A recent book provides a “just about” convincing argument that the ILP’s decline in the 1930s was not an inevitable consequence of disaffiliation. CHRISTOPHER HALL reviews Gidon Cohen’s welcome attempt to fill a gap in ILP history The history of the Independent Labour Party from its foundation until it was disaffiliated from the Labour...
How to let a good crisis go to waste
Last year’s financial crisis presented an opportunity for fundamental reform, argues Will Brown. It’s one that’s already gone to waste. It’s now over a year since the world’s financial system went into meltdown in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. At the time, there was much talk of a...
Sticks in Time
The Lost Revolution: the story of the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party, is a riveting tale, but it underplays their influence on the British Labour movement, says Gary Kent. The Troubles have produced a vast library but this is the first major history of an overlooked but influential movement: the Official IRA and...
The Good Society Debate
Across the continent, the left’s response to the recent economic crisis has been poor, verging on non-existent, just when the situation demanded a credible alternative to the dominant political and economic orthodoxy. That’s the starting point for a Europe-wide online debate on the future of social democracy hosted by the Soundings and Social Europe...