Tag Archives: Labour

Why Andrew Rawnsley may have missed the point

Posted on May 15, 2011 by PinkPolitika

The word on the political street is increasingly that Labour must step up both pace and impact, to stand any chance of winning the next election – whenever that might be.  The task, it is agreed, is both big and urgent. So how … Continue reading →

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LibDem MPs must cross the floor to Labour, now

Posted on May 8, 2011 by PinkPolitika

Ed Miliband finally concurs with me, that LibDem MPs of integrity must cross the floor to Labour. In today’s Observer he says it is “late, but not too late” for any LibDems of good faith to join him on the … Continue reading →

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AV goes; so will Labour now get going?

Posted on May 4, 2011 by PinkPolitika

What will the outcome of the FPTP / AV campaigns tell us? Our main lesson, if we look past the bluster, may be about leadership in a world changing as it never has before, by the day and hour. Tomorrow the … Continue reading →

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A ‘No’ AV outcome could convert LibDem MPs to Labour

Posted on April 19, 2011 by PinkPolitika

In the end, and very reluctantly, I’ve gone for ‘No’ on the Alternative Vote.  I truly wanted to be progressive, and it’s really tempting to hit the Tories where it hurts. But over the past few weeks I’ve realised that ‘Yes’ … Continue reading →

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Going for broke(n society)

Posted on March 25, 2011 by PinkPolitika

Others have already proffered more complex analysis of the Osborne Budget that I can.  Few however can be more angry than I about what it will mean for large numbers of our fellow citizens.  You may be equally as appalled as … Continue reading →

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What part of ‘ConDemistas: incompetent’ don’t we understand?

Posted on March 20, 2011 by PinkPolitika

If there was ever any sheen to the Coalition’s domestic ‘policy’, that is now well and truly gone. Whether health, educational or even generic issues such as their self-styled Big Society, it’s pretty clear that ConDem ministers have made little effort … Continue reading →

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Leading Labour, perhaps laboriously

Posted on March 10, 2011 by PinkPolitika

Was Ed Miliband the best choice for Labour Leader? Whilst it’s critical to focus without fail on the enormous damage currently being inflicted by the ConDem Coalition, we still cannot ignore entirely the question of how well HM Opposition is performing. When the … Continue reading →

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Whoever heard of double devolution? ‘Big Society’ sounds better (but isn’t)

Posted on February 23, 2011 by PinkPolitika

You may remember ‘double devolution’; but if you do it’s probably because you are a politically progressive activist.  Double devolution was the name given when Labour was in power by then Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, and her ministerial colleague Andrew … Continue reading →

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LibDems must cross the floor – before it’s all too late

Posted on February 12, 2011 by PinkPolitika

It’s said we in the UK are stuck with the nightmare of Conservative slash-and-burn for a full five years.  The Conservatives’ oh-so-junior partners, the Liberal Democrats, are in this view unwilling and afraid to say Stop. I don’t agree.  It doesn’t have to be … Continue reading →

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In 1981 the Gang of Four launched a new UK liberal party to ‘heal divisions’…

Posted on February 3, 2011 by PinkPolitika

Will we soon see big MP defections from the LibDems to Labour, in time to prevent wholesale destruction of the UK’s public services? Just about thirty years ago on 26 March 1981 the so-called Gang of Four launched a new British political … Continue reading →

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Patronising paternalism about parental leave

Posted on January 18, 2011 by PinkPolitika

Two articles in today’s Times (18 January 2011) remind me yet again why there is so far still for women in the UK to go.   In one article, ‘Extra paternity pay is needed to free women, says Clegg’, we learn … Continue reading →

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One woman, loadsa chaps in Oldham election

Posted on January 13, 2011 by PinkPolitika

What do the Conservatives, Green Party, LibDems, UKIP and five other smaller political parties have in common in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election today? The answer is that they are all fielding male candidates; so these comprise 90% of … Continue reading →

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Incompetent Conservative Government… or de-governance?

Posted on January 11, 2011 by PinkPolitika

Michael Tomasky of The Guardian, in a recent article entitled ‘Good at theatre, dreadful at governing’, quoted the American scholar Alan Wolfe’s view of conservative (e.g. Republican) politicians: Conservatives cannot govern well for the same reason that vegetarians cannot prepare a world-class … Continue reading →

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