Student politics barely matter to most students and really shouldn’t matter to anyone more than two years out of university or college. Anyone who thinks too much about the complex voting system of a student organisation they've long since left is not the kind of person you want to be stuck with at a party.
Read MoreIs Amber Rudd a hero—or villain? There has been a lot of friction recently between FBPE-types who think Rudd is a hero for resigning the Tory whip, and her cabinet job, over Johnson’s extremist behaviour, and those to their left who blame her for a series of wider societal issues—in particular, the Windrush scandal over which she had to resign after misleading the house of commons (what a long time ago that seems).
Read MoreIf you ever got bored of seeing Ed Miliband eat a bacon sandwich, just wait until you see the mileage people get out of this one
Read MoreThe National Union of Journalists (NUJ) have called for a reversal of changes to the way Companies House list Director’s details. After a recent change, the full date of birth and home address of company directors is no longer listed. This can make it harder to verify who they are – especially for journalists for whom this information can be vital to confirm a story.
Read MoreChange UK’s all-but-demise is hardly unexpected. It was a poorly conceived and inadequately run outfit from the start. Given that it was apparently planned for months in advance, that it was so shambolic throughout its short life was even more telling of the failures of those who ran it. Yet even though I didn’t expect it to succeed, I never expected it to fail that badly, that quickly.
I was never going to vote Change and I would never have suggested anyone else do so. I want a socialist government and I vote for a socialist party. But I want that socialist government to be internationalist in its outlook, and an essential part of that for me is campaigning to keep us in the EU.
Read MoreThere’s no spinning this – these elections were a disaster for Labour. We bled votes almost entirely to Parties who supported Remain and halved our representation in the European Parliament. That’s ten excellent Socialists who will no longer be fighting on the international stage for Labour values.
Read MoreFollowing David Lammy's recent comments comparing the European Research Group (ERG) to Nazis, and the ongoing dispute over the dismissal of government adviser Roger Scruton for appearing to make what Downing Street described as "deeply offensive" comments, some people have been invoking Godwin's Law. This is the internet “rule” that the longer an argument goes on the more the likelihood that someone will invoke the Nazis and that then shuts down all debate.
Read MoreMust our politicians disappoint? That is the question that is keeping some of us on the liberal left up at night.
The latest let down is Justin Trudeau. He of the bilingual social media, refugee welcoming press stunts and (somewhat performative) feminism. While Trudeau was never as left wing as many of us economically, his leadership style on social issues did seem like a breath of fresh air. He appeared to be willing to take action that went against the narrative of the day, making genuinely tough decisions on issues like immigration where the easy option would have been to turn people away.
Read MoreThere’s no other way to say it: Brexit is a mess right now. So it’s not a great shock that the public would prefer to remain in the EU rather than accept Theresa May’s deal or a no-deal Brexit, according to a recent poll.
This pro-EU stance is likely to be bolstered on Saturday with a mass demonstration in favour of a people’s vote. The upcoming march will be a long cry from the soggy, bedraggled mess that was the Brexit Betrayal march. Not least because those who called for this one might even bother to take part.
Read MoreI was a guest host on Fubar Radio where I discussed the impacts of austerity. Guests included Stephen Canning, Mike Galsworthy and Sophie Walker. Here I argue that the divisions on social media are not new. They are reflected in the way the Sun acted over Hillsborough.
Read More“Bringing the Party into disrepute” is a complex, catch-all phrase. Hard to truly define, butyou know it when you see it. And in Chris Williamson MP we have seen it for quite some time.
This week matters came to a head. In the space of 48 hours we have seen Williamson attempt to host an event in Parliament with a woman who has been suspended from the Labour Party under investigation for antisemitism before telling an event in Sheffield that the Party has been“too apologetic” about the same topic.
Read MoreLike a lot of Labour members, I’m a tribalist. Being a member of the Labour Party is part of my identity. Sometimes that hurts – when the Jewish community marches against my party it leaves me feeling physically sick with upset at the hurt Labour is causing. When the leadership fails to lead on Brexit, it leaves me in pain at the hardship we will enable in future.
To her shame, Emma Burnell didn’t know very much about the events of the Maidan revolution in 2014.That changed this week as she took part in an immersive theatre experience that had her waking several times in the night thinking of the lessons we should have learned and didn’t.
Read MoreJournalists have started digging into what really goes on in think tank world. Many of the right-wing libertarian bodies working in London operate according to a shady funding mechanism. Now, anytime they pop up to speak, the standard response is: Who funds you? But it's not just the right's think tanks which are held in suspicion. Increasingly, the entire industry is being considered suspect. And if we let the whole sector be tarnished, we hand a victory to the dark populist voices in our national debate.
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