Politics

Ken Loach’s ‘The Spirit of 45’ review: ethnically cleansing history

A picture you won’t find in The Spirit of 45 by Ken Loach  There have been black people in Britain at least from Roman times; some historians claim that north Africans were here 3,000 years ago. The first Chinese visitor we know of was Jesuit priest Shen Foutsong, who communicated in Latin when he worked

Ken Loach’s ‘The Spirit of 45’ review: ethnically cleansing history Read More »

The People’s Assembly in Westminster: looks like a Croque, Monsieur

Your starter for ten (or a tenner): you are organising a political rally in Westminster where 4,000 activists are seeking ways to challenge the most vicious class war against the poorest in society by the rich and powerful that anyone can remember. You are surrounded by expensive eateries selling chi-chi food. (This is Westminster, after

The People’s Assembly in Westminster: looks like a Croque, Monsieur Read More »

In the Ai of the beholder: my theatre review of The Arrest of Ai Weiwei

The Arrest of Ai WeiweiHampstead Theatre, London NW3 If martial arts functions by using your opponents’ weight against them, then artist Ai Weiwei must be the Bruce Lee of annoying the hell out of the Chinese government. He’s transformed dissidence into performance art, rendering him embarrassingly effective in resisting official persecution. Howard Brenton’s play The

In the Ai of the beholder: my theatre review of The Arrest of Ai Weiwei Read More »

A Bad Case of the Trots and Stop the War: current anti-feminism has VERY deep roots in the left

“Just imagine, the whole place being upset by one little Chinese girl in the scullery.” (Anna May Wong in the scullery in Piccadilly, 1929)  I’m reposting my article, A Bad Case of the Trots, which was published in Tribune magazine, September 2003 following my time establishing and running the Socialist Alliance (SA) and Stop The

A Bad Case of the Trots and Stop the War: current anti-feminism has VERY deep roots in the left Read More »

Scroll to Top