Articles
Full list of articles published offsite
I'm proud to have written articles for publications as diverse as left-wing political factions through to anarcho-dandyist lifestyle magazines. Please find a list of those articles (with links) below...
Jacobin
The latest in my efforts to convert an American audience to the way of Bevan was published by the fine folks at Jacobin. I remain grateful to Jacobin for hosting my thoughts on the varied forewords written for Nye's In Place of Fear.
We Still Need Nye Bevan’s Vision of Socialism
10/11/2022
Bevan’s 1952 work, In Place of Fear, has long been a source of inspiration for the British left. It laid out a blueprint (or perhaps “redprint”) for his vision of a socialist society. It also served as a defense of the reforms carried out by the 1945–1951 Labour government in which Bevan had played a key part, serving as minister for health.
Bevan’s book has an enduring relevance to our own times. Who could regard its assertion that “no society can legitimately call itself civilized if a sick person is denied medical aid due to a lack of means” as anything other than a sincere and universal truth? However, like any major political work, In Place of Fear has inspired multiple competing interpretations from those who would like to claim Bevan for their own tendency. Looking at the way Bevan has been interpreted (or misinterpreted) since 1952 can help us understand the postwar history of Labour politics in Britain.
Current Affairs
As an ardent Bevanite I felt what the web pages of an American based left field periodical really needed was a treatise waxing lyrical about Aneurin Bevan's 'In Place of Fear'. In a pleasing act of trans-Atlantic generosity the editors at Current Affairs agreed. In turn they have also seen fit to publish my musings on the cultural relevance of Spartacus.
We Are All Spartacus
27/08/2022
Spartacus is among the members of the pantheon of leftist heroes who lost their specific battle. In that respect, he keeps the company of the International Brigades (who fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War, and lost), Rosa Luxemburg (who fought for democratic socialism and the nascent forces of fascism in Germany, and lost), and seemingly every candidate yours truly has backed for public office. As Francis Ambrose Ridley observed in his work Spartacus: A Study in Revolutionary History, “the names of the great revolutionary liberators and martyrs of humanity, from Spartacus to Rosa Luxemburg, who fell foremost in the age-long struggle to redeem their fellows from the yoke of capital, will shine forever down the ages.”
Finding Hope 'In Place of Fear'
26/05/2021
"As tempting as it would be to treat In Place of Fear as a socialist Ninety-five Theses and start nailing it to the office doors of ostensibly left-wing political parties like some kind of Bevanite Martin Luther, it may serve us better to read the text in question and to act upon its assertions (and then nail it to doors as a form of direct action). On that note, let us begin."
Boots & Spurs
National Clarion Cycling Club
The Clarion Cycling Club was formed in 1895 after a group of like-minded individuals got together in Birmingham in 1894. It took the Clarion name from Robert Blatchford’s socialist newspaper.
The Adventures of the Solidarity Cyclist
Autumn 2022
I am not a natural sportsman but despite a bookish nature I embraced cycling in lockdown. I also signed up to be a member of Clarion in part because of the insurance but mainly due to its illustrious history as a left leaning cycling group.
My vehicle of choice is a Pashley Royal Mail Postal Bike. Clocking in at a mere 23 kilos (twice the weight of my father's bike), a princely three gears (slow, less slow, and fast...ish), and fashioned from steel (the only contact with carbon fibre it is likely to have had is through crushing a more modern bike in a collision) it hardly stands as an elegant mode of transport for a more civilised age.
Open Labour
I have been proud to be a member of Open Labour since its launch and have previously served on its executive committee as the representative for Wales.
In Place of Hate
23/04/2019
"Politics is personal. Those who claim otherwise appear to have chilled their private prejudices to a sangfroid that approaches absolute zero. Accordingly the personal is emotional, but the emotion that has become the signature of contemporary political debate is arguably that of hatred..."
Class. Union. Party.
02/05/2017
"Class, Union, Party are the triumvirate of the Labour movement. As Labour Party members we understand that each begets the other. It is through our struggles that the working class recognised the deep seated need to act as one and form trade unions. The Labour Party was fashioned into being due in large to the trade union movement recognising the need for political representation as well as industrial."
Labour's Nuclear Reaction
06/03/2017
"At some point the number of articles written about the Copeland & Stoke Central by-elections may actually reach the number of the ballots cast. Both results were a perfect storm to keep the internal Labour Party maelstrom blowing. If Labour had held both seats then Corbyn supporters would have felt vindication in their continuing support of their leader. By contrast if both seats had been lost then a veritable draw-full of knives would have been out for the Member for Islington North."
Mental Health and Young Workers
23/05/2016
"There are those who may question why my Union -the GMB- has a stance on mental health. Aren’t unions solely concerned with workplace matters? With mental health issues affecting one in six of those who are in work Unions can certainly make the case that this is a workplace matter. When an employer is all too keen to try and show an employee with mental health issues the door it is often the Union Rep which slams it shut and ensures that facts, legislation, and some semblance of decency is held."
A Fair Deal for Young Workers
19/04/2016
"Fast Food Workers, Young Trade Unionists, and more have taken to the streets to denounce the invidious positon for Young Workers today. The low pay & precarious hours which young workers receive are a grievous indictment on the way our economy is structured. The GMB Young Members Network were amongst those who set up and participated in protests against the exploitation of Young Workers."
The Chap
The Chap was founded in 1999 and is the longest-serving British magazine dedicated to the gentlemanly way of life, with its own quirky, satirical take on a style that has recently entered the mainstream.
Kind Hearts & Coronets: Review
27/11/2019
“It is so difficult to make a neat job of killing people with whom one is not on friendly terms.”
Such is the laconic lament uttered by Dennis Price in his guise as Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts & Coronets, the Ealing Comedy Classic. Louis is the peerless peer (oft by his own hand) who methodically bumps off a variety of relatives (all played by Sir Alec Guinness) to secure a dukedom.
Labour Vision
A short lived blog with the stated aim:
"Labour Vision provides a space for social democratic thinkers in the U.K.
to set out the future for a party of organised labour."
It was not necessarily a natural home for a self professed Bevanite.
Labour Vision erred towards the middle of the road that Nye warned us about. It got ran down.
A New Kind of Politics MK2
Circa June 2017
"The line between productive debate and infighting has long been taut enough to draw blood – for some political garrotting has been their major preoccupation over the last few months.
The vilification of Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters had been hinging not only on the validity of their views but of their electoral appeal. Regarding the latter various luminaries stepped forward and prophesised a reckoning from which Labour may never recover and those who had the temerity to support the long standing Labour MP for Islington North were decried as at best naïve and at worse deliberate wreckers. As many of the left winger’s supporters were young people ‘grow up’ seemed an obvious and offensive epithet. It is telling that those who don’t believe in class politics in many cases show so little class in their politics."
Where Labour Stands – Young Workers
Circa Jan 2017
"If you want to see the effects of austerity in action take a look at the bank account of a young worker. If you want to see a group of people taking the direct hits from low hour contracts look at the properties rented by young workers.
In Labour we get told we’re ‘idealists’ when we state that those in work deserve a Real Living Wage, that everyone should have access to education and apprenticeships, and that you should have the right to be represented in the workplace. Decent pay, getting on in life, a fair deal. Think of the people who say that’s some kind of ideal and not just a basic standard of living - think of the people who hold us all in contempt and think that we don’t deserve even that."