BY JON ALEXANDER Recently, we’ve watched Labour MPs and supporters desperately try to downplay the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer’s donations from Lord Alli. They’ve attempted to claim it’s no big deal, that it’s not a large amount in the grand scheme of things, and that Sir Keir is above reproach and it’s all innocent. Ignoring the fact that someone representing a working-class party, who … Continue reading Labour Sleaze and Why it Matters
BY EFFIE DEANS I have not been following the election campaign closely. This is partly because I no longer watch television. You should try it. Like giving up sugar in tea after a while you no longer miss it. But mainly it is hard to get interested in a contest that is over before it starts. Also, I have more important things to do. At … Continue reading Are We There Yet?
BY STEWART SLATER Most battles in the Ancient World follow the same pattern. One side starts with the high ground and, about half way through, finds itself on the low ground. The reason for this is surprisingly simple – most people are right-handed. They hold their sword in their right hands, and their shield in the left. By taking a step to the right, therefore, … Continue reading Inverting the Battlelines
BY STEWART SLATER We do not live in a Golden Age of political sloganeering. “Long term decisions for a brighter future”, the Conservatives’ current effort is dull, forgettable and a bit silly – who would proclaim their willingness to take short-term decisions for a bleaker future? The Lib Dems effort, “For a Fair Deal” probably sounded ok the first time it was used. By Harry … Continue reading Dreams of Futures Past
CSM EDITORIAL The Daily Telegraph’s Allister Heath did not hold back in his column on Wednesday: Welcome to anti-democratic Britain, where the beleaguered majority is increasingly subject to the whims of an entitled, activist elite that often seems to despise the people over which it exercises so much power….” Meanwhile an Ipsos survey for London’s Evening Standard found that 76 per cent think Britain as … Continue reading Stopgap Starmer
BY STEWART SLATER The French, let us admit, have their uses. They host the world’s finest annual sporting event. They know their way around a kitchen. In ladies’ fashion, at least, they have few equals. And they produced Le Mepris. Described by Sight & Sound as the “greatest work of art produced in postwar Europe” (don’t let that put you off), from the opening shot … Continue reading Beyond Contempt
BY PAUL T HORGAN Not only have the press written off the Conservatives winning the next General Election, it seems that large sections of the Conservative Party have also done so. There are a record number of Conservative MPs standing down at the next General Election. Sir Keir Starmer seems to have succeeded in his aim of creating a tribute act to New Labour. Like … Continue reading The Politics of Freakery
BY THE EDITOR Just a month ago, as Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party was thrown in the air by Beergate, commentators began to laud the Labour MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting. Here was a man who: “Should be the next Labour leader” New Statesman. “Is the saviour Labour desperately needs?” Financial Times “Is a … Continue reading Dead-End Streeting
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN There are people who are always wrong – Carole Cadwalladr, Owen Jones, Peter Jukes, Polly Toynbee, Marina Hyde – and they serve a useful purpose in life in that you can set truth by their polar opposite. The dangerous people are the ones who are right only some of the time – the “almost right” – who lull you into trusting them … Continue reading Blair Forever Almost Right
Dear Sir Keir, I am a nurse working front line Covid positive wards and I am outraged at the behaviour of your MP’s supporting such irresponsible selfish behaviour and inciting violence. Shame on them undermining my and everyone else’s hard work. I am risking my life to save others and helping get loved ones home to their families. Then your MP’s such as Diane Abbott … Continue reading Dear Sir Keir
CSM EDITORIAL When this plague is over – presuming there is a return to normality at some point in the near future – it shall be interesting to see how the Labour Party goes about its business. The introduction of Sir Keir Starmer as Labour Leader has been positive not just for Labour but for the whole country. Governments need something of an opposition just … Continue reading The End of Pies?
BY FRANK HAVILAND What exactly is the purpose of the Labour Party? If it’s sixth-form activism, then Rebecca Long-Bailey’s petulant 49-point Twitter questionnaire to Gavin Williamson makes sense. At least we know the Williamsons won’t be panic-buying Andrex any time soon. If it’s Britain’s state-funded comedy circuit, then Corbyn cabinet choices suddenly become coherent: Diane Abbott, a woman who doesn’t believe in borders, in-charge of … Continue reading As Strong As Your Team
