Solid Workers

Owen Jones asks why are groups of hard remainers refusing to acknowledge the victory their marches, campaigning, and consistent pressure have won. If you go back to the so-called People's Vote demonstrations, many a speaker called on, nay demanded Labour ditch its ambiguous Brexit position. "Where's Jeremy Corbyn?" went the mischievous chants. Well, Jeremy Corbyn is where you wanted him: calling for a second EU referendum with an option to remain. But it's not enough, never enough. Some have moved the goal posts and now only revoking Article 50 will do. Others have vowed to never vote Labour with Corbyn as leader, even if the only discernible route to their political objective is through a Labour government. You can fantasise about the hard positioning of the Liberal Democrats winning a majority, and I can dream of winning the EuroMillions jackpot. We've spoken about Corbynphobia plenty of times . The very prospect of Jeremy Corbyn entering Number 10, if o...

By now you will have heard about Caroline Lucas's emergency all-female cabinet in response to the looming no deal Brexit. And the derision has proven to be near universal. From proposing a cross-party alliance among politicians with little in common to the essentialist supposition that women are bound to do a better job of negotiating Brexit because, well, they're women (um, Theresa May?) and to the noted exclusion of black and minority ethnicity women from her fantasy cabinet. An absence compounded by her clarification/apology that all the leading women in British politics happen to be white. So quite how did the very Brexity backbench Yvette Cooper get selected for Caroline's gang over the very remainy actual Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott? Readers can speculate about this oversight. Unfortunately for the Green Party's sole MP, this crass initiative has pretty much trashed her reputation among a left who've happily given her the time of day. Despite the...

In this episode of #RedHacks for Politics Theory Other, Joana Ramiro speaks to Juliet Jacques about her time writing for the liberal and centrist media and how their indulging of transphobia ultimately closed down these avenues for trans and non-binary writers. As ever, a fascinating and thought-provoking listen. The podcast does need your support so please consider donating here .

On Twitter earlier, lefty comedian David Schneider wrote "Good to hear Shami Chakrabati clarifying Labour’s position on free movement which is that it will end but only as it was under the EU so it won’t end fully though it might and if it doesn’t end it won’t be totally free. Unless that’s what happens. Simples." Well then. There's something peculiar, isn't there, about a particular fraction of otherwise progressive types who seem intent on confounding us with these increasingly erratic and incomprehensible takes, in this case about a line in the last Labour manifesto declaring that upon leaving the EU free movement will end. It's peculiar because if you give the situation a few seconds thought, it isn't. If/when we leave, free movement for EU citizens as it exists now, and the rules under which it exists, will end. This is simply because those rules will not exist any more. They will cease to be. That’s what 'ending free movement' in this context me...

Before fire ripped through Notre Dame Cathedral, the building was in a pretty parlous state . It gave an impression of grandeur and baroque beauty, and attracted the admiration and affection of millions. But behind the scenes, up close, chunks of masonry were disintegrating and dropping off, and water had ingressed into 19th century patch up work, disturbing the integrity of the building. The work that was, until Monday evening, meant to correct this was piecemeal and underfunded, above all reliant on the kindness of strangers . A decayed superstructure serves nicely as a metaphor for the state of liberal democratic politics. In 1964's British Political Parties , the classic study of British politics by Robert McKenzie, the state of the then Conservative Party is surveyed and he finds the party outside of parliament utterly dominated by the MPs and, above all, the leadership. If you were a member of the Tories in the early-mid 1960s, you had the chance to rub shoulders with arist...

What links the difficulties Dominic Grieve had with his Conservative Association, CHUKa's application to become a proper political party, and the resignation of Nick Boles? It might not be anything. Conversely, it could be everything. You don't need me to tell you mainstream politics is in crisis. Or let me rephrase that, bourgeois politics is in a state of panic. Liberalism as a movement of elites has collapsed, though running continuity remain and retaining access to the media means the illusion hasn't quite broken for them yet. As we have seen, the Labour right have done a good job of marginalising themselves in their scorched earth retreat before the left. And the Tories? Ah, the Tories. They're screwed . In the mountain of analysis about the 2017 general election, it was Labour's polling figures that got the lion's share of discussion. But it is also worth remembering that under Theresa May, the Conservatives got their best popular vote result since 19...