‘FORWARD MOMENTUM’ OR CONTINUED DECLINE?

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by Sean Meleady

A group of left-wing Norfolk Labour activists have re-founded the Norfolk branch of the socialist pressure group Momentum. Originally they were affiliated with the pro-reform Forward Momentum faction, which argued that the group needed to change in a post-Corbyn era. Following the victory of Forward Momentum candidates in the Labour Party’s internal National Coordinating Group (NCG) elections, at the expense of the Momentum Renewal slate associated with Momentum founder Jon Lansman, they hope that the group can be revived locally. 

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INSIDE THE SICK WORLD OF A TRUMP RALLY

by Tara Debra G

I attended a Trump rally in Baton Rouge on December 9th, the main purpose of which was to campaign for the Republican candidate for the Louisiana Senate, John Kennedy. Having lived here through election day and becoming involved in American politics on such a personal level, I went there to try and gain an understanding. An understanding that could help to explain the reasoning behind voting for the most despicable demagogue of my lifetime.Continue Reading

WHY TRADITIONAL CAMPAIGNING NEEDS A COMEBACK

by James Anthony

The other week, I made the decision to purchase train tickets for a 4AM journey down to London, just a few days before all of my university coursework was due. As with many other activists across the country, I was off to spend the first day of December in Richmond Park talking to voters for the parliamentary by-election taking place there. Some people might call that a stupid decision – and they’re probably correct – but there is an important reason as to why I did it. It’s the same reason that I trudged the streets of Norwich in May and again in June this year putting bits of paper through letter boxes and knocking on doors as I went around. I believe that traditional political campaigning holds the key to winning elections.Continue Reading

WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER: FOOTBALL, POLITICS, AND THE ROLE OF MUSIC

by Mike Vinti

This weekend saw the start of Euro 2016, every European’s second favourite quadrennial football tournament. As I write, football fans of every stripe have descended on France and the op-ed writers of every political persuasion are spending their time priming think-pieces about what the clashes between England fans and the French police say about the EU referendum. However, the arrival of not-quite-the World Cup 2K16 also brings with it a chance to break away from eye-ball gauging mundanity of the referendum – to instead talk about, you guessed it, the relationship between music and football.

Football and music have always been locked in something of a confusing relationship. As someone who doesn’t really watch Football but listens to a lot of music, catching snippets of fan-made chants, usually through Facebook videos, has been my main access to the culture surrounding Britain’s favourite sport. The more attention I’ve paid to how the two interact, the more I’ve come to realise that music plays a huge, often vital role in the world of football.Continue Reading