Mar 14, 2014
Mike Marqusee remembers one of the great modern communicators of the socialist cause It was inevitable that Tony Benn’s death would be met with tributes from the political establishment to the effect that they admired him even if they didn’t agree with him. But for those of us who did agree with him, his life… Read more
Sep 26, 2013
Contending for the Living Red Pepper When the left alternative goes unvoiced, the real choices unposed, democracy is drained of content, writes Mike Marqusee. That’s why we need a new party of the left I’m one of the thousands who signed up to the Left Unity appeal issued by Ken Loach in March. I did… Read more
Feb 1, 2012
CONTENDING FOR THE LIVING Red Pepper, Feb-March 2012 2011 has been hailed in the media as a year of “protest” in the abstract, but it’s been more challenging and concrete than that. In defiance of received political wisdom, mass action in the streets returned with undeniable impact. Contests over space and the public domain became… Read more
Jul 17, 2001
International Socialism Journal, Summer 2001 John Rees is right, in International Socialism 90, to highlight the reactionary record of the Wilson-Callaghan government, and to warn against sentimentalising Labour governments of the past. But he tells only part of the story, and as a result his account of the changes in the Labour Party is incomplete…. Read more
Feb 17, 2001
Socialist Outlook, February 2001 When I recently left the Labour Party, after twenty years of active membership, I was surprised at how few people asked me to explain myself. For comrades outside the party, it seemed a step that needed no explanation, and was indeed long overdue. For comrades remaining in the party, it seemed… Read more
