Why Labour Lost the General Election
Labour’s defeat at last year’s general election wasn’t due to a lack of good policies, says HARRY BARNES. There were plenty, but most of them hardly saw the light of day....
Labour’s Policy-Making Needs an Overhaul
Former Labour MP Harry Barnes has called for the party’s policy-making process to be overhauled to give all its members and supporters a chance to participate....
Labour Campaigners call for ‘Manifestos of Intent’
Labour campaigners are calling on leadership candidates to issue ‘manifestos of intent’ outlining their likely policies and putting their politics on public show for voters’ to consider. HARRY BARNES explains why they are needed and calls for urgent support. ...
Former MP Calls For ‘Manifestos of Intent’ From Leadership Candidates
Former Labour MP Harry Barnes has called for Labour’s leadership candidates to issue ‘Manifestos of Intent’ to explain their intended programme and help members decide who to vote for....
Judging Labour’s Manifesto
HARRY BARNES casts his scrutinising eye over the details of Labour’s election manifesto, and concludes that it contains the seeds for a progressive government. At the 2014 Labour Party conference a document entitled National Policy Forum Report 2014 was adopted. My own summary of its contents appeared on my blog and covered 16 separate items....
Reasons for Hope?
HARRY BARNES picks apart the Labour Party’s policy process and finds a raft of positive proposals. He just wishes they were being delivered in a less piecemeal way....
Labour Needs to Push its Progressive Electoral Programme
HARRY BARNES has analysed Labour’s electoral programme and believes it starts to ‘open the door’ towards democratic socialism. He’s also provided a readable 16-part summary for those who haven’t yet ploughed through the 200-page document. ...
Constitutional Conundrums
Labour must deliver on the promises made to Scotland argues HARRY BARNES but difficult and complex constitutional puzzles remain. Labour’s response to the result of the Scottish referendum and to the promise of further devolved powers to Scotland must first of all be to press to deliver what has been promised. Yet we also...
The Case For Public Ownership
Arguments for public ownership did not start with Sidney Webb, nor end with Tony Blair, says HARRY BARNES. Once we create the conditions, we might be surprised at just how revolutionary our gradualism can become....
The Best We Can Hope For?
We should seek dialogue with One Nation Labour, argues HARRY BARNES, then press it to restrict markets and remove private profit from precious areas of the public sector....
Ireland, the ILP & the Slow Train to Peace
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland reaches it 25th anniversary on 10 April. The ILP and a grassroots peace movement played an often-forgotten yet important role on the road to reconciliation. GARY KENT aims to put the record straight....
The ILP & Peace in Northern Ireland
The ILP is marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement by hosting a talk on ‘The ILP’s impact on the left and the road to peace in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s’ by Gary Kent on Wednesday 12 April at 7.00pm....