Labour’s Leadership Election: A Problem Foretold

As Labour’s controversial voter registration process closes and ballot papers for the leadership elections go out, it’s time to indulge in a spot of ‘we told you so’, says WILL BROWN. Despite it being a giant stride in the right direction, major weaknesses have been exposed in Labour’s new electoral system, as reformed by former...

Reading the Past

The pre-war ILP plays a leading role in two new books of contrasting types – one a novel set in north east England, the other a radical ramblers’ guide to the capital. MATTHEW BROWN follows the literary and geographical traces of our past....

Britain’s Post-Election Blues

DOREEN MASSEY and MICHAEL RUSTIN are the founders and guiding lights behind the Kilburn Manifesto, one of the most cogent analyses of neoliberalism and the state of the left. Here they provide a brief reflection on the general election and what it means for the future of social democracy. At the closing of the polls...

Why Mhairi Black is Right

In case anyone missed it, here is a link to “the great maiden speech” made by the SNP MP, Mhairi Black. ERNIE JACQUES is among those who believe Labour should support her call for a parliamentary coalition against the cuts....

Labour Campaigners call for ‘Manifestos of Intent’

Labour campaigners are calling on leadership candidates to issue ‘manifestos of intent’ outlining their likely policies and putting their politics on public show for voters’ to consider. HARRY BARNES explains why they are needed and calls for urgent support. ...

Labour’s Future Under Scrutiny

The Labour Party’s future is coming under scrutiny from all angles at the moment with articles, papers, analysis and discussion meetings focused on what went wrong on 7 May and what Labour should do now....

Why Labour Needs to Change

Like many on the left, the election result came as a nasty shock to JONATHAN TIMBERS. Yet despite the desperate outlook, he believes a future Labour government is possible if the party becomes a very different kind of organisation. Some on the left say they do not expect to see another Labour government in their...