Following Labour’s third election victory, Peter Hunt argues that mutuality should be at the heart of modern socialism Months after the ballots closed, memories of the campaign remain fresh. Those of us with the experience of several general elections will have been struck by how under-whelmed the electorate was with Labour; how hard it...
Articles
Compass points north
Will Brown reports on Compass roadshows in Leeds and Gateshead Following its successful conference in London last June, the centre-left Labour Party organisation, Compass, embarked on a series of regional ‘roadshows’ taking in Yorkshire and Humberside, the north east, Scotland and Wales, among other areas. Besides launching regional Compass groupings, the purpose of these...
A few thoughts on ‘anti-Americanism’
ALISTAIR GRAHAM responds to Alex Miles’ attack on left wing anti-Americanism. I’m at something of a loss about how to respond to the article by Alex Miles (‘An Anti-Americanism of Fools’, Democratic Socialist, Winter 2006/07). While I would not want to disagree too much with the central thesis of his piece, I did wonder...
Shaking up the left
HARRY BARNES finds Nick Cohen’s book, What’s Left?, a stimulating yet flawed polemic. Love it or hate it, this is a readable and serious political romp. In What’s Left? How liberals lost their way, Nick Cohen wishes to shake up wide elements of left and liberal opinion which he feels ignore some clear home...
The right to the city
If our urban world has been imagined and made then it can be re-imagined and re-made, says DAVID HARVEY. The city, the noted urban sociologist Robert Park wrote, is: Man’s most consistent and on the whole, his most successful attempt to remake the world he lives in more after his heart’s desire. But, if...
A time of peace?
As power-sharing devolution emerges in Northern Ireland, PAUL DIXON wonders how long the political peace will last. On 8 May 2007 devolution was restored to Northern Ireland as Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein were sworn in as First and Deputy First Minister. The lion has lain...
Thirteen wasted years
Former MP HARRY BARNES offers his own take on Tony Blair’s time in office, and his thoughts on Labour’s future. Few of those who voted for Tony Blair in the Labour leadership contest of 1994 knew or cared about his new Labour project. It was sufficient for the centre and right-wing of the party...
Leaders not into the future
Does Labour’s change of leadership reflect anything more politically profound than a change of personnel? HAZEL HAED asseses the evidence. Gordon Brown’s long and painful wait to assume the top spot in British politics is now coming to an end. After enduring Tony Blair’s farcically long goodbye, Brown was shorn of the need actually...
Reclaiming the territory
BARRY WINTER interviews Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham, deputy leadership hopeful, and co-author of a new pamphlet on the democratic renewal of the Labour Party You wish to stand for deputy leader of the Labour party, but not deputy PM. Also, you’ve recently co-authored a very interesting pamphlet on renewal of the party. Are...
A suitable case for treatment
Barry Winter welcomes the call for Labour’s renewal in a new Compass pamphlet. But where are the forces to make it happen? A robust dialogue about democratically renewing the Labour Party has never been more vital. That’s no guarantee, however, that one will take place. Interest in party democracy is still overshadowed by the...
What’s the alternative?
DEXTER WHITFIELD looks at the alternatives to neoliberal policies, and calls for city-wide alliances and coalitions of opposition An alternative modernisation strategy needs to have key themes. It should restate public service principles and values, which should be embedded in all policies, programmes and projects. It should emphasise democratic accountability and transparency, and seek...
The Swedish model
Sweden proves that ‘a better world is possible’, argues a Compass pamphlet. GERRY LAVERY thinks we should take notice. Robert Taylor’s pamphlet for Compass, Sweden’s New Social Democratic Model: Proof that a better world is possible, is not just a record of achievements in social democratic Sweden but also an argument that, compared to...