Category: activism
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Beyond political despair
Seeding despair in the enemy is a classic ploy. Don’t fall for it. We failed to change the Labour Party from within, but those of us who are now on the outside can do what we like – the problem is, many aren’t sure what to do. They say they feel “politically homeless”, they say…
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Activists’ dilemma
Isolated? thwarted? Fed up of people saying ‘but who can we vote for?’ If you’re an activist, I bet this has happened to you: a service-providing organization that has money and clout starts doing something destructive in the community. You can’t find a political party that’s willing to deal with it but, as a seasoned…
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How to use all that anger wisely
I went to a really interesting talk that a lot of people didn’t want me to go to last month. It was laid on by the local Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Apparently, even some members of their own organization had their doubts about it. It’s because the speaker was David Miller, who seems to have the…
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All human life
All human life on the planet is born of woman – Adrienne Rich That quote introduces the editor’s column in the latest edition of The Radical Notion which I intended to lose myself in, but people just kept lending me books, and suggesting I read books, some of which were immediately irresistible and so the…
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What this government wants
Our town has a tradition that we know goes back 500 years, but it probably goes back way longer than that. The same tradition that so many coastal towns, especially small-boat fishing towns have. When people are lost at sea, we gather on the beach to send them a final salute, to just stand still,…
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Reaching across #NoDebate
Notes for the sex-and-gender debate I am going to write this as though it were a letter to someone who thinks of themself as ‘a trans ally’ or perhaps a trans rights activist. I know such a person is highly unlikely to read my blog, because they think their opponents are ‘anti-trans’, and because I…
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Labour candidate’s letter to Hastings and Rye
A leaflet from Labour’s candidate for Hastings and Rye arrived at my house yesterday. It was an interesting read, and it asks us to tell the candidate what we think. Here goes… I too am very keenly aware that we need a change of government. That’s why I joined the Labour Party and worked daily…
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Behaviour problems
The photo on the left is real. The one on the right is a photo-shop fantasy – but you already knew that, didn’t you. How did you know that? Things that can’t be said: Not so long ago, Starmer was asked if it’s true that only women have a cervix. His answer was that he…
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Tribalism
In the run up to the EU referendum, most of our (at that time enormous) pool of Labour Party activists failed to step up and join the campaigning. I found myself working with people from other parties, or from none, who came out to have those street conversations. The conversations were mostly a waste of…
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Sisters getting organised
Back in 2016, the day Labour MPs got together to try and force Corbyn out of his leadership role, the campaign group Momentum rallied thousands to gather at Parliament Square to demand that the Party ‘Keep Corbyn’. The sheer weight of numbers successfully cowed those MPs. As far as I know, it was the last…
Kay Green 