10 Articles by:
Charlie Winstanley is a writer and researcher.
The Tory project of deindustrialisation was a catastrophe for workers. It smashed the confidence of the socialist movement, which can’t become aloof to its historic demands for decent, dignified work.
Gabriel Winant’s ‘The Next Shift’ expertly details the growth of America’s health system — but in its hostility towards reindustrialisation, it offers dead-end positions for anyone fighting for working-class prosperity or a socialist society.
It would take a heart of stone to watch the speedy downfall of Liz Truss without laughing. But it’s no good letting the market lead the opposition – just imagine their response to a budget that made the changes Britain really needs.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has stood out since the beginning of the Ukraine war as uniquely reckless in her statements. As the stakes increase, so do the consequences for her grandstanding.
Thatcher’s destruction of British industry was so damaging that even the CBI has now attacked it. If Boris Johnson really wants a ‘levelling-up’ economy, only unprecedented state investment can make it happen.
The bloody occupation of Afghanistan highlighted the grand delusions of Britain’s rulers – delusions that even after two decades of catastrophe, they’re still not prepared to give up on.
In another ‘rare intervention’, Tony Blair recently urged Labour to reject the collectivism that brought it into existence and return to the individualism that defined his tenure – but that’s the last thing voters want.
Since 2010, the Tories have cut annual funding for local government by £15 billion – half of the total frontline budget. The result: mass closure of facilities, decay of our social infrastructure and a wave of council bankruptcies.
Labour’s new leadership team is right that the party needs a more coherent message – but by sidelining policy and a socialist vision, they risk leaving Labour looking like it’s fighting for nothing.
Across Britain, the coronavirus crisis is producing a wave of solidarity and community spirit which can be the foundation of a better society – if the Left gets organised.