Tag archive for ‘Labour Party’
New Labour hasn’t learned anything
Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair are getting ready to make interventions in the Labour leadership contest culminating in the next few weeks. And their main reason to support one candidate over the other seems whether they remain as much New Labour as possible. Talking about Ed Miliband Mandelson had this to say: “I think that [...]
English Football Needs Root and Branch Reform… And so Does the Labour Party
I can’t seem to separate two momentous recent events in my mind: the England team crashing out of the South African World Cup and the battle for the Labour leadership. The dynamics of the two keep colliding in my brain. Will an analysis of both help the other? Lets start with the football team. England, [...]
The British Labour Party has a great Opportunity!
Ok, one day after a party was removed from office after 13 years it might not seem to be the time to talk about opportunities. But if you look at the fundamentals, the British Labour party has a great opportunity to regroup and go for office again in the near future. Social democratic parties have [...]
Gordon Brown resigns but who should be the next Labour Leader? Vote in our Online Poll!
Gordon Brown has announced his resignation form the Labour party leadership, which also started the process of finding a successor. Given that a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats is still possible, the next leader might also become Prime Minister within a few months. So the upcoming leadership election might well be the most [...]
Labour isn’t working: it’s plotting
Patricia Hewit and Geoff Hoon should be added to those on the list accused of contributing to apathy towards politics and disillusionment with the political class. Labour needs to get back to the business of government and steady itself for a long and crucial election campaign.
Challenging Finance Capital
We should be challenging finance capital, not trying to save it. The current financial and economic crisis has, thankfully, not been as severe as the great depression. Lehman’s bankruptcy in September last year had the potential to be a Creditanstalt moment, heralding a wave of bank failures and complete economic collapse. Swift action from policy-makers [...]
The Principles of Communal Reciprocity
Jerry Cohen’s camping-trip fable offers a down-to-earth approach to social-democratic principles. Being a socialist often requires a leap of faith. Though there are real institutions we can point to that at least in part embody key socialist values such as equality and community – the NHS of course springs to mind – the cause of [...]
Does Europe’s Social Democracy still have a Future?
Social democracy will only be able to sustain a social Europe through strengthening European democratic institutions. German Social Democrats are lucky. Although in September they received their lowest vote in a federal election since the war– 23 per cent – things could have been worse. The result was still three percentage points more than they [...]
On the State of the British Labour Party
I have just stumbled across this speech by Jon Cruddas held at this year’s Compass conference. I couldn’t go at the time because I was on holiday. It’s well worth watching! Part 1 Part 2
The missed Opportunities of the Labour Party Conference
I have just returned from the British Labour Party’s annual conference. It was a sobering affair. Gordon Brown and his ministers are trying to start a ‘fight back’ against the Conservatives who, at the start of the week, held a commanding lead in the opinion polls. This is a tough ask. Any party that has [...]
