Covering the previous year. Older editorials are part of Past Issues.
Corbyn Suspended. November 2020
Sir Keir is by profession a common law barrister, but as a political leader he prefers Inquisition to debate. It came to light after his election that he is a strong Zionist and it is therefore understandable why he preferred that the issue of Labour Party Anti-Semitism should not be tested in open Court, in which both sides would be represented, but should be passed judgment on by a Committee.
The Deficit Myth. November 2020 – 2nd Editorial
Can Labour present itself as an alternative to the Tory Party if it does not understand the reality of a currency creating state? The question is not idle speculation. In the Furlough scheme the state paid 80% of the wages of those in employment who could not work because of the pandemic. The scheme was described by many as generous. This misses the point. 80% was the rate necessary to ensure that all the industries that could still work throughout the pandemic would not experience any significant drop in demand for their produce. Such a drop in demand would have further exacerbated the unemployment problems directly created by the pandemic.
A Dishonourable Start. October 2020.
It does not augur well for the future of the Labour Party that Starmer began with a false account of the previous 5 years of the Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Starmer says it’s time to get serious about winning. The implication is that Corbyn was not serious about winning and that’s why Labour lost the general elections in 2017 and 2019. However in 2017 the swing to Labour was 9.6% .
A Clause 4 Moment. September 2020.
Constituency Labour Parties have been warned not to discuss, or speculate about the contents of the draft report of the Equality and Human Rights Commission into allegations of antisemitism within the party.
Just what cause does this ban serve?
Is The Tory Government A Russian Fifth Column? August 2020 Special Issue.
The strange panic about a leaked report that found nothing.
We are told it must have existed, but was wilfully not looked for.
And that it was bad that there was no law against spies. That spies only broke the law when they handed over secret information to the enemy.
British xenophobia has been unleashed within the Labour Party under Keir Starmer’s leadership. It expresses hatred of the world in which Britain must live, now that it has left the European Union.
Starmer Sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey. July 2020 (1)
When Labour adopted new rules about anti-Semitism, its advocates said it did not prevent legitimate criticism of the actions of the Zionist State. What Ms Long-Bailey endorsed was not a criticism of anything Jewish, but of brutal policing methods common to Israel and the USA.
Brexit, Covid-19 And Labour’s Task. July 2020 (2)
The decision not to extend UK membership into 2021 leaves the government with two options. Either make a deal with the EU by this October. Or the UK leaves without a deal, and reverts to World Trade Organisation rules
Starmer Under Fire. June 2020.
The knives are out for Keir Starmer. With the government’s and Johnson’s popularity beginning to slip, and Starmer’s performances at Prime Minister’s Questions are eulogised, Tory MPs and the Daily Mail are doing their bit to portray Labour’s new leader as an incompetent, uncaring, hypocrite.
Labour’s Internal War. May 2020.
Keir Starmer received the overwhelming support of Labour Party members in the vote for the new party leader. He is now in a strong position to steer the direction of Labour towards the next general election, scheduled for 2024. Crucially, his support is strong among Labour MPs. Unlike that of Jeremy Corbyn whose victory in two leadership elections was resented by a hard core of backbenchers, who constantly sought to undermine him. This created division within the party and was a factor in Labour’s defeat in the elections of 2017 and 2019.
A Budget Fit For A Keynes? April 2020.
When the Liberal Democrats made him Prime Minister in 2010, David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne accused Labour of leaving the country bankrupt, with a massive debt and huge deficit.
With Boris Johnson installed as Prime Minister all that has changed. The debt and the deficit are now of little concern. Johnson and his government have put clear blue water between today’s Conservative party and the party as it has been since Thatcher.
Labour’s Craven Candidates. March 2020.
The Labour leadership contest is not exactly setting the world alight. The media, obsessed with the latest celebrity gossip and with Johnson’s compliant cabinet, have taken little interest in it. And the wider public are largely unaware that it is happening.
The Route To Labour’s Leader. February 2020.
If it was the Tories simple Brexit message- “Get Brexit Done”- that broke the red wall in the midlands and north of England, then for Labour to have any chance of forming a government, it must abandon all thoughts of the UK regaining EU membership. The new leader’s clear message must be a determination to make Brexit a success: a Labour influenced Brexit.
The Brexit Defeat. Statement, January 2019.
It was not, as the media claimed, ‘the worst result since 1935′, if you allow for the 40 seats that were lost in 2015, when the SNP were clearly to the left of Labour.
Labour’s vote among the under-35s was higher than that in other parties, but it fell dramatically among the over-65s in England, where culture and patriotism have become the key determinants of voting behaviour.
The Election Choice: Labour Boldness Or Tory Timidness. December 2019.
Published before the vote. Warning “[Johnson’s] line that nothing else can be done until Brexit is sorted may go down well with many leave voters”. And “He, and his right-wing government want Brexit done so they can embark on their plan to further deregulate the economy and shrink the state, which to their regret remains roughly the size it was in 2010.”
An Unpredictable Election. November 2019.
A general election is needed because parliament became dysfunctional. The minority Tory government was unable to get its Brexit deal through parliament, even though MPs voted for its second reading. This was simply a tactic to allow them to scrutinise the bill over an extended time scale.
Labour’s Neutral Brexit. October 2019
Labour’s party conference voted narrowly and unexpectedly in favour of the party adopting a neutral stance on Brexit. Conference showed it has confidence in him as party leader.
Brexit Regardless Of Suffering. September 2019.
Describing how Johnson was clearly planning to get a No-Deal Brexit without regard for the wishes of a majority of MPs. Or a majority of the population, since Brexit was sold as being easy. He is part of the minority who want to quit regardless of what it costs.
Labour Affairs Magazine 