Socialism is not synonymous with statism. A socialism worth defending must be about radically transferring ownership, power and control to the people — What comes to mind when you think of the word ‘socialism’? I ask because I think that many people associate socialism with one of two things: They either think about the totalitarian state socialism enacted under Stalin in the USSR or they think about European social democracy, which entailed, in…

By turning politics into a strategic game, the FPTP system is destructive of real democratic politics & stands in the way of change — Leaving aside the formation of a national government in 1931, it has been 120 years since a single party in the United Kingdom was able to command the support of a majority of the voting public. Even in his great landslide election victory of 1945, Clement Attlee’s Labour Party only…

The language of the mob is being used to delegitimse those using the power of social media to fight for social justice — The right have convinced themselves that the values that they hold dear are under threat from what is often described as a ‘woke mob.’ If I am to understand their argument, the claim being put forward is that woke acolytes want to supplant debate with an unthinking conformity to a…

Failing to teach students about the history of race and racism robs them of a more sophisticated understanding of history and it excludes and marginalises BME students. This must change. — I was teaching History to a group of 11 year olds. The topic was the Norman Conquest. I’d just got to the point of the story where the Normans invade when a black boy put his hand up and asked: “Were there any black people in Britain at that point…

Any analysis of his time as leader must focus on his achievements as well as his failures, not least of which was to decisively shift the debate in British politics to the left — When Corbyn’s name was put forward for the leadership of the Labour Party in 2015 it was possible to get 100/1 odds on him becoming leader. Many of those who supported him within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) did so because they wanted to broaden the debate, fearful that the…

The Prime Minister hides his obvious flaws in plain sight, so why are so many people willing to ignore them? — Confronted by an angry father, Boris Johnson was accused of coming to the hospital merely for a press opportunity. As the cameras flashed and the confrontation became heated, Boris Johnson said something remarkable, but revealing. “Well actually, there’s no press here,” he mumbled. The father looked stunned as he turned…

The existence of billionaires is a symptom of a manifestly unjust society that cannot be justified to those who lose out. — Yesterday it was reported that Jeff Bezos increased his wealth by $13 billion in single day. Just this increase in his wealth is 30 times more than The Queen’s £350 million net worth. His current net worth ($189 billion) is just a little bit less than the entire economy of…

The Labour Party has always been divided between pragmatism and principle. To foment real change, the party must find a way of combining the two by rooting its politics in a radical but realistic response to the current crisis. — The Labour Party has always been split between pragmatists and idealists. The idealists argue that there is no point in having a Labour Party unless it remains true to its values and the pragmatists don’t see the point in principle unless it can be put into practice.

The qualities that served him well in his staggering election victory in 2019 are the same qualities that make him unfit for the task of governing in the current crisis — It’s often said that political leaders should ‘campaign in poetry and govern in prose.’ A pithy reminder that the qualities that might serve a Prime Minister well when campaigning for office are not the same qualities that lead to a successful government. Theresa May and Gordon Brown knew how to…