A quick note to thank Left Foot Forward for helping us with the Political Innovation essays; see here for more about the project and a list of all the essays so far, with a few more to come in the next few weeks. We would like to invite LFF readers to a couple of events that we’re doing in Edinburgh (13th November) and Belfast (20th November) – both are Saturday get-togethers – details can be found here.
Tuesday was a good day to be on a Republican ticket and a bad day to be running as a Democrat, but the results are not catastrophic for Obama. In South Florida there is no long term appetite for extremes, but this week’s results demonstrate that the American people don’t like their leaders very much and have relished giving this one a good “shellacking”.
A time of ‘anxious aspiration’ that is founded upon the uncertainty of ever increasingly dynamic technological change in a world of globalised production and global culture. Here then is a space where the left can win back the middle classes in a thoroughly authentic manner – perhaps for the first time since Atlee and 1945. Familiar fairness for unfamiliar times.
More details of the impact of the Browne Review emerged this week. Twenty four universities look set to see their entire teaching grants scrapped, including LSE and SOAS, with 73 universities seeing their teaching budgets slashed by more than 75 per cent.
The Woolas case raise an interesting question for the Labour party: if the electorate become hostile to civil liberties, should we? Michael Harris examines the issue.
Douglas Alexander used his first major speech as Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions to criticise the Coalition Government’s welfare proposals – and warned Iain Duncan Smith that his reforms will be meaningless against a backdrop of £18billion in welfare cuts and a jobless recovery.
The spontaneity of parents, teachers and communities can be mined in new ways to ensure we are getting the best out of limited resources. We need a ‘national clearing house for schools’ that shares real time knowledge about what works, one that uses clever information tools to pool the wisdom of grassroots professionals.
The Yes to fairer votes site launches this week. In contrast to the dull oppressive shades of the No campaign’s site, it is clear, bright and colourful, and focuses on the grassroots nature of the campaign with ways in which people can get involved. There is now a network of determined activists across the country that has grown steadily since the extraordinary outpouring of energy during the purple “fair votes” protests back in May.
Foreign office minister Jeremy Browne was accused of racism by a heckler on Question Time last night after remarks about the French. Talking about the Anglo-French defence treaty signed by the prime minister and President Sarkozy this week, he said: “We’re not merging our Army with France. Our soldiers won’t be required to speak French or wear onions round their necks or stripey t-shirts, or ride bicycles.”
David Cameron’s speech to East London entrepreneurs about the government’s long-term commitment to transform London’s East End into “a world-leading technology city to rival Silicon Valley” is laudable in its intent. The prime minister said a number of companies including Vodafone, Google, Facebook, Intel and McKinsey & Co were interested in investing in the region over the longer term.
