The fact is that they are dominated by people who are committed to politics that are based on;

(1) a denatured watered down statism, as with the semi-senile Stalinoids of the Bore;

(2)are committed to that form of liberalism that once made up the ideological substitute for a backbone that functioned as such in Tribune;

(3) or are committed to a more ‘modern’ Third Worldist liberalism, as with Red (sic) Pepper, thats never views working people in this country as the starting point for anything but pity.

Let them all die.

http://tendancecoatesy.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/hilary-wainwright-goes-localist-why-the-left-is-barely-fighting-workfare/

I read Red Pepper, since Ipswich Central Library gets it (It has a bettr selection of publications than any Library in London that I know of).

Since I have blogged on this and written for Chartist on it, not to mention drafted last year’s Trades Councils’ motion opposing Welfare Reform (for the unemployed etc) I noticed quite clearly that Red Pepper was not covering the issue.

There is a good article about Welfare Reform by Louise in the latest Briefing.

in the nicest possible way, PDFs are a pain.

a lot of sites (notably some TU ones or designed by those companies) only provide some coverage in PDFs, which necessitate having a PDF reader installed

rather sites should aim to have both HTML and PDF documents, it means that people with slow PCs, with accessibility issues, without a reader or those that don’t like PDFs (Adobe reader is terribly bloated), etc couldn’t then access the content

the objective should be to make ALL content as accessible as possible, just from a browser (even old ones or text based), reach as many people as possible

I think this Portal is an excellent idea, but as you say needs co-operation from people to work.

I’ve never seen anything said by any of those who write the most popular Left blogs (including this one, Lenin’s Tomb, Socialist Unity and more) that indicates any interest in co-operating wider and trying to get their, and similar views, to the next level – where they are not just reliant on people visiting their blogs but could possibly have many more receiving their content and also possibly help a general revival of Left views (many newspaper columinists predict we may be in a boom period with capitalism crumbling – but what do they know) by building an authoratative and credible Left media outlet in the way the NS never was, Tribune never could be, Red Pepper may have been but failed but the Morning Star possibly could become (although that would be the right of the far-ish Left e.g. supporting Simpson rather than Hicks in the Union election).

The two different routes as outlined by Modernity and Chris Williams are both very useful tutorials.

I will file them away as guides but fear that the welcome offers of commitment by people like E10, me and Chris won’t get us very far at the moment.

There remains a crying need a Left (electronic) Spectator and also a Left portal (the place where you go to meet other TU militants in your town, school students ask basic questions about socialism etc) but it will take either a lot more enthusiasm by a wider range of people, or maybe more likely, a coming upsurge that will wipe into insignificance all these proprietorial blogs to be replaced with outlets that represent living tendencies and movements – hopefully joined together – rather than the politics of a single individual.

I look forward to them being built. As Modernity correctly points out the old excuse of ‘We haven’t got the money’ no longer applies.

I have been a supporter of Red Pepper for many years, even selling it at events and basically being an evangelist for it in the past, etc, It can be extremely interesting and incisive at times. I also like its eclecticness(sic),and the way it gives young writers a voice

My beef ,an i stand by it, is that while you have covered housing, the NHS etc in depth you have most certainly not covered the Gov’t ‘welfare reforms’, the biggest in 60 years, which see millions lose money, forced into cheap labour and in some cases medical treatment.Indeed, I’m not sure if you have covered poverty in the Uk in any depth, i have the mags and I will defo look, though I am quite sure about this omission.

I have contacted Hilary or the former editors by phone, email, press release to suggest this coverage over the years, which sadly now i am no postion to help with..

HTUT

@Andrew,

can’t find your bit on WReform and H/Wainwright, etc

Agreed, once you’ve got it in electronic format, as web pages, it is easy enough to do, just a simple cut’n'paste job to produce a local edition.

PS: Alice, you’re right too many blokes on the Left get into “pissing contests”, bad habit, I apologise.