Angry Brigade
In the weeks after 7/7, many commentators repeatedly asked how and why people born and raised in this country could commit acts of terrorism against British targets. But it has happened before, of course. Back in the early seventies, a small number of anarchist activists initiated Britain’s first urban guerrilla group, styling themselves the Angry [...]
Diana: death of a princess
I spent the August bank holiday weekend of 1997 on a dirty weekend in Paris. For fairly obvious reasons, then, I was somewhat oblivious to such trivialities as whatever major news events may have been taking place in the city. On the Sunday afternoon, I even took the love interest for a romantic stroll along [...]
Regional development: New Labour success?
The success of New Labour’s regional development agency strategy since 1999 has been obscured by the detachment of financial services-driven London from the rest of the economy. That’s the claim of business minister Stephen Timms, speaking at a Fabian Society event yesterday, anyway. I guess this argument runs in parallel with the idea that Britain’s [...]
Gordon Brown, Thatcherite
Gordon Brown, Thatcherite? I wouldn’t dream of saying that myself, of course; it’s just too damn Dave Spart for me to get away with. Oh no, I’m simply quoting the succinct title of a chapter in Simon Jenkins’ recent book ‘Thatcher and Sons: a Revolution in Three Acts’. Not being a particular fan of the [...]
Guest post: Peter Hain on the struggle for workers’ control
OK, I admit to cheating slightly here. Although I did used to know Peter reasonably well – I even once joined him and his now ex-wife Pat for rather delicious home-cooked Sunday lunch at their house in Putney – I know full well that these days he wouldn’t bother returning an old comrade’s calls. So [...]
Capital of Culture: Liverpool deserves more
Ever visited anywhere expressly because it was designated Europe’s Capital of Culture for a given year? Me neither. In 2008, it is the turn of Liverpool to hold the title, an honour it will share with Stavanger in Norway. Naturally, local politicians hope the designation will prove an economic boost to what may well be [...]
Tony Blair & JPMorgan: the Enron connection
Tony Blair is all over the media today, after taking up a £500,000 a year part-time job as an adviser JPMorgan Chase. The former prime minister expects this to be the first of “a small handful” of similar appointments. Some idea of the centre of political gravity at the Wall Street investment bank can be [...]
