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Labour won't win Clacton, but it still needs to throw the kitchen sink at it

on August 31, 2014

Boris Johnson By-Election Clacton Conservative David Cameron Douglas Carswell Eastleigh Ed Miliband Essex EU reform Labour Newark Nigel Farage Survation The Daily Mail UKIP

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Wright, Ruffley & Miller, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Back Recall

on August 28, 2014

Clegg David Ruffley Douglas Carswell Maria Miller political reform populism Recall Schwarzenegger Shaun Wright US politics Zac Goldsmith

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What might a Labour government mean for the third sector?

on August 19, 2014

ACEVO Big Society Blue Labour Cabinet Office commissioning Ed Miliband Francis Maude gagging bill Labour Lisa Nandy Lobbying Act Maurice Glasman mutualism NCVO One Nation third sector

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Ed Miliband will be a stellar PM - here's the four reasons why

on August 16, 2014

Blair Blue Labour contributory welfare David Cameron Decentralisation defence Ed Balls Ed Miliband education EU reform expenses foreign policy Immigration Iraq leadership Living Wage NHS One Nation

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Salmond is myopic – independence would be a boon to the Toryism he loathes

on August 07, 2014

Alastair Darling Alex Salmond Conservatives EU Labour Murdo Fraser referendum Scotland Scottish independence small c-conservatism

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Real choices: Israel makes some bad decisions, but right now it’s hard to condemn it outright

on August 02, 2014

anti-Semitism Gaza Hamas Israel Labour Friends of Israel Middle East Netanyahu Palestine proportionality real choices settlements Tom Doran

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Lord Who? The case for electing Britain’s EU Commissioners

on July 15, 2014

By-Election David Cameron Decentralisation democracy EU EU Commission EU reform Hague IDS Juncker Labour for a Referendum Lansley Lord Hill Paterson Police and Crime Commissioners reshuffle

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

on June 14, 2014

Alan Milburn Andy Burnham austerity co-payment competition deterrence GP charges integration Lord Warner NHS Phillip Lee Social Care social insurance UKIP Whole-Person Care

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Book: 'Turning to Face the East: How Britain Can Prosper in the Asian Century', by Liam Byrne

on February 02, 2014

BRICS China EU Germany international relations Israel Liam Byrne Lord Sainsbury One Nation Patrick Diamond trade Turning to Face the East

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Michael Gove and Boris Johnson's assertions about WW1 were not only wrong, but arguably dangerous

on January 10, 2014

Alan Clark Boris Johnson centenary Charles Kennedy Fallujah First World War free speech Iraq Michael Gove Professor Richard Evans The Daily Mail Tony Robinson Tristram Hunt war & peace

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2013: a year in review

on December 31, 2013

2013 Andy Burnham David Cameron Eastleigh Ed Balls Ed Miliband Labour Labour for a Referendum Margaret Thatcher Neil Coyle Nelson Mandela referendum Simon Hughes Southwark Year in Review

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Thoughts about the next mayoral election

on December 01, 2013

Andrew Adonis Bill de Blasio Boris Johnson David Lammy Diane Abbott Jon Cruddas London mayoral New York City One Nation primaries Progress Rowenna Davis Sadiq Khan Southwark Tessa Jowell

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Thanks to an unholy alliance of left and right, Britain retreated from its role as a world leader this week

on August 31, 2013

Bashar al-Assad chemical weapons David Cameron Ed Miliband France Israel Labour liberal interventionism Nick Clegg parliament special relationship Syria UKIP US

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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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Popular Posts

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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