Quantcast
Channel: Shifting Grounds » Patrick Macfarlane
Browsing latest articles
Browse All 10 View Live

Murdoch’s exit reminds us what Labour can achieve

The announcement that James Murdoch is to step down as chairman of BSkyB will have provoked sighs of relief in offices all over Westminster. His continued presence has lingered over British politics...

View Article



You tell us: the power of proper stories

One of Blue Labour’s great gifts to its party has been to reignite its enthusiasm for hearing and telling proper stories. Ed Miliband’s speech at Southampton yesterday – in which he spoke about his...

View Article

A new ‘clause four’ moment?

Labour’s biggest problem for the last 4 years, as many have already noted, has been a loss of trust. Frankly, there are a lot of practical steps to be taken before we can be truly trust-able. Bradford...

View Article

Labour and the politics of ownership

Last week I somewhat facetiously suggested that Labour should adopt another new clause IV. The idea was to do away with the idiotic blather that had replaced a coherent (albeit flawed) position on...

View Article

Can we go the extra mile to speak truth to power?

So, Cameron and co are incredibly cosy with a powerful agenda-setting elite. Big surprise. More interesting is Alex Salmond’s part in the whole affair. Here is a man who enjoys portrayal as the ‘real’...

View Article


700 gains for Labour? Let’s take it easy

Everyone – apart from Labour HQ, obviously – is talking up how well the party is going to do today. No wonder, the latest YouGov/Sun poll gives us a 10 point lead over the Tories. Colin Rallings and...

View Article

Shareholder ‘revolt’?! They’re the owners

I get riled when people – even those of a libertarian bent – claim that ‘responsible capitalism’ necessarily means ‘more red tape’. Responsible capitalism should be an economic system in which property...

View Article

Immigration and low-paid jobs: the facts

Ed Miliband’s press conference last week marked a real shift for Labour. On that, its supporters and opponents can agree. Yet a number of responses to the speech, though giving a nod to Miliband’s...

View Article


We can all bash bankers, but can we expect better?

John Denham’s introduction to the Fabians’ latest collection of essays from the centre of the Labour party demonstrates the effectiveness of that woefully underused rhetorical device: ‘concede to win’....

View Article


Responsible capitalism: the view from the City

I’m sure that many listeners of a recent Radio 4 Analysis episode, in which an interviewee asserted that “to try and create zones which are morally free in human affairs is a mistake”, would have found...

View Article
Browsing latest articles
Browse All 10 View Live




Latest Images