By KD Tait THIS YEAR’S conference is the fourth under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership but much of the legacy of the Blair and Brown years is still with us. Above all, this means that conference will  play no real role in finalising policy on the most important issues facing the party; Brexit, economic policy of a Labour […]

By Jeremy Dewar IT IS ironic perhaps that the Democracy Review, which is to be voted on at conference, will not be published until probably a day before the event. With a whole year to complete the business and plan deadlines, it lacks a certain prerequisite of democracy, transparency, in delaying till the last minute. […]

By Rebecca Anderson WE SHOULDN’T speak ill of the dead. That’s what Deputy Labour Leader Tom Watson must have been thinking when he eulogised Frank Field’s passing as a “serious loss” to the Labour Party. However, the sentiment that all life is sacred is not one Field shared, so in his memory let’s dispense with […]

By Dave Stockton THIS SUMMER no one could ignore the remorseless campaign smearing Labour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership as “institutionally antisemitic”. They will also be aware of the vigorous rebuttals mounted in the press, in the party branches, and online by the comrades from Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL). JVL has performed an invaluable service […]

By Jeremy Dewar SHADOW Home Secretary Diane Abbott was in the words of the hymn ‘a kindly light amid the encircling gloom’ of the Brexit referendum; more so than any Labour front bencher, with the exception of Jeremy Corbyn, Abbott stood up for immigrants and the invaluable contribution they make to our society. As a […]

Recently, during a discussion about the recent poll showing majority support for a referendum on the final Brexit deal among members of the three biggest trade unions, I was met with a familiar but infuriating argument. “Don’t you understand the huge growth the far right will gain from a Labour-led new referendum?” we were asked. […]

A RECENT survey found a third of young women in mixed secondary schools have experienced sexual harassment. A majority complained about the use of misogynistic language and 24 per cent reported unwanted sexual contact. Whilst these results can hardly be surprising given the rife sexism in our society, they should serve as a wake-up call […]

By Dave Stockton The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty group, AWL, is well known on the left for its assertion that the state of Israel embodies “the right to self-determination of the Jewish people”, has a “right to defend itself”, and that those on the left who reject this are antisemites, albeit “left antisemites”. Antisemitism is, […]

By Bernie McAdam LABOUR’S Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, has issued a call for a new Anti Nazi League “to resist racism and the growth of the far right”. This is in response to recent far right demonstrations in support of the jailed fascist Tommy Robinson organised by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance, DFLA, and also […]

THE online culture wars became inflamed again recently in an episode triggered by — of all things — microwave rice. After celebrity chef Jamie Oliver released his new “Punchy Jerk Rice” Dawn Butler, Labour MP and daughter of Jamaican immigrants, took to Twitter to admonish him. She wrote: “#jamieoliver @jamieoliver #jerk I’m just wondering do you know what #Jamaican#jerk […]

By KD Tait THE Labour Party NEC’s decision to adopt all 11 unofficial examples attached to the IHRA definition of antisemitism represents a serious retreat from solidarity with the Palestinians and a victory for anti-socialist forces inside and outside the party who are determined to prevent the election of a leftwing Labour government. In capitulating […]

By Svenja Spunck IN June, the Russian government announced a far-reaching pension “reform”. The main change is to raise the retirement age for women from 55 to 63 and for men from 60 to 65. What may sound to people in Germany like whingeing actually means working to the death in Russia, because average life […]