Saturday 1 April 2023

Five Most Popular Posts in March

My time in Stoke-on-Trent is over, and a new chapter begins in sunny Derby. But, as the old sying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. That certainly applied to the blog last month, which kept on ticking over despite the inevitable disruption. Amid the packing and unpacking, what made the grade as far as the internet-travelling public were concerned?

1. The Prospects of a Corbyn-Led Left Party
2. Cultivating Labour's Scapegoats
3. Can the Labour Left Make a Comeback?
4. A Bureaucrat First and foremost
5. Gary Lineker Vs the BBC

The occasional speculation about a new Jeremy Corbyn party and its prospects came out top in the wake of Keir Starmer's cowardly blocking of his candidature for Islington North. Some people didn't like it, but there are always those who prefer to plunge blindly into the future as if there wasn't a thing called history we might learn from. Sticking with Labour, a consideration of why the party is studiously not attacking the Tories over the morality of their anti-refugee crackdown crashed in at the number two spot. This was followed by looking at the internal situation for the Labour left and why, even now, the right are still worried about a future resurgence that could sweep them away again. The Starmer/Sue Gray love-in came in fourth. It's a story of bureaucratic affinities, and how Starmer wants to renovate the state. And lastly a departure from Labour politics; the attempted sacking of Gary Lineker for his entirely justified criticisms of Tory refugee policy.

Because I wasn't able to write as much this month, two posts are getting the retread treatment. There's my take on the budget, which was a pretty anaemic affair set against the challenges facing Britain. And it will forever be thus under Rishi Sunak. The second is a few quick thoughts in response to the latest findings that the Metropolitan Police are an institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic organisation. Though very few of us needed another establishment review to tell us this.

What's coming up next month? Once the house is unpacked I imagine a pick up in the frequency of posts is on the cards. Reducing a four-hour daily commute to a walking round trip of 40 minutes is likely to have such an effect. Undoubtedly, April will be filled with the usual politics and its associated stupidities. I'll be keeping an eye on things. 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. Following me on Twitter and Facebook are cost-free ways of showing your backing for this corner of the internet.

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