debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
The Labour Party was congratulating itself yesterday on having joined with Tory rebels to defeat the Tory-led government by voting to cut the EU budget. In truth, this was sheer opportunism. While the two Eds (Miliband and Balls) may believe that supporting belt-tightening in Europe is good populist politics, in truth, Labour has shot itself [...]
News is in that the UK is back in recession, its economy having contracted in the last quarter of 2011 and the first of this year. In fact whether output growth is a fraction above or below zero is of more symbolic than real significance – and the figures for the first quarter may subsequently [...]
We are not quite in silly season yet but last week British newspapers reported the ‘barmy’ EU ruling that has prevented an award winning Kent vineyard from calling its Malbec, ‘wine’. Instead it is being forced to re-label the bottles as ‘fruit-based alcoholic beverage’. I have no idea if there is any truth in the [...]
Replete with those demon eyes, ‘New Labour, New Danger’ was the Conservative’s ill-judged attack on Tony Blair’s fresh and imposing opposition in the approach to the 1997 general election. It was ill-judged because the message that Blair had been at pains to promote since his elevation to leader in 1994 was that Labour really had [...]
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 [...]
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