Is ‘taking back control’ a useful slogan for the left? BEN SALTONSTALL responds to Barry Winter’s ‘beguiling’ question, one that raised many issues the left should be considering critically in the run-up to the next general election. ...
Taking Back Control?
Can the powerful slogan of the Brexit Leave campaign be harnessed by the left? BARRY WINTER argues that it is already gaining purchase among campaigners, politicians and organisations…...
Brexit: Labour’s Deepening Dilemmas
The EU withdrawal agreement revealed by the government this week can only make Labour’s Brexit difficulties worse, says WILL BROWN. The party urgently needs to find some greater clarity…...
The Causes and Cures of Brexit
“The Brexit vote was the biggest single democratic revolution the UK has experienced in decades,” according to Neal Lawson of Compass, whose new report brings together more than 20 short essays…...
How Corbyn’s Rise Attracted the Young
Jeremy Corbyn’s appeal to young people has dispelled a few myths about their political apathy and disengagement. SAFFRON ROSE reviews a new book that looks at the lives of young people in Britain today and considers why the Labour leader has been such an inspiring figure....
The Origins of Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn’s rise is only the latest in a long line of left-wing ‘corrections’ to a rightward drift in the Labour Party, which date from before it was even founded, argues GRAHAM TAYLOR....
The Interwar ILP – Lessons for Today?
IAN BULLOCK assesses the record of the ILP between the wars and seeks to draw a few lessons for Labour and the left today. All in all, he says, the influence of the radical and democratic ILP on the Labour Party of the later 20th century was an extremely positive one....
Accessing the ILP Archives
The ILP archives at the London School of Economics is regarded as a “key heritage collection” by the library’s politics curator, DANIEL PAYNE. It contains a huge variety of fascinating material dating from the organisation’s birth 125 years ago, and covering much of its rich history as a significant force in shaping the outlook...
Between the Wars
The period between the two world wars was one of the most turbulent in political history. The events of that time had a profound impact on the ILP and the development of British left-wing politics, as Ian Bullock describes in his important new book, Under Siege, reviewed here by HARRY BARNES. After setting the scene...
Striking for a Higher Purpose
The lecturers’ strike, affecting more than 60 Universities and more than one million students, has thrown up new challenges to an increasingly dysfunctional university system. HAZEL HEAD reports. As the lecturers’ strike by the University and College Union enters its third week, pressure is mounting on the well-heeled leaders of higher education to give ground....
Ways Forward Through Co-operative Solidarity
DAVID CONNOLLY reports from last week’s Co-operative Solidarity conference in Manchester. “Co-ops are at the heart of Labour’s economic programme.” That was the key message from Shadow Business Minister Rebecca Long-Bailey at the Co-operative Solidarity conference. Drawing attention to the ‘right to own’ commitment in Labour’s election manifesto last year, she said that a Labour...
Voting Behaviour
Behind the leadership of Emmeline Pankhurst were many lesser-known figures in the Votes for Women campaign in the north of England, some of them members of the ILP. ANTONIA CHARLESWORTH remembers their contribution to the fight for women’s suffrage and profiles one Lancashire ILPer who played her part. Manchester’s place in the history of...