How the Media Made Boris Johnson
A new book explores how Britain’s establishment media provided Boris Johnson with the platform for the lies and provocations that made his political career – only to bemoan his rise to the top when it was too late.
4 Articles by:
James A. Smith
James A. Smith is the author of Other People's Politics: Populism to Corbynism (Zero Books, 2019) and Work Want Work: Labour and Desire at the End of Capitalism (Zed Books, 2020, with Mareile Pfannebecker).
For the Tories, the Return of the Death Penalty Is Not so Farfetched
Rumours that Home Secretary Priti Patel was exploring the reintroduction of the death penalty were met with surprise – but it would just be the latest chapter in a decade of Tory governments devaluing human life.
Labour’s Soft Left Turn on Welfare
Fears that Labour is returning to hawkishness on welfare seem misplaced, but the party is making a pivot to the pandemic’s better-heeled ‘new’ unemployed – one which will do little to foster social solidarity.
Tackling the Crisis in Work
Rebecca Long-Bailey was derided for suggesting that workers should have a right not to answer emails after hours – but unless Labour is prepared to tackle the changing world of work, the party’s future is bleak.