Britain’s crisis and the solutions Even before votes in the Makerfield by-election are cast or counted, progressive voices are pinning their hopes on Andy Burnham returning to parliament and rescuing Labour. It’s a big ask. Without a doubt, Burnham...
Paulo Freire spent a lifetime in Latin America’s liberation struggles. He worked with communities brutally divided and oppressed by the rich and powerful. Literacy was his starting point but ignorance was the bigger challenge. In his book Pedagogy...
Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, in response to Trump/Netanyahu’s illegal war, has thrown the world into chaos. It triggered a cascade of crises that was long overdue. Sadly, we seem to be chasing all the wrong responses. Spiralling oil and...
It isn’t often I end up singing Keir Starmer’s praises, but keeping Britain out of an illegal war on Iran deserves some recognition. It is a war everyone will lose. In one sense Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu pretend they are winning. The...
Forget drugs. Forget democracy. The real issue behind Trump’s pillaging of international law and the kidnapping of President Maduro is a last ditch attempt to save the dollar. Labour’s reluctance to say that the abduction of a foreign Head of...
Trump and the new world disorder Let’s be clear. Donald Trump is not a Hollywood version of Jack Sparrow. His motivations are closer to those of Boko Haram than to international diplomacy. Seize what you want. Kill...
How easy it is to be overwhelmed by trivia. In a faux collision between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, supporters of Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting fall out over who should lead the Labour Party. At the same time, Donald...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Alan Simpson
Alan Simpson
