We have no idea what history will say about Keir Starmer and it may not be right anywayI see a lot of people saying that history will be kind to Keir Starmer - much kinder than commentators have been in recent weeks. Three points... First, history is not a single agreed narrative but a collection of debates. History will say lots of things about Keir Starmer, some of them quite contradictory. Second, we have no idea what history will say about Keir Starmer, because his career will be seen in a wider context, much of which hasn't happened yet. Andy Burnham may be lead Labour to defeat at the next general election, or he may win that ... (more) |
Andy Burnham's record on policing: Success story or missed opportunity?Andy Burnham's role as Mayor of Greater Manchester comes with a responsibility that is often overlooked. As well as leading the city region, he also holds the powers previously exercised by the Police and Crime Commissioner. That means he is ultimately responsible for overseeing Greater Manchester Police (GMP), setting priorities and holding the force to account. As with housing, Burnham's record on policing is more complex than either supporters or critics sometimes admit. The strongest criticism of Burnham's policing record is that one of the biggest scandals in the history of GMP happened on his watch. In 2020, inspectors placed ... (more) |
Lib Dem billboards attack Farage's £5m "reward for Brexit"The only person to profit from Brexit is Nigel Farage, who has walked away with a £5 million payout he described as his reward for Brexit, the Liberal Democrats claimed yesterday. The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey launched a nationwide billboard campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum. The campaign highlights how ordinary families across the UK are facing skyrocketing household bills in the aftermath of Brexit, all while taxpayers face a £90 billion hit every year. Speaking at a rally held in front of one of the billboards in London, Davey said: "After ten years of ... (more) |
Is Kier Starmer the new John Major?I think that history will be kinder to Kier Starmer than the media, his opponents and those within his own Party. What has happened to him reminds me very much of what happened to John Major three decades ago. As we look back on him, his behaviour, and his achievements we certainly understand more about and sympathise with Major than we did in the 90s. The basic thing that Starmer and Major have in common is that they are decent men with principles and beliefs that are close to the main stream beliefs that most of us hold. They believed ... (more) |
Burnham: Strategic implicationsMuch of the UK media coverage of an expected Burnham government later this year has focused on personalities and relatively trivial policy proposals. Broader strategic issues have largely been absent. However, Burnham's local transport reforms and administrative refinements in Manchester have shown a desire to 'make the state work'. Burnham has implied that a 'privatisation mentality' and an obsession with opaquely contracting everything out to the private sector, has led to the abandonment of attempts to make state institutions work properly. He's out to challenge such assumptions, he implies. This concept seems to lie behind Burnham's ideas about the nationalisation ... (more) |
Sparrows Can't Sing Q&A with Barbara Windsor and Murray MelvinJoan Littlewood directed only one film, Sparrows Can't Sing. It was based on the play Sparrers Can't Sing, which was written by Stephen Lewis (better known later as Blakey off of On the Buses) and staged by her at Stratford East. Here two cast members, Barbara Windsor and Murray Melvin, remember the making of the film and Littlewood's approach in general. Barbara Windsor is in sparkling form. As I posted this video on Liberal England about 10 years ago, I'm adding another one with Murray Melvin . It's very good, but I'll admit it's here mainly because of the still ... (more) |
A bargain at 23 guineas?Last year, David and I donated a 1950s record player to Beamish Museum, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the North East of England. Also my favourite museums on the entire planet. Last week we visited the museum to see if the record player was on display. We think we found it, in the electrical shop in the 1950s town. A bargain at 23 guineas. (more) |
The Brexit Referendum - 10 years onToday is the 10th anniversary of the EU Referendum Ten years ago, many of our readers will have voted and would have been working hard for the previous few months to help make the argument for the United Kingdom's place in the European Union. Ultimately Britain Stronger In Europe didn't win and like many people at the time, I remember being at a count, seeing the Sunderland result come in and the scale of the win for leave and thinking we're f****d. This was not out of a sense of I told you so, more out of a growing realisation ... (more) |
20C nightStray drips of rain from broken heat that make their way inside my head; wet trembling pearls that smell of earth and soak into her hide, her bones (more) |
Sammy Going South and the morality of employing child actorsThe director of Trouble at Townsend wasn't the only one to have problems with a child star being too well fed. I've read accounts of both Carol Reed and Andrei Tarkovsky making the same complaint. But Alexander Mackendrick's account (from Wikpedia, with no source given) of the making of Sammy Going South suggests that Fergus McClelland didn't just get too well fed but too happy. "He was a lean, hard, little boy. Tough as old nails ... a really strong character. He had the hunted look of an abused child, which in some ways he was. He came from a ... (more) |