Following Yanis and Ken into the breach, here's Owen
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... party-left
Corbyn and Sultana: the needs of the left are greater than any of your differences
More than 750,000 people signed up in support of an unchristened, nonexistent party. Polling suggested nearly a third of Britons would vote for an alliance with the Greens; among under-35s, support rose to 52%. That media outlets spent more time mocking its placeholder name, Your Party, than seeking to understand this phenomenon tells its own story
I'm calling bollocks on this. The Greens are on about 11%. Is there really another 22% waiting to jump in behind Jez and Tariq Ali?
The media mocked, did they? I think that mockery (which wasn't just about the name) isn't looking misplaced so far.
In today’s Britain, “legitimate concerns” means kicking out migrants, not taxing elites to rebuild crumbling services.]
Which elites aren't paying tax? It's like the non-dom changes didn't happen, nor any other of the top end tax rises in the budget.
Meanwhile, polling consistently shows mass support for leftwing policies such as hiking tax on the rich and public ownership. The Greens, meanwhile, have elected the extremely impressive Zack Polanski, whose eco-socialist pitch is cutting through. An alliance between a new left party and the Greens could replace an imploding Labour.
Polls show support for much lower immigration, lower inheritance tax and capital punishment. So what? We'll soon see how far "the extremely impressive Zack Polanski" has cut through. And given the farce with Your Party, it's a bit much to accuse Labour of imploding.
None of this erases the challenges. Any viable left coalition must recognise British Muslims as essential to its base. They have been politicised by western bloodbaths in mostly Muslim lands such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Palestine
Roughly translated- we can get some easy votes from Muslims by spouting are usual anti-West broadbrush bollocks. Lucky it's all going well in Afghanistan these days, with the West having got out.
But some tensions cannot be wished away, including the tension within such a coalition between socially conservative and progressive values on issues such as trans rights. However, the two most prominent British Muslim politicians – the Labour London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf – have been steadfast pro-LGBTQ allies, unlike most Christian Tory MPs.
Roughly translated- actually when you talk to Muslims lots of them sound not unlike Steve Baker supporters (as indeed a lot in High Wycombe were, because whatever his other faults, Baker isn't a racist and got off his arse to engage with Muslim constituents).
"We can't wish this away" he says before promptly wishing it away by mentioning Sadiq Khan and Hamza Yousuf.
Authoritarianism is hardening at home: witness the mass arrest of peaceful anti-genocide activists under Labour’s anti-terror laws
That's one way of putting it.
Starmer’s refusal to address the economic roots of despair
Oi, Starmer, pull Owen's magic lever. Just raise spending a lot (more) and raise wages all across the economy. It's criminal that he hasn't managed this after one budget.
Left movements have arisen across the west in the past few years for structural reasons: an economic order that delivers falling living standards, rising insecurity and a collapsing public realm, fused with a murderous, catastrophic foreign policy
Left movements, great. Any actual left governments? Could there be a reason for that?
Any catastrophic foreign policy with Jez, at all? Owen occasionally expresses support for Ukraine, but evidently that comes a long way behind sticking it to Starmer.