V. I. Lenin warned more than a century ago of “socialists in words and imperialists in deeds”. The warning remains relevant. A significant part of the left in Britain has capitulated to the ruling class on the Ukraine war, cheering further military escalation and thereby increasing the threat of nuclear disaster. Silent and Violent The … Continue reading The Left and Ukraine →

There are two reasons for leftists and socialists to stay in the Labour Party: (1) The Labour Party is closely connected to the working class movement through (a) the trade unions and (b) its history. While this connection exists, it is necessary for leftists and socialists to organise inside the party. Leftists and socialists cannot … Continue reading Reasons to Stay in the Labour Party →

A comrade and I published an article in Labour Hub on 16 September where we said that 'Truss’s record, combined with scrutiny of her policy proposals, suggests she will be an utter disaster in office.' Today, after a chaotic month in government, Truss resigned in disgrace. Truss's leadership bid was supported by 113 Tory MPs, … Continue reading Liz Truss Resigns →

The Financial Times recently argued against the idea that Britain’s next prime minister should be elected by the Tory Party membership (’This is not the way to choose Britain’s next prime minister’, 15 August). Anyone who takes democracy seriously ought to object to the fact that executive power is going to be given by a fraction of … Continue reading How to Choose Britain’s Next Prime Minister →

Sir Keir Starmer is a worthless leader of the opposition. His politics, recycled Blairism and extreme factionalism together repudiating everything he told Labour members during his leadership campaign, are stale and uninspiring; but he is also incompetent and therefore ineffective. Labour has been unable to establish a convincing lead against a Tory government mired in … Continue reading Andy Burnham is Not the Answer →

Collected from Rousseau’s The Social Contract, or The Principles of Political Right. Political Duty ‘I was born a citizen of a free state and a member of its sovereign body, and however weak may be the influence of my voice in public affairs, my right to vote on them suffices to impose on me the … Continue reading Selected Quotations from Jean-Jacques Rousseau →

I was part way through my term as Publicity Officer of the Cambridge University Labour Club (CULC) when I wrote an article criticising the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. It appeared in The Cambridge Student on 7 May, and, to my knowledge, was the first (and perhaps only) critique of the University’s decision to adopt … Continue reading How to get Expelled from CULC →

Unfortunately, I was unable to get this piece published in Varsity. Here is some correspondence I had with the paper: Varsity has published two pieces about Blair, neither of which characterises the war as a crime, thus marginalising the views of many Iraqis, lawyers, peace activists and indeed Cambridge students. In light of Varsity editors … Continue reading A Comment on Tony Blair’s Knighthood →

Writing in The Times (‘Keir Starmer can’t win until he praises the Tories’, 26 December), Stephen Bush comments on the Labour leadership: Although his Labour Party has made an astonishingly large number of granular policy announcements, most people have little idea what it stands for. That is in part because of the sheer quantity of … Continue reading Should Keir Starmer Praise the Tories? →