Like most readers of this blog, the Budget made me pretty angry – the VAT increase and tighter controls on benefits combined with the cut in corporation tax make a complete mockery of the claims that this Budget was ‘progressive’ in any sense, and millions of the poorest and most vulnerable people in this country [...]
Well the election is over, the dust is settling, back-room deals are being made to find new ways to screw the country over, you’ve forgotten your towel and things are looking grim. DON’T PANIC!
It’s not as bad as it seems.
Across the lefty web, journalists and bloggers are taking stock of their situation, looking for explanations [...]
Here’s something to depress you. YouTube, hosts of the next Election debate, are offering viewers the chance to submit and ‘vote’ for questions. Just click here – http://www.youtube.com/ukelection
Your question can be placed in one of five categories – Economy, Foreign Policy, Law & Order, Health & Education and Miscellaneous (a [...]
Hagley Road to Ladywood has an excellent piece by Third Estate hotseat alumnus, Peter Tatchell, on why we should vote Green. Well worth a read.
Labour has lost its heart and soul. It has become the party of war, privatisation and the erosion of hard-won civil liberties. The Lib Dems support free market capitalism, use dirty [...]
The whole blog seems to have caught election fever, and what with various other priorities pulling my more creative attention away, I thought I might as well stick my oar in and let people know what my personal priorities are going to be around the election. Obviously, I think these should be your priorities too.
Firstly, the challenge to [...]
As a lefty and an ethnic minority who has always campaigned for the rights of immigrants and against the division of racial hatred, I think it’s fair to say that I have a little bit of a vested interest in Nick Griffin failing to oust Margaret Hodge in Barking to become the BNP’s first MP. [...]
I am exceptionally lucky. All the main political parties care deeply about me. They show their love weekly with solicitous letters, cards and visits. I fully anticipate flowers soon enough. I bet most of you don’t get that.
So why the special treatment? I’m not a special person, I haven’t had a recent bereavement that can [...]
So, Power2010 has been criticised on the grounds that it won’t have the massive reach and appeal that it’s aiming for. This seems likely to be true, but how much does it matter? I don’t think that in order to revive mass popular interest in our political system it’s necessary to have a campaign which [...]
The Third Estate is brought to you today by the letters DEMOCRACY and the number 2010. In just one month the Power2010 campaign has received over 2000 ideas to reform our political system. To highlight their launch, I invited Guy Aitchison to set out the campaign’s stall in a piece that was met with mixed [...]
Guest post by Tim Johnston
Following a turbulent week for Israel, Tim Johnston argues that the only path to peace is engagement with Hamas
Hamas, founded in 1987, was elected by the Palestinian people in January 2006 by a landslide. Almost immediately after the elections, they were forced out of power by the US, UK, EU and [...]
