LIBERALISM HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER, LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY

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by Sunetra Senior

A few days after Trump’s Presidential win, an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz – entitled Under President Trump Radical Hope is Our Best Weapon published in The New Yorker – went viral. In it, the Dominican writer called out Trump as a ‘misogynist’ and ‘racial demagogue’, and principally defended multiculturalism stating that in order to recuperate: ‘we need to bear witness to what we have lost: our safety, our sense of belonging, our vision of our country’. He further argued that the best way to do this was to employ a concept called ‘Radical Hope’.

This, according to the creator of the philosophy Jonathan Lear, is a determined sort of hope that tackles mass trauma by being “directed toward a future goodness which transcends the current ability to understand what it is.” Here, I would like to highlight the British Labour Party’s recent parliamentary progress as not only encapsulating this, but also expanding Díaz’ original proposed vision. Corbyn and his recently more socially democratic party so successfully delivered Radical Hope that it not only revived the liberal spirit, but the possibility of a truly equitable world.Continue Reading

CLIVE LEWIS MUST FIRMLY AND RESOLUTELY REPRESENT PROGRESSIVE NORWICH

by Joe Burns

Clive Lewis must enforce the views of his progressive Norwich voters in this time of social crisis and DUP invasion. Our capital city has suffered in the weeks since the election, more clearly defining the need for a fully committed left-wing Government to begin to enact real change and progress.

After both the local election in May and the general election earlier this month, Labour is now absolutely the most popular party in Norwich. Clive Lewis, Norwich South Labour MP, did far more than just hold on to his seat – he doubled his majority in the constituency with 61 percent of the vote. He blatantly took Green and Liberal Democrat votes as both parties suffered substantial losses, especially Norwich Green Party which suffered a drop of 11 percent. In Norwich North, Chloe Smith barely held her seat in Westminster. The Conservative MP took just 507 more votes than Labour’s Chris Jones.

It wasn’t a good election for those hoping for a future in which many parties contest seats and work together to represent communities, but with obviously increasing support from young and old liberals, Clive Lewis must absolutely continue fighting for strong and aggressive liberalism from Norwich when he’s in Parliament.Continue Reading

THE LEFT HAS DEFIED THE ODDS. NOW WE NEED TO SHAPE HISTORY.

by Bradley Allsop

For the third time in a year an earthquake has rocked the political establishment, upsetting polls, pundits and precedent alike. Yet this time, unlike the division and isolation of Brexit, or the utter horror of Trump, we instead have hope. Snatching insurgence from the jaws of implosion, Labour and the broader left have risen to the edge of power. Yet whilst the election result was an excellent start, surviving the challenges our society faces will require much more. We need to build a movement which aims for nothing less than a complete transformation of our society. It is crucial now that we do not succumb to hubris or allow ourselves to be absorbed by the internal Conservative party debates – we need to use the time granted by their division to plan, organise and mobilise the movement that will transform Britain.

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VOTE PROGRESSIVE, VOTE FOR OUR FUTURE – STUDENTS AND THE ELECTION #4

by Robyn Banks

In the midst of multiple crises faced by students, universities and schools, the outcome of the snap general election will be a major indicator of the future of the UK education sector. Each week until the vote we are featuring perspectives from our regular contributors and guests on what the election could mean for students.

There is a lot of fear about the morning of June 9th. Will we wake up to a Tory super-majority that will see them stay in charge for the next 15 years? To a renewed age of cuts that hurt the poorest and most vulnerable in society, that disembowel the education system from primary to higher, and that destroy the environmental protections (or ‘Green Crap’) that will ensure that we have a safer and more secure future for our world? Or will the sun rise on something else? With the polls getting closer and closer, a miraculous Labour Party win isn’t off the table just yet.

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THE LOCAL ELECTIONS: DON’T GET DISHEARTENED. GET MAD.

get mad furious cinema

by Toby Gill

Content warning: article mentions xenophobia and racism

There’s no way of hiding it, Labour took a beating on May 4th. Losing control of 7 councils while the Conservatives gained 11, the Tories now hold 28 councils to Labour’s 9. Overall, the Conservatives gained 563 seats, while Labour lost 382.

The left-of-centre media has been united in their response to these results; the internet is strewn with articles heavy with despair and foreboding. Such was the synchrony and unanimity of this outcry, that our nation’s journalists have almost come to resemble a marching band in procession behind the coffin of progressive politics itself.

Yet this despair is misplaced. For these commentaries seem to treat the Local Elections as little more than another poll for the upcoming General Election. Except this poll is even more significant, because it employs a real electorate.

This belief could not be further from the truth. I am here to tell you that the correct response to the Local Elections is not to get disheartened, it is to get mad. Continue Reading

WE STAND ON A PRECIPICE – THE SNAP GENERAL ELECTION

world votes radical

by Chris Jarvis

With Theresa May having all but called an early General Election, on June 8th, the UK will go to the polls for yet another vote that will have long-reaching consequences for the future of the nation, the third in as many years. For the people of Scotland and Wales it will be the fourth – and those living in Northern Ireland will face their fifth. Right now, our political leaders can’t seem to get enough of sending people trudging out to schools, churches and community centres to scribble little pencil crosses in printed boxes.Continue Reading

WE NEED MORE THAN TALK IF WE’RE TO TAKE ON THE TORIES

by Olivia Hanks

“I will never campaign on anything with the Tories! Not Europe, not anything!” Marina Prentoulis’s passionate declaration summed up why we were all there, as did the title of the panel discussion: ‘Taking the Fight to the Tories’.

The event, organised jointly by UEA Greens and Momentum UEA, brought Greens, Labour and the People’s Assembly together to discuss how the left might co-operate to get the Tories out of power.

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CAN THE GREEN PARTY PROGRESS A PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE?

by Andrew Cooper

I got back from the Green Party’s Deputy Leadership campaign trail yesterday and it’s been great to see so many Green Party activists at each of the 8 hustings I attended. I was fortunate enough to manage to get to them all.

What has become clear is that there are many questions that still remain to be answered about the Progressive Alliance being suggested by Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley. My own view is that it’s certainly worth trying but there are major obstacles to overcome.Continue Reading

BRITAIN NEEDS A PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE

by Jonathan Bartley & Caroline Lucas

This week’s House of Commons vote to renew Trident and the scrapping of the Department for Energy and Climate Change are the latest reminders of the scale of the task we face together as progressives.

The future looks far more dangerous and insecure even than it did just a few weeks ago. The UN has found our welfare system seriously wanting. Over a million people still rely on food banks. And hate crime is on the rise.

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