How the British State Advantages the Rich Talal Hangari and Tom Zundel The majority of the British political establishment in both parties is dedicated to serving the interests of elites. While this political aim can be understood through a variety of lenses, taxation offers a useful entry point for building an understanding of Britain’s institutions … Continue reading Taxation in an Oligarchy
Blog
CLIMATE EMERGENCY
Distinguished scientist Raymond Pierrehumbert, the lead author of the IPCC’s third assessment report, warned in 2019 that ‘it’s time to panic’ about the climate crisis. Those words only ring truer with the publication of the IPCC’s sixth assessment report. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in line with unanimous scientific opinion, points out that this is … Continue reading CLIMATE EMERGENCY
Treatment of Assange Highlights Western Hypocrisy
The political dissident is an important component of any democracy. People must have the right to challenge their leaders, no matter how uncomfortable that process might be. Thus we in the West today honour independent voices, with one major caveat: they should only target our enemies and their crimes. Take the case of Alexei Navalny, … Continue reading Treatment of Assange Highlights Western Hypocrisy
Some words from Tom Paine
On accepting a knighthood: Titles are but nick-names, and every nick-name is a title. The thing is perfectly harmless in itself; but it marks a sort of foppery in the human character, which degrades it. It reduces man into the diminutive of man in things which are great, and the counterfeit of woman in things … Continue reading Some words from Tom Paine
Articles
An archive of my published work https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/20436 https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/20829 https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/20951 https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/21177 https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/why-we-should-drop-the-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism/ https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/06/i-was-expelled-from-cambridge-university-labour-club-for-disagreeing-with-the-ihra https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/theresa-mays-shameful-record/ https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/21837 https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/back-to-basics/ https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/barring-extradition-on-mental-health-concerns-assange-extradition/ https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/too-little-too-late/ https://www.varsity.co.uk/comment/23462 https://www.sublationmag.com/post/no-contest-of-ideas https://labourhub.org.uk/2022/09/16/the-trajectory-of-liz-truss/ https://labourhub.org.uk/2022/10/13/churchill-behind-the-myth/ https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1427/from-amidst-the-wreckage/ https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1431/a-study-in-betrayal/ https://www.campain.org/post/a-flawed-article-in-the-observer https://www.sublationmag.com/post/is-there-a-new-british-politics https://labourhub.org.uk/2023/09/02/free-speech-frauds/
Should progressives leave the Labour Party?
The short answer is no. At this point in time the Labour Party remains the only viable opposition to an increasingly destructive and rapacious Conservative government. This is a natural consequence of our electoral system: first past the post systematically disadvantages third parties. A more democratic system of proportional representation would allow a far greater … Continue reading Should progressives leave the Labour Party?
Churchill and Peace with Germany
Part three of a response to Andrew Roberts and Zewditu Gebreyohanes Roberts and Gebreyohanes write that ‘[t]here were plenty of senior figures in the British government who were willing to countenance making peace with Hitler in 1940, but Churchill was not.’ This is inaccurate. Churchill was opposed to the idea of Italian mediation, supported by … Continue reading Churchill and Peace with Germany
Nuclear Illegality
On 8 April 2021, I wrote in an article in the University of Cambridge’s main student newspaper, Varsity, that ‘[m]inisters are so invested in a nostalgic vision of British power that the law may be happily trampled underfoot.’ I was writing with respect to the government’s plans to violate Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation … Continue reading Nuclear Illegality
Churchill and the Nazis
Part two of a response to Andrew Roberts and Zewditu Gebreyohanes Roberts and Gebreyohanes write that Churchill had a ‘dogged determination to defeat the Nazis, the threat from whom he had been warning against for almost a decade’. This is a misleading characterisation of Churchill’s understanding of the Nazi movement. Churchill indeed warned against the … Continue reading Churchill and the Nazis
How Labour Party Bureaucrats made a Mockery of Democracy
This article was written (26/4/20) after the leaked Labour report revealed anti-democratic plots were hatched by senior party bureaucrats to sabotage Corbyn’s leadership I. The leaks from an internal report on antisemitism in the Labour Party highlight that Britain’s main opposition party is democratically defunct. A conspiracy to undermine Labour’s chances of an election victory … Continue reading How Labour Party Bureaucrats made a Mockery of Democracy