The huge political cost of Blair’s decision to allow Eastern European migrants unfettered access to Britain
In 2004 the Labour government allowed citizens of the 10 new EU states labour market access. Why did Blair make this decision?
Primary Results
May’s ‘meritocracy’ might be on hold, but the ideas behind it are here to stay
The notion of an society organised on merit has held Britain in its sway for decades.
Iran is putting pressure on the US‑UK ‘special relationship’ – but it has survived worse over the years
The US president has turned on Keir Starmer over the conflict in Iran.
Labour governments have always struggled with immigration – here’s what Keir Starmer could learn from them
Starmer could have framed the same policies around a softer rhetoric, one that embraces multicultural Britain while making the case for reforming the labour market.
Tam Dalyell never held office, but he was Margaret Thatcher’s sternest critic
The unique parliamentarian who coined the West Lothian question.
How neoliberalism’s moral order feeds fraud and corruption
Corporate wrongdoing is underpinned by a morality that many of us have voted for.
Politics is a game best played by the young and the restless
So, Alan Johnson is too old, at 64, to contemplate a run at the leadership of the Labour Party even if the top job: the prime ministership may be there for the taking just ten months away. Prime ministers…
From alternative facts to tender age shelters – how euphemisms become political weapons of mass distraction
Why don’t politicians just say what they mean? Because we might not like it.
Why the Chilcot inquiry has taken so long – and why we should wait to judge it
Whatever position you take on the Iraq Inquiry – whether you see it as an establishment stitch-up, or whether you think it might actually tell the truth about Britain’s decision to go to war in Iraq in…
The politics of Neighbours: what the Australian soap can teach us about post‑Thatcher Britain
The types of people who gathered daily to watch Neighbours are the same who backed Tony Blair in 1997.
Secondary Results
