The British Labour debate is really about policy
Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader represented a big shift to the left in the British Labour Party. But from day one the mostly right-wing Labour MPs have been plotting to get rid of him.
Setting the Agenda
Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
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Brexit result shows democratic rejection of neoliberalism
Brexit has shone daylight on a crisis that’s been brewing for several decades. The utopian proclamation by Francis Fukuyama about the ‘end of history’, in the heyday of globalisation, has succumbed to the reality that paradigms come and go.
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“Kathryn’s Story” highlights the need for major welfare overhaul
In August 2015 I sat through a whole day of hearing in the High Court on this sad case. What a convoluted sets of arguments were expounded to justify the punitive approach taken by the Crown. That was the latest court event in a 15 year saga in which an unwell beneficiary is being pursued for the repayment of $20 a week.
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From Top To Bottom: Some Thought’s On Britain’s Brexit Nightmare
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CRISIS now overtaking Britain is difficult to exaggerate. A society obsessed with class has somehow to deal with the impossible fact that those on the bottom have over-ruled those at the top.
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A tax haven or a haven for refugees?
Why is it such a struggle for New Zealand to provide a safe haven to refugees in need yet we have to fight to clean up our tax haven laws? These two issues offer an insight into the values (or lack thereof) of John Key’s Government.
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Our Man In London
PICTURE HIM. He’s in his late 40s, tall, greying hair elegantly styled. His suit is Italian bespoke, from the immigrant tailor with the studio just around the corner from his favourite pub. His basic salary is safely into six figures (Sterling) and his bonus this year was spectacular. What does he do?
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6 steps to revolution – from throwing sex toys to molotov cocktails
The flatmates and I were sitting on the couch laughing at how ridiculous our government is and I casually said ‘gosh I could do a better job with my hand tied behind my back.’ A few beers later, and I’ve ended up with my arm tied behind my back typing up my manifesto for the revolution. Challenge accepted!
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The hi-jacking of the working class
Until the left is able to provide a coherent, message that it is the greed and corruption at the heart of capitalism which is to blame for the appalling situation low-income families find themselves in then we shouldn’t be surprised at the Trump/Brexit developments.
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Park-up in Wellington – People speaking against the scourge of homelessness
Wellington, NZ, 26 June – It was a cold and stormy rainy night… No, really, it was – cold, wet, and miserable. The kind of night that a growing number of homeless people – including families – are having to put up with regularly in once-egalitarian Aotearoa-New Zealand.
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John Key – we will not be held to ransom!
When news of the kidnapping of Australians and a New Zealand citizen in Nigeria hit our headlines, our esteemed Dear Leader’s response was unequivocal;