Westminster
Photo: Miguel Mendez
Photo: Miguel Mendez
Of political parties claiming socialism to be their aim, the Labour Party has always been one of the most dogmatic – not about socialism, but about the parliamentary system
Ralph Miliband
One thing I’ve learnt… is how shallow, facile, ill-informed many of the supposedly well-informed major commentators are in our media. They shape a debate that is baseless and narrow
Jeremy Corbyn
Ralph Miliband’s thesis that the Labour mainstream tended to reject any kind of political action which fell, or which appeared to them to fall, outside the framework and conventions of the parliamentary system, remains apposite.
However, the inverse of this is arguably also true – that the left, partly in despair at the actions of the mainstream, has placed an emphasis on extra-parliamentary means. While this emphasis is both understandable and wholly necessary, in vacating the parliamentary space to the same mainstream it opposes, the left has helped to perpetuate the state of affairs Miliband correctly identified in the early 1960s.
Meanwhile, coverage of Westminster – the opaque and often impenetrable sphere of Parliament, Government, the Civil Service and the lobbying industry – is dominated by a closed clique of predominantly conservative journalists. At its least toxic their reporting is narrow and ill-informed – at its worst it is willingly misleading and obfuscatory. We seek to provide a corrective to this.
New Socialist operates under no illusions as to the limitations of parliamentary action. However, we recognise the centrality of Parliament to mainstream political discourse and believe firmly that the left must engage practically (e.g. by supporting the election of more left MPs) and critically (through clear-eyed, informed reporting and analysis).
To this end, we invite contributions that will:
- Highlight and celebrate the contribution of left parliamentarians, both within Parliament and outside of it
- Provide rapid rebuttals to inaccurate and misleading reporting by the Lobby
- Help to build a radical programme for parliamentary, electoral and governmental reform
- Expose and explain Westminster’s more obscure or arcane aspects such as the legislative process, the influence of the lobbying industry and the machinery of government
Send pitches to westminster@newsocialist.org.uk
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articles
A House of Lords of the left? Corbynism and parliamentary reform
Do plans for an elected Lords go far enough or should the Labour leadership look to ideas around full abolition and the creation of a Citizen's Assembly?
'Old White Men?' Labour and the Question of Representation
Left-wing women have long struggled to feel fully represented in parliamentary politics.
by
Eve Livingston
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Nov. 28, 2017
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Westminster
Social Murder, Productivity Crisis & Irresponsible Technology Policy: The 2017 Budget
Wednesday’s budget was more striking for the economic indicators and forecasts produced by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility than for any of its specific policies.
A preview of the week in Parliament
This week in Parliament: ten minute rule bill on medical cannabis, a debate on supported housing and the publication of a bill on the energy cap.
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oidptg
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Oct. 9, 2017
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Westminster
This week in Parliament: Theresa May's creeping despotism
Through fairly obscure means and made possible only by the support of the DUP, May's creeping despotism is set to skew Parliament's weak legislative scrutiny function even further.
by
oidptg
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Sept. 11, 2017
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Westminster
This Week in Parliament: Blacklisting and the Old Right's Venezuelan concern
Parliament returns today after the long summer recess. While Parliament is sitting, we will be looking to highlight interesting items on the agenda.
by
oidptg
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Sept. 5, 2017
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Westminster
Interview with Danielle Rowley MP
“Nowhere is more important to delivering another Labour government than Scotland,” commented Jeremy Corbyn ahead of embarking on his tour of marginal constituencies north of the border earlier this week.
by
The Editors
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Aug. 25, 2017
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Westminster
The Champion Problem
This episode serves as a timely reminder that having cemented the left of the Labour Party into the leadership, our work is far from over.
by
Hayley Masi
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Aug. 22, 2017
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Westminster
Democratic Socialism: Why the Left should demand a new Constitution
Even if Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 did not win their respective elections, they showed that democratic socialism is back as an electorally viable proposition.
The Myth of "Decent Tories"
Ever since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, commentators have revelled in the idea that this left a vacant space in the political centre ground, waiting to be occupied by the right party.
by
Tommy Hodgson
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Aug. 8, 2017
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Westminster
Labour & Immigration
After two years of internal battles and a hostile right-wing media, Corbyn’s team shifted the debate on some of the country’s biggest issues in a way many thought unimaginable.
by
Maya Goodfellow
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Aug. 6, 2017
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Westminster
Labour Party Conference: Call for Contributions
This September, thousands of Labour Party members - including constituency and trade union delegates from across Britain - will descend upon Brighton for this year’s Labour conference.
by
The Editors
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Aug. 4, 2017
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Theory and Strategy,
Westminster,
Beyond Westminster,
Culture,
Conference 2017
Reshuffle 2: The Maintenance of the Malcontents
Earlier this week, Corbyn announced a second tranche of post-election appointments to the shadow front bench.
by
oidptg
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July 8, 2017
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Westminster
Reproductive Justice and the 2017 General Election—What Could Have Been
I've been a Labour member and activist for around a decade, and one of the most common refrains I've heard on the doors over the years is that politicians can't be trusted: all the parties are the same.
Notes on the Reshuffle
Earlier this week Corbyn quietly announced a reshuffle of his Shadow Cabinet.
A Vow of Silence? A Chronicle of Internal Attempts to Sabotage the Labour Election Campaign
Throughout the election campaign, New Socialist kept a record of what we argue amounted to attempts at sabotage of the Labour Party’s election campaign.
The State of the New PLP
