Thursday 1 December 2022

Five Most Popular Posts in November

What did the business over the course of the last month?

1. Starmerism and Trade Unionism
2. First Contact: An Alien Encounter
3. Murdering Twitter
4. Taking the Labour Right to Court
5. Why Starmer Trails Sunak

Keir Starmer tops the pops with my consideration of the role trade unionism plays in his project. He's not known as a lover of democratic politics, and his apparent enthusiasm for collective bargaining and workplace rights sits uneasily with his authoritarianism. How do the two fit together? A rare post that wasn't about politics gets the second spot - a look at the dull BBC documentary about first contact with an alien civilisation. Coming in third is Elon Musk's mismanagement of Twitter. The website is still there, but most people are reporting more spam and falling follower counts, and now Musk has decided to go to war with Apple and the EU are threatening action. Is it going to be with us this time next year? In the lead up to Ian Byrne's Liverpool West Derby reselection, I looked at the possibility of using legal action to halt some of the shenanigans we've seen around Labour Party selections. Where the party continually breaks its rule book, there should be. And last, we end the month as we started it with Starmer trailing Rishi Sunak in the best Prime Minister stakes. Why?

A couple of more requests for additional consideration. I wrote a long(ish) piece on the ruling class politics of Brexit as an antidote to the irrational/psychological cult explanations that dominate the discourse. Second is my long overdue review of Mike Phipps's Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow. Check them out!

As we enter the final month of the year, we can expect all the usual festive/end of year content. But the news won't be stopping. The by-election in Chester takes place today, which will be the first electoral test for Sunak. Ambulance workers and nurses organised by the RCN are due to take strike action, among others. And Sunak's authority will likely continue unwinding with opposition on the government benches to housing and the onshore wind ban. Other stuff to look forward to are reflections on immaterial labour, perhaps more Wendy Brown stuff, and the usual survey of the politics that goes down. If you haven't already, don't forget to follow the free weekly newsletter, and if you like what I do (and you're not skint), you can help support the blog too! Following me on Twitter and Facebook are cost-free ways of showing your backing for this corner of the internet.

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