Labour Party

Liz Truss: an economist explains what she got wrong (and what she’s actually right about)

Retrieved on:

Friday, April 19, 2024

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Busy promoting her new memoir, she has dismissed anyone who blames her for crashing the UK economy as “stupid or malevolent”.

Key Points:

Busy promoting her new memoir, she has dismissed anyone who blames her for crashing the UK economy as “stupid or malevolent”.
But Truss knew the institutional context she was working in, and everything that happened after the mini-budget was entirely predictable.
She made a big mistake that affected millions of ordinary people, and has only herself to blame.
For while these constraints are generally beneficial to the economy, they also make it almost impossible to develop a radical agenda.
And, in a country suffering from massive underinvestment in the public sector, there may be a case for greater flexibility.

Fiscal frustration

But fiscal targets have their problems too.
And thanks to fiscal targets, subsequent governments have repeatedly cut investment in infrastructure.
The Labour Party has already said it will not make ambitious spending plans which might risk the credibility of its fiscal policy should it win the next election.
Yet fiscal credibility and major investment are not mutually exclusive everywhere.

Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

OUT NOW New Book by Michael Ashcroft 'Red Queen? The Unauthorised Biography of Angela Rayner'

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

After becoming a care worker, she was a trade union representative before entering the House of Commons in 2015 as the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.

Key Points:

After becoming a care worker, she was a trade union representative before entering the House of Commons in 2015 as the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.
She served as the shadow Secretary of State for Education for four years from 2016 and was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party in April 2020.
Michael Ashcroft's new book follows the journey of a politician who has quickly become an outspoken and charismatic presence in British public life.
Lord Ashcroft is an award-winning author who has written twenty-seven other books, largely on politics and bravery.

New Book by Michael Ashcroft 'Red Queen? The Unauthorised Biography of Angela Rayner'

Retrieved on:

Monday, January 22, 2024

LONDON, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Angela Rayner is one of the most arresting figures in British politics today. A self-declared socialist, she pursued an unorthodox route into politics, leaving school aged 16 while pregnant having gained no formal qualifications. After becoming a care worker, she was a trade union representative before entering the House of Commons in 2015 as the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. She served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education for four years from 2016 and was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party in April 2020.

Key Points:

A self-declared socialist, she pursued an unorthodox route into politics, leaving school aged 16 while pregnant having gained no formal qualifications.
After becoming a care worker, she was a trade union representative before entering the House of Commons in 2015 as the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.
Michael Ashcroft's new book follows the journey of a politician who has quickly become an outspoken and charismatic presence in British public life.
Lord Ashcroft is an award-winning author who has written twenty-seven other books, largely on politics and bravery.

How liberal conspiracy theories can be just as destructive as their extremist counterparts

Retrieved on:

Monday, January 8, 2024

Liberal commentators frequently condemn conspiracy theories that threaten public safety.

Key Points:

Liberal commentators frequently condemn conspiracy theories that threaten public safety.
But what if liberal conspiracy theories can be even more wrong-headed and damaging than their fringe counterparts?

Conspiracy theories, right and left

Liberal observers often present conspiracism as the preserve of right or left-wingers.
Journalist David Aaronovitch and philosopher Quassim Cassam, for example, attribute fallacious conspiracy theorising to the political “extremes”.
According to academic Grażyna Piechota, RT is guilty of “building a conspiracy message [and] using it as a political instrument”.

Combating Corbyn

But this didn’t stop exaggerated and indeed conspiratorial antisemitism allegations emerging from the British political centre in the mid-2010s to discredit then-Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters.
Sacks went further by likening Corbyn to the infamous racist politician Enoch Powell.
Corbyn himself repeatedly denied accusations of institutional antisemitism in the party but was suspended for claiming that such charges were “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.
Leaked documents from within Labour and an Al Jazeera investigative report found that antisemitism had been “weaponised” against Corbyn by his adversaries.

Trying to topple Trump

There were even claims about Trump cavorting with Russian prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room.
These liberal conspiracy theories about Trump and Corbyn are as simplistic and fallacious as much leftist and rightist conspiracism because they too often ignore wider economic and political contexts.

Deadly dangers of liberal conspiracism

Conspiracism from the centre can also have deadly consequences.
For instance, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, described by US intellectual Noam Chomsky as “the worst crime of the 21st century”, was justified by western governments’ false claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy deadly weapons within 45 minutes.

Stephen Harper is affiliated with the Socialist Party of Great Britain. Tom Sykes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Elton John welcomes expansion of opt-out testing for HIV to 46 Accident & Emergency sites across England and calls on all political leaders to do more to end AIDS in a speech at Speaker's House

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

LONDON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elton John was honoured at a reception hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS at the Speaker's House today in recognition of his enduring commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic, both personally and through the work of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Key Points:

In the UK, new HIV diagnoses are down 46% since their peak in 2015.
"In the 1990's, I visited far too many homes where people were dying of AIDS.
That's why the Labour Party will commission an update to the HIV Action Plan as soon as we come to government."
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and United Nations Under-Secretary-General, said: "Over 40 million lives have been lost to AIDS.

Israel-Hamas war: there is an important difference between a humanitarian pause and a ceasefire

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Labour Party, Oxfam, Hamas, Time, Water, Food, Government, Electricity, Hezbollah, Hostage, Risk, Walking, Hospital, Assault, Labour, UN, Mobile phone, Tunnel, Pharmaceutical industry, Nursing

The controversy raises the question of the difference between a humanitarian pause and a ceasefire.

Key Points:

The controversy raises the question of the difference between a humanitarian pause and a ceasefire.
Israel responded to this attack by launching an assault on Gaza beginning with a relentless aerial bombardment and continuing now with a ground offensive.
A non-binding resolution passed the UN general assembly on October 27, but this has been ignored by the Israeli government.

A humanitarian pause

According to the UN, a humanitarian pause is defined as “a temporary cessation of hostilities purely for humanitarian purposes”.
There is an increasing international consensus, including from countries supporting Israel such as the US, that at least a humanitarian pause is needed.
Nonetheless, some argue that using a humanitarian pause to provide a temporary halt in the bombing of Gaza is not enough.
As a result, the only true humanitarian solution that appears ideal is a complete ceasefire.

A ceasefire: roadmap for an end to hostilities

It urges parties to come together to find a political solution to the conflict.
It is meant to a be a longer-term process than a “pause” and should apply to the entire geographical area of the conflict.
In the context of Gaza, a ceasefire would mean a complete stop of fighting on all sides, and the eventual release or exchange of hostages.
It would not only mean the end of the bombardment of Gaza, but would also obligate Hamas to stop its attacks on Israel.

Malak Benslama-Dabdoub does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Political leaders need a grand narrative – Rishi Sunak's is a story of decline

Retrieved on:

Monday, October 2, 2023

Sunak recently watered down his climate change mitigation policies, and refused to “speculate” on the future of rail project HS2.

Key Points:

Sunak recently watered down his climate change mitigation policies, and refused to “speculate” on the future of rail project HS2.
The Sunak government is seemingly unable to reverse a harmful narrative or maintain its own.
But political leaders are successful when they present a grand narrative and find a way to connect themselves to it.
Simply finding a bigger narrative is not enough – political leaders must be compelling characters within their narrative.

Contradictions in Sunak’s narrative

The audience (in this case, the voting public) must feel able to personally connect with the narrative and the narrator.
It is difficult to align yourself with a revival narrative, or an everyman narrative, from a position of privilege.
It’s possible that Sunak’s wealth and privilege may render him singularly incapable of connecting to a bigger narrative at this moment in British history.

A narrative of decline

As argued in an article in The Economist: “There is just one problem with this narrative.
He may follow the example of Thatcher: when faced with a decline narrative, she chose not to reverse it but to embrace it – and blame it on her opponents.
Whatever Sunak decides, reversing the narrative of an impending British collapse or leveraging decline to his advantage, his search for a grand narrative is already replete with incongruities.
In the end, the stark realities outside Westminster may force him to acknowledge decline and his role within it.

Introducing Maternity Warden: Constant Care for Calving Cows

Retrieved on:

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Farm, AI, AG, Death, Automation, Labour Party, Birth, World Dairy Expo, Software, Dairy

LEWISVILLE, Texas, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ever.Ag, a leader in software for Everything Agriculture, today introduced Maternity Warden, an innovative new system that uses computer vision and edge computing to provide 24/7 monitoring of calving cows. Farm data shows that upwards of 7% of calves on U.S. dairy farms perish within 48 hours of birth. Maternity Warden aims to reduce stillborn rates and dystocia (difficult births that can result in injury or death to calves and cows) on freestall dairy farms.

Key Points:

Maternity Warden aims to reduce stillborn rates and dystocia (difficult births that can result in injury or death to calves and cows) on freestall dairy farms.
Maternity Warden gives you confidence that your herd is being observed 24/7, reducing costly adverse calving events.
Maternity Warden uses cameras and on-site edge nodes with AI models to constantly analyze cows for the earliest signs of calving.
Ideal farms have indoor freestalls for close-up views of the care of their cows.

Who is Jacinta Allan, Victoria's new premier?

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan, from the Socialist Left faction, was widely tipped to become the next premier, especially as she had Andrews’ endorsement.

Key Points:

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan, from the Socialist Left faction, was widely tipped to become the next premier, especially as she had Andrews’ endorsement.
But who is Jacinta Allan and what challenges await her as premier?

From Bendigo East to premier

She became the youngest female elected to the Victorian parliament when she first won the seat of Bendigo East at age 25 in 1999.
After holding several ministerial positions, Allan was selected as the deputy leader of the Labor Party, and therefore deputy premier of Victoria, in 2022.
This was interpreted as a clear indication that Premier Daniel Andrews had anointed her to take over if he was to retire before the next election.

Public profile

Such was his dominance, and the media’s interest in him, that other ministers have often struggled to increase their public profile.
Allan has arguably developed a stronger public profile than other potential challengers.
As the minister responsible for the games, Allan was the target of the opposition’s attacks on the government.

Victoria’s second female premier

The late Joan Kirner made history in 1990 when she became the first woman to be premier of Victoria.
Kirner was also left with a divided Labor Party that had been in power since Cain first led the party to victory in 1982.
The new premier must now work through the fallout from the pandemic.
Read more:
Is 5 senior ministers quitting Victoria’s Andrews government a sign of renewal – or decline?

Amund Vik, former Norwegian deputy energy minister, joins Eurasia Group as senior advisor

Retrieved on:

Thursday, September 7, 2023

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NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Eurasia Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Amund Vik as a senior advisor. Vik served as state secretary—equivalent to deputy minister—in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy from 2021 to June 2023.

Key Points:

Norway's former state secretary in the Ministry of Energy is joining Eurasia Group as a senior advisor.
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Eurasia Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Amund Vik as a senior advisor.
Vik served as state secretary—equivalent to deputy minister—in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy from 2021 to June 2023.
"Amund was at the forefront of Norway's energy policy-setting when the Russia-Ukraine war started and brings unparalleled expertise and understanding of the European energy policy landscape."