VINCE MILLS surveys the state of Scottish politics after May’s Holyrood elections and finds a new political partnership singing the same old tunes on independence. Scottish Labour needs to spell out a radical alternative....
The (Unbelievable) Intrigues of Jennie Lee
KATH CONNOLLY finds the latest book on the mould-breaking ILPer and Labour MP an unlikely and infuriating mix of fact and fiction....
Border Country: Beyond Radical Federalism in Wales
Like nothing before, the Covid-19 pandemic has alerted the people of Wales to the role of its government, and how different it is from that of the UK. ALUN BURGE wonders if the time has come for Home Rule....
ILP Profiles: Allen Clarke – A Radical Writer Remembered
Allen Clarke was a well-known figure in the north of England socialist movement between the early 1890s and 1930s, yet today he is virtually forgotten. PAUL SALVESON recalls the extraordinary achievements of a working class writer and romantic radical who deserves a larger legacy....
After McCluskey: Unite at a Crossroads
As Len McCluskey retires, the ballot to elect the next general secretary of Unite opens on Monday 5 July. For the union, Labour and the left, there’s a lot at stake. GERRY LAVERY assesses the field....
French Lessons for the British Left
The Parti Socialist Unifie ceased to exist more than 30 years ago. But, as one-time member GARY KENT suggests, its grit, principle and foresight has much to teach the modern left on both sides of the Channel....
Pedal Power: Has the Clarion Lost its Calling?
News that the Clarion Cycling Club has dropped its historical association with socialism made national headlines last week as critical voices lamented the demise of one of the left’s oldest institutions. So has the Clarion changed gear? Not quite, explains the club’s former chair, IAN BULLOCK....
Brockway’s Book & the Post-Covid Search for a Utopian Future
How can progressives describe the society they wish to build if they cannot first imagine it? CHRISTOPHER OLEWICZ recalls Fenner Brockway’s forgotten novel and laments the lack of utopian fiction for a post-Covid world....
Work, Community & Labour’s Renewal
PAUL SALVESON reviews The Dignity of Labour by Labour MP Jon Cruddas, a fascinating engagement with the changing nature of employment and a thoughtful search for a popular, progressive politics that can provide a clear alternative to the Tories....
A Northern Light in Labour’s Gloom
Inverness ILPer LEWIS WHYTE reflects on his experience as a Labour candidate in the north of Scotland during the recent elections where the party under Anas Sarwar is slowly building a base for the future....
Bordered Minds: A Century of Division in Northern Ireland
GARY KENT reflects on the 100th anniversary of partition on 3 May and the distorted thinking that for decades dominated left-wing approaches to the province, the Troubles and the sectarian divide. ...
Brexitland: A New Landscape for the Left
BEN SALTONSTALL reviews a powerful and timely study of the influence of identity politics on recent British history. It’s an analysis the left must consider if Labour is ever to rise from the ashes of 2019....