Tom Blackburn
Editor at Large.
Twitter: @malaiseforever
Articles by Tom Blackburn:
-
Manchester, Poster Child of Municipal Neoliberalism
Isaac Rose’s The Rentier City is a provocative study and a much-needed riposte to the siren song of trickle-down housing.
-
Moving On Again
Where next for the left after Starmidor?
-
Out of Proportion?
Both sides of debates within Labour over proportional representation avoid asking the important but difficult questions about the contradictions in the Labour alliance.
-
The Vision Thing
We are beginning to see murmurs of disquiet from liberal commentators for whom Starmer not being Corbyn is no longer enough. How should we understand Starmer's lack of vision?
-
What Next for the Labour Left?
Labour's left is disorientated and fractured after traumatising defeats. But any retreat into low-stakes sectarianism would consign it to irrelevance for years to come.
-
Social Democracy by the Back Door: Europe and the Labour Party
A new history of Labour's engagement with Europe indicates that it has been driven more by expediency than internationalist principle.
-
The Capacity to Imagine: Labour in Local Government
The Labour left's presence in local government remains weak. What can the history of 'municipal Labourism' teach us about the challenges councils face today?
-
No Final Defeat
As crushing as Labour's electoral defeat was, the Labour left must find a way of picking itself up again - because the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.
-
Office Without Counter-Power?
Without the backing of a vibrant and assertive social movement behind it, any left-led Labour government risks merely occupying office rather than wielding real power.
-
The Prentice Saga
Though a relatively forgotten figure today, renewed hostilities between Labour's left and right make the story of Reg Prentice's bitter divorce from the party newly relevant.
-
The Defiance of Durham
The achievements of mining communities and unions are celebrated in spite of the conditions in which they arose, not because of them, and this heritage also fuels today's struggles.
-
Britannia Waives the Rules
With Labour's attempts at securing a Brexit compromise apparently dead, there are no easy answers for Jeremy Corbyn in deciding what to do next.
-
The Left and the Media, Then and Now
Radical media reform is an absolute necessity. But redressing the imbalances in our media unavoidably requires prolonged and bitter political struggle.
-
Waking Up the Giant: Political Education and the Labour Movement
The object of socialist political education has to be to continually foster the development, sharpening and intensification of popular demands.
-
A Revolution of Souls: Culture Wars vs. Cultural Renewal
With its vastly expanded membership, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has the potential to help lead a grassroots cultural renewal.
-
Bill Brand and the 'Metallic Logic of Social Democracy'
Four decades on from its debut, Trevor Griffiths' newly-relevant 'Bill Brand' remains a work of unusual political rigour and depth.
-
Labour’s ‘Contentious Alliance’ at Conference
The Labour Party Conference occupies a central role in the party’s culture.
-
The Labour Party: A Socialist Reading List
Since Jeremy Corbyn’s initial election as leader of the Labour Party in July 2015, the hundreds of thousands of people who have flocked into the party have been treated to something of a crash course on it.
-
In Defence of Party Democracy
It seems that whenever the Labour left has the temerity to organise to bring about whatever changes it wishes to see, this is almost without fail treated as an unconscionable outrage.
-
Hope, Slammed Doors and "Ronnie Corbett": Tales from the Campaign Trail
We caught up with four activists all of whom went out on the campaign trail for the Labour Party this spring.
-
Corbynism from Below?
The Labour leadership must urgently turn its attention to how it harnesses the capacities of the party membership, buoyed up by their recent successes.