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Councils under coronavirus: what next for social care

on July 22, 2020

Coronavirus Health healthcare local government Social Care social insurance

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Councils under coronavirus: how are “community hubs” bringing together local authorities and civil society?

on April 16, 2020

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Book: Harold Wilson by Ben Pimlott

on April 12, 2020

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Were the government right to suspend local elections for a year?

on March 20, 2020

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Why I’m voting for Lisa Nandy

on February 24, 2020

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Thoughts on Labour Live

on June 17, 2018

centre-left Jeremy Corbyn Labour Live moderates Momentum

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The NEC, Haringey and big choices for Labour’s moderates

on January 31, 2018

centre-left centre-left. Progress Haringey HDV housing Labour First Momentum NEC Stephen Bush

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Confessions of a Corbynsceptic: what we got wrong (and right)

on June 10, 2017

2017 election anti-Semitism Article 50 Brexit defence Ed Miliband Jeremy Corbyn security social democracy Theresa May young voters

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Unions must refocus on real needs and face the future — why I voted for Gerard Coyne

on April 15, 2017

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A Labour vision for Brexit

on March 12, 2017

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Article 50: with no easy options, Corbyn is doing the right thing

on January 29, 2017

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Clause One socialism: we need to remake the case for parliamentary democracy

on January 09, 2017

2015 election Alex Andreou Clause One Socialism Corbyn Jo Cox Labour Momentum PLP Progress

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Learning from France: can we make primaries work for Labour?

on November 28, 2016

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Thoughts on America – what do progressives take from this?

on November 20, 2016

Bernie Sanders Brexit Corbyn Democrats Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Labour Nigel Farage

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If Jeremy Corbyn wins on Saturday…

on September 19, 2016

2016 Jeremy Corbyn Labour leadership Owen Smith registered supporters Ruth Davidson Sadiq Khan Theresa May Tom Watson

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Dispatches from #PhOwenbanking: Owen Smith’s path to victory

on August 21, 2016

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From a recovering Remainer – how we respond to Brexit

on June 25, 2016

Boris Johnson Brexit devolution EEA EU EU referendum Islington Jeremy Corbyn Jonathan Lindsell Labour Leave London Northern Ireland Norway Remain Scotland

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One week left - come what may, how Labour Remainers go forward

on June 15, 2016

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No rest for the wicked – Thursday made a Remain vote all the more crucial

on May 07, 2016

2015 election Brexit Ed Miliband England EU referendum Euroscepticism Jacques Delors Jeremy Corbyn Labour In for Britain London mayor Sadiq Khan Scotland social Europe Zac Goldsmith

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Poetry and prose – I support Hillary, but really the centre-left needs more Obamas

on April 16, 2016

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Elliot Bidgood: Hackney, London, United Kingdom; Currently a research and comms consultant with a consultancy for not-for-profits, in addition to freelance work (though I blog here strictly in a personal capacity - all views are my own). Active Labour Party member since 2007 and now belong to Hackney North & Stoke Newington CLP. Social democrat, Fabians & previously a research volunteer for the Labour Finance & Industry Group. Research interests include civil society, health, localism, business, US politics, the EU and political reform. Americaphile and borderline Twitter addict

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Book: The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford

I started reading The Undercover Economist last year, and though it took me a while to get round to finishing, it largely didn’t disappoint. In it, economist and Financial Times columnist Tim Harford seeks to put economics in everyday context, explaining theories in straightforward terms and giving an eye-opening account of how various actors behave in the marketplace. My copy was actually an amended edition, re-published to respond to the financial crisis of 2008 (the original, published in 2005, instead focused more heavily on the Dotcom bubble).

Dear Jeremy - I'm a Labour member, but I'm not the one you need to hear more from

Jeremy Corbyn is outlining plans for a “democratic revolution” in Labour that will give individual members more say over party policy. This will include online ballots and a review of the powers of Labour’s National Executive Committee (currently elected every two years by party members like me). The measures would therefore move things away from the status quo, whereby official party policy is mostly decided by a mix of the party leadership, the National Policy Forum (also elected by members) and motions at our annual conferences. They also fit into the broader vogue to open up democracy and shift away from top-down representative systems that we’ve seen in recent years, which I’ve at times been favourable to (I’ve blogged in support of recall for MPs , the EU referendum and electing Britain’s EU commissioner , for example). However, I must say that speaking as one of the rank-and-file party members Jeremy is offering to empower, I actually believe this particular refor...

Yes, we need a serious discussion about the NHS. But charges are not the answer

Of late, the all-important issue of NHS funding has been brought back into the news by various contributions to this vital debate – some good, some bad. I write today to try call attention to one of the more worrying ones, which is doing the rounds with ever more frequency, and then give the alternatives. Phillip Lee MP, a GP and a potential chair of Commons Health Committee following respected Tory moderate Stephen Dorrell’s resignation, wrote in The Telegraph on Wednesday about the challenges facing the service. While pledging to “preserve the important principle of access for all”, he suggests this: “Thirdly, we must change how we pay for healthcare to meet future demand. The NHS is not alone in facing a tough financial climate and other countries offer a range of options to test. Norway charges patients to see their GP and for routine tests. Germany has a compulsory social insurance scheme. France uses a means test. In Denmark patients are charged (at cost) for their dr...

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