Martin Seale The liberalism of the late 19th century was characterized by the view that the role of the state should be limited. The state would protect the nation from external enemies, enforce the rule of law (much around property) and provide some limited form of education. British capitalism seemed to function reasonably well up to the 2nd half … Continue reading Liberalism, Neoliberalism and the Trade Union Movement
Catherine Dunlop Farage has a reputation for being against immigrants, but is he? What does his programme say? what does he say in interviews? And crucially, what does he propose to do about the factors that drive immigration ? The UK population has increased by around 8.2 million since the start of the twenty-first century. The UK population was … Continue reading Is the Reform party against immigration?
Kwasi Kwarteng is clearly a believer in animal spirits, or more specifically, the animal spirits of the UK private sector. The term ‘animal spirits’ was used by the economist J. M. Keynes to describe the spontaneous forces of vitality that drive human action. Apparently these animal spirits have been held back by too much taxing and … Continue reading Animal Spirits, Taxing and Borrowing — Editorial
IT'S TIME FOR TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIALIST ECONOMICS: AN OCCASIONAL SHORT READING AND VIEWING GUIDE Michael Murray (1) The problem stated: "The Labour Party believes that a Labour government can only spend what it has levied in taxation, or borrowed from the private sector. But it also wants to be a party of low taxation and low national … Continue reading Transformative Socialist Economics
Irresistible Things —This Month in Parliament This article joins together two others in this issue, on the one hand the editorial and the question ‘how will you pay for it’, and on the other hand the series on ‘What shall I do next?’ on youth employment. It refers to the 2021 Lords Youth Unemployment Committee … Continue reading Irresistible Things
By Michal Lerner To win the next general election, Labour must give bold answers to the question ‘How will you pay for it?’. Let us therefore imagine an interview between an interviewer (I) and a member of the Shadow Cabinet (L) and suggest how the dreaded question should be dealt with in the context of … Continue reading How to pay for it. The case of Universal Credit
The most important political battle in British politics is currently taking place in the Conservative party. There is, of course, also a political battle taking place in the Labour Party, but it is of a different kind. In the Labour Party, the party machine is being used to suppress the discussion of any radical ideas. In contrast, in … Continue reading Editorial 1 — Labour Must Exploit Tory Divisions
Thoughts on a High Wage High Skill Economy Dave Gardner Last month I wrote about the government’s desire to force most young people not doing A levels to do a new type of demanding qualification called the T level. They intend to do this by defunding vocational alternatives such as the BTEC level 3. I … Continue reading What Am I Going to do Next? Part 10.
EUGENIA RUSSELL explores how meaningful employment can be created for prisoners and ex-offenders (Morning Star 23/10/21) THERE are not many businesses that employ prisoners in a meaningful way, but those that do deserve to be known about and supported by the public. A prime example is The Clink charity, which equips prisoners with catering skills that will … Continue reading Where to get your photos printed
T levels: Reform and Disaster. The Bourbons of Vocational Education strike again. Dave Gardner. This month I was going to continue my discussion of the pros and cons of university education as a possible route to work for young people. That will have to wait until November because it is becoming apparent that a new … Continue reading What Shall I do next? – Part 9
Part 8 What shall I do next? University or Bust? Problems with mass university education. Dave Gardner Why attending a university is not necessarily a good thing for every young person and why society needs to limit it. Roughly 50% of all 18 to 25 year olds go to university. There is a clear path, encouraged … Continue reading What shall I do next?
Peter Brooke What do Mark Drakeford, Labour First Minister in Wales, and the two Labour Metro Mayors - Andy Burnham in Manchester and Steven Rotheram in Liverpool - re-elected in the North of England have in common, apart from getting the best results for Labour in the recent elections? They all signed up to Gordon … Continue reading Labour—A ready-made recipe for success?
Bevin’s speech to the House of Commons, 21 June 1944. [This is the speech that Ed Miliband refers to in his rejection of the March budget, see Parliament Notes. It lays down full employment as a priority: “In laying down that it is the primary responsibility of the Government to maintain a high and stable level … Continue reading Ernest Bevin’s speech to the House of Commons, 21 June 1944.
Parliament Notes - Budget Debate 9 March 2021 [This is Ed Miliband’s speech against the budget. His standpoint is Ernest Bevin’s speech in 1944 advocating full employment; this is the ‘Bevin test’. “We cannot build private sector success on the back of public sector austerity. The cuts of the last decade have made local services worse, … Continue reading Parliament Notes – Budget Debate 9 March 2021
Labour Affairs 