“There’s no evidence so far that the contradiction between the need to win back dozens of Scottish seats and the hope that a Union Jack will somehow reconstruct the torched bridges to former Labour strongholds is causing any friction in the minds of Starmer or his immediate circle.”
socialism
“News addicts, activists and idealists tend to be confounded by the apparently slow recognition of a major social and economic crises in the wider public. But taking a step back from the frenetic cycle of events makes perfect sense of the phenomenon.”
Analysis: It’s too early to know the meaning of 2020
“The argument that Scottish Labour can or does represent a hope for the Scottish Left hinges, unwittingly or otherwise, on the belief that such hope cannot exist anywhere else.”
Sean Bell: Imagine there’s no Scottish Labour – it’s easy if you try
A new study has found a record-breaking heatwave in Siberia was made 600 times more likely by man-made climate change. Temperatures in the far north of Russia were more than five degrees above normal from January to June this year, causing permafrost to melt and forest fires to proliferate, which in turn increased more carbon […]
How do we avoid crisis-fatigue?
“Starmer was put in place in order to bury Corbynism and those radical instincts its enemies associate with it… In that sense, his leadership is working entirely as intended.”
Sean Bell: Keir Starmer is doing exactly what he was selected to do
“The present is not inevitable; moving beyond it is. Stop telling yourself this works, or that it is as good as it gets. And stop saying next is bound to be worse.”
Robin McAlpine: You want radical? How about producers selling to consumers
“Far from our economic model being the realisation of Adam Smith’s dream, it is the embodiment of his worst fears. It’s not a ‘free market’ – it’s a cartel.”
Robin McAlpine: I’m a socialist – but I’m here to save capitalism
Earlier this month Scotland lost one of its most important contemporary intellectuals, Neil Davidson.
Beyond the Noise: Neil Davidson, 1957 – 2020
“Whether our future builds on rediscovered human and ecological values and community connections, as so many hope, will depend on what we do now – not after the pandemic is over, when it will be too late. We don’t want to go back to ‘their normal’, but the alternative might be a whole lot worse.”