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? →

Writing in The Telegraph (‘Why I love Great Britain’, 14 December), Canadian scholar Jordan B. Peterson informs us that the people of Great Britain have granted the world a gift whose power stands in permanent opposition to our most appalling proclivities as individuals and societies. That gift is the political expression of the sanctification of … Continue reading Jordan Peterson on Great Britain’s Gift to the World →

I’ve been thinking about the relation between friendship and comradeship recently. My thoughts are informed by my participation in student activism and political activism more broadly (particularly in the Labour Party). To begin with, it’s clear that we’re discussing two distinct categories that may or may not overlap. We have friends, those we are socially … Continue reading Thoughts on Friendship, Comradeship, and Political Work →

Today (1/11/21) Cambridge students and local activists united to demand that the university sever its ties to the arms industry, which for the sake of profit is contributing to the deaths of innocents all over the world. The SU Ethical Affairs Campaign, Cambridge Defend Education, the Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Society, and the Amnesty International Society … Continue reading SUPPORT THE DEMILITARISE CAMPAIGN! →

What next for the British Left? Prospects Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party between 2015-2019 represented a great hope for the cause of peace and justice. The popularity of Labour’s policies throughout the period, and its strong showing in the 2017 general election, indicate a powerful desire for radical changes in the distribution of wealth … Continue reading Prospects and Setbacks →

Two weeks ago the University of Bristol took the shameful decision to fire Professor David Miller; anyone who cares about the principle of academic freedom should oppose this crackdown on open discussion. Miller has produced important research on Israel lobby groups in the UK, and it is therefore unsurprising that supporters of Israel have engaged … Continue reading Defend Academic Freedom →

The current Labour leader is a ruthless authoritarian. He has overseen the proscription of groups associated with the Labour left, suspended Jeremy Corbyn (who he still refuses to return the whip to), fired Rebecca Long-Bailey from the Shadow Cabinet for retweeting an interview in The Independent, and recently attempted to destroy the democracy that remains … Continue reading On Keir Starmer →