The myth Corbyn is heading for victory is destroying the Labour leadership race

A highly destructive dynamic has taken hold of Labour’s leadership contest. Because it makes good copy and because there’s some vague evidence of support for Corbyn, it is his candidacy that is…

Labour has ceased to function – how can it change course?

In 2007, I stood for a Parliamentary selection. The local party had been divided for some time. It was generally genial and respectful but there was a lot of subterranean animosity. My sense (the arrogance of youth perhaps) was…

Economic debate is completely idiotic, and that’s a serious problem

For the sake of argument, let’s say that you’re the leader of the Labour party, and you’re a bit of a leftie. Perish the thought. You’ve got an idea for a platform for the next general election that you think…

Challenging ‘political’ rule; why now?

We seem to be living through an age of anti-politics — an apparent rejection of corrupted or cynical political intermediaries.

There may also now be a high expectation that this rejection will gain the support it needs to change things…

Nine thoughts for Labour moderates after the Corbyn landslide

1. Socialist or social democrat? The old tensions between Labour as a socialist party and Labour as a modern European social democratic party are not resolved by Jeremy Corbyn’s victory. The debate around revisionism dates back…

The Spectator Guide to opposing the SNP

Scottish voters aren't idiots. They aren't mad. Most ordinary Scots, like most folk, have a finely honed bullshit detector. This is why opposition politics is both simple and hard. It is simple, because it is about trying to achieve the straightforward objective of opposing the…

Her Majesty’s Islamic Emirate

Islamic supremacists have had a busy month. Outrages on multiple continents, hundreds of victims, and continued oppression and slavery in lands they control.

Yet, beneath these individual outrages, we sometimes lose sight of the slow-motion…