Anatomy of what a Labour heartland now looks like: Lambeth & Southwark. Landslide for @SadiqKhan with huge 2nd prefs for @sianberry - and Greens second in member election...
... people queued into the distance to deliver this message: any backsliding from Labour and the Greens are the alternative ... and it's not a one-off. See Sheff Hillsboro...
Lesson: Labour has to first and foremost represent the people who vote for it... yes, to gain power, it must draw others into its coalition but the base of the coalition is restive....
In case you think this is airy fairy London, we're talking about some of the biggest council estates in Europe... plus packed private rental blocks ... and it's a Red-Green heartland.
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The Labour excuse factory is cranking into gear: poor campaign, no clear policies, Corbyn, PV... it's always done to deflect from ANALYSING THE NEW CLASS DYNAMICS... 1/ ... because that would involve thinking ... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
2/ That's why Jim McMahon's (Labour's campaign organiser) attack on "abstract theories" was so telling ... but it's not rocket science: values now determine voting behaviour - from Hartlepool to Hillsborough ... but... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
3/ The question is what's shaping the values. Answer: the new forms of exploitation and working class survival strategies... because contrary to Cruddas et al, work is no longer the defining political experience ... newstatesman.com/politics/2021/…
The Labour right is on the offensive against "post capitalism" and the UBI. That's nothing new - and we need to understand neither side can impose its agenda on the other - but they're wrong: here's why 1/ newstatesman.com/politics/uk/20…
2/ By "Labour right" I mean the pre-Blairite "old Labour" MPs largely represented in the Fabian Hearts & Minds pamphlet... they argue the party needs to "represent" small-town ex-industrial culture... newstatesman.com/politics/uk/20…
3/ Some, like Yvonne Fovargue, say anti-racism, human rights and radical redistribution (aka "freebies") are secondary to "our core communities". Leave aside your outrage at this, they are just stone cold wrong... newstatesman.com/politics/uk/20…
Johnson's camarilla in turmoil - let's go back to the basic story 1/ His late lockdown decision in March 2020 cost tens of thousands of lives. Cummings has the evidence ...
2/ Cummings said to "fear jail" over either Brexit spending or the October lockdown leak... but MI5 can't pinpoint who sent the vital WhatsApp message revealing market (and probably national security) sensitive info...
3/ The October leak also caused a frenzy of socialising that boosted infections... and then the Cain-Cummings clique imploded under the pressure... Now the Symonds-Stratton clique has also imploded leaving Rosenfield/Johnson to manage the fall out ...
Right it's a showdown now between football-capitalism and civil society. What price the "image rights" of any player who goes along with the destruction of competitive football? The fans can stop them and here's why... 1/ Unless there's a draft, as in NFL, the games will be dire
2/ ... only the NFL draft keeps the closed leagues competitive. Once established as a super-brand a team like Real, Man City *has to win every season*... it will be a procession of Mourinho-style draws...
3/ We, the fans, can throw so much shit at the SuperLeague that it becomes a brand pariah - and we'll have great ammo because the games will be dire. They will change the rules...
Western paralysis over Putin's threat to Ukraine - where next? 1/ France and Germany have signalled no chance of military action if Putin invades; and no chance of Nato accession for Ukraine... my @NewStatesman column... newstatesman.com/world/europe/2…
2/ Biden now thinking more about asset seizures, AML measures and enforcement on the tax havens/conduits than military action or blanket sanctions... newstatesman.com/world/europe/2…
3/ We need collective European security more than ever, via the EU and NATO - exactly what Johnson and his mate Trump spent years sabotaging.... but in no major European capital is there appetite for war with Russia over Ukraine... newstatesman.com/world/europe/2…
Ukraine update and analysis: 1/ Ukraine reports six ceasefire violations over the last 24 hours facebook.com/pressjfo.news/…
2/ #UkraineAnalysis Ukraine's military claims that Russia is sending landing craft to the Black Sea from both its Northern and Baltic fleets zn.ua/POLITICS/dejst…
3/ #UkraineAnalysis 3.Erdogan met Zelensky, resulting in Turkey reiterating its refusal to accept Russia's annexation of Crimea. Pro-Russian media launched a bitter attack on Erdogan in response news.antiwar.com/2021/04/11/tur…