It is hard to understand the self-destruct buttons Labour seems intent on pressing at the moment. I don’t blame loyalists for springing to the defence of Keir Starmer’s lukewarm leadership. It is what you do when the...
Blog
Alan Simpson“Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall …”
A new politics of friendship Oh no! Just when Keir Starmer should be rebuilding parliamentary friendships he goes and picks a fight with them. And the crime of these Labour rebels? – defending disabled people from...
Beware the Tail
Cautionary warnings for a Labour government There’s always a price to be paid for failing to learn the lessons of history. For today’s Labour government, the danger lies in repeating the follies that went into New...
Roosevelt or the robot?
Politics in the Age of Implosion Bizarre as it may seem, Donald Trump and the TV series Adolescence might turn out to be the wake up call we’ve desperately needed. Trump is hell-bent on bringing globalisation to its...
The times, they are a-changin’
The geo-politics of implosion These aren’t the changes Dylan was calling for. His was a ‘get out of the way’ message from a generation eager for more optimistic, transformative and inclusive change. There’s no such...
The egos have landed
Jan 28, 2025 Political choices in Trump’s post-truth era In the court of Emperor Trump the oligarchs rule. At least they think they do. But as in any feudal system, even the oligarchs are just courtiers. Courtier power...
Coming alive in ‘25. Can Labour shift the political pendulum?
Britain entered 2025 amidst a welter of blizzards, flooding and abandoned public celebrations across the country. And we hadn’t even begun to talk about the government. It seems remarkable that Labour should enter the...
COP(OUT)29 – The Afterstory
They did their best – the climate activists, NGOs, environmental scientists, most of the delegates and civil servants – but it wasn’t enough. Big Oil won the day. From the Azerbaijani hosts to the flock of...
The gathering storms – politics in an age of drivel and distraction
As all eyes focussed on Labour’s first Budget in 14 (long) years, barely anyone saw fit to link it to events in Valencia, the Amazon or the heat dome over central Africa. Yet these are the bigger issues around which...
Life on Mars – politics of a different planet
You could almost touch the euphoria of an election outcome that comprehensively ditched the Tory government. Park any anxieties about what lies ahead. For Labour, 14 years has been a long wait in Opposition. So, the...
