-
How to get to football matches and pop concerts, and take the train to work

As you probably know, if you saw the RMT’s Mick Lynch on TV this morning, yet again having to answer those questions about ‘why are you inconveniencing people trying to get to football matches, pop concerts, or to work?’, the powers that be are still successfully dragging out disputes over whether or not public service…
-
I never watch telly, but…

Okay, I watched Gender Wars last night. The world has, over the last couple of years, become aware of a problem that’s been developing for over 20 years. I’ve been up to my eyes in it for around 5 of those years, and feel I know the issues all too well, but so many people…
-
The promise of Jocelyn Simms

If you’re in the book trade, you receive a lot of books for review, but there are certain names that, like those first signs of approaching summer, bring a sparkle of anticipation. I was looking forward to The Promise of Thaw by Jocelyn Simms, and the promise was fulfilled. The back-jacket reviewers are Elaine Briggs,…
-
Ithaka: the disaster that slipped past you

I watched Ithaka last night. I hardly ever watch telly, and like many people these days, when I watch a film, I’m generally doing at least two other things at the same time. Himself watched it too. We sat side-by-side, and watched in silence, and in the two interruptions for adverts (it was on ITV)…
-
It’s worse than oppressive – it’s embarrassing!

Who on earth are we going to vote for? The Conservative Party is now so far down the rabbit hole that the leader of the Labour Party has decided to take over as a new incarnation of the Tories. Unfortunately, team Starmer are behaving more like the new Tories that everyone hates than the mythical…
-
The biggest lie of all

Like many former Labour Party people, I went to see The Big Lie last weekend. It had already had two public showings in my town, and this was the third. I didn’t go to the first one because – well, I was a CLP officer when all this happened. I knew all too well what…
-
It’s not party time yet

I had mixed feelings at the thought of going to hear Jeremy Corbyn speak during the May weekend. I was a committed, unconflicted Labour Party officer in 2017 and was delighted to be working for the election of a Labour Party that intended to answer to the nation’s most urgent needs. We were battling to…
-
I hereby swear allegiance…

This is not a game. Do not do it, do not, DO NOT do it. It’s tricky stuff, allegiance. There are people who have allies, people who have friends and people who have comrades. Allegiance is the very worst of these. That bastard child of identity politics has brought “allyship” into politics where we used…
-
Full on no-holds barred rant: THIS IS AN EMERGENCY

I didn’t think I had much shockability left at the way our current shameful crop of politicians have not just let our NHS slip away, but colluded in every stage of the ‘slash, trash and privatize’ project. As someone said last night, “we need to stop talking about how to save the NHS and start…
