The agenda for the next Conservative government
What can the left and the labour movement expect from the Conservative administration that David Cameron – pictured – will probably be heading less than two years from now? Depressing though it is even to have to consider such matters, I’m afraid this is now an issue that must unavoidably be addressed. Historically, the acid [...]
Nargis, Sichuan, Katrina: natural disasters in class societies
In 1755, one of the most destructive earthquakes in history wiped out 85% of Lisbon, at a cost of anything up 100,000 lives. Among the arguably less important consequences was a debate between two leading figures of the Enlightenment over what philosophers of religion call the problem of natural evil. Voltaire insisted that any God [...]
What if Labour loses Crewe and Nantwich?
One of the signifiers of this globalised age is that for a lot of Londoners involved in politics or the media, there are large chunks of Britain that have become far away places of which we know little. So, for instance, I have spent a fantastic weekend break at the Chicago blues festival and carried [...]
10p tax band U-turn: the lessons for Labour
You’ve probably got to be a fully-qualified accountant to understand the small print of the changes in personal tax allowances unveiled by Alistair Darling – pictured – yesterday. But the political meaning of the announcement is instantly clear; here we have an on-the-hoof attempt to bail out of a mess in which a government with [...]
Progressive politics, innit
Until relatively recently, standard British usage meant that describing someone as ‘a progressive’ was more or less the equivalent to branding them a communist fellow traveller. Not any more; we are all progressives now, it seems. Isn’t anybody willing to stand up for honest-to-goodness barking mad reactionaries these days? It’s not as if they are [...]
The parallels between Gordon Brown and John Major
Who was the worst prime minister of modern times? Answers to such a question cannot but be subjective. But whenever this issue is discussed, the name John Major seems to crop up with greater frequency than the man himself would probably relish. A 2006 article in BBC History magazine, for instance, rates him above only [...]
The class politics of Ken Livingstone’s progressive alliance
If anybody were cruel enough to conduct an ideological paternity test on Ken Livingstone’s article in the Guardian this morning, the resultant DNA read-out would surely see a bloke called Georgi Dimitrov hauled before the Child Support Agency and landed with a hefty maintenance bill. Let’s skip the bits where Livingstone (pictured) offers the de [...]
Cannabis reclassification: the class politics of getting high
Home secretary Jacqui Smith – a woman who has confessed to using cannabis as a student – has today confirmed that cannabis is to be reclassified as a class B drug. The decision has been welcomed by the Conservative Party. As we know, Tory leader David Cameron was at the age of 15 confined to [...]
Best when we’re boldest, best when we’re Labour
They were elected as New Labour and they governed as New Labour; now they seem to be on their way out as New Labour. Sure, there are still two years before Gordon Brown has to go to the polls, and a lot can happen between now and 2010. But – contrary to the D:Ream lyrics [...]
