2025 is now history. Want to know something else that is? The posts made on this blog during December. Here's what the internet-travelling public found the most interesting during advent.
1. Going Beyond Corbynism
2. Delegitimating Labour
3. Wes Streeting's "Change of Course"
4. The Darkness of The Dark Forest
5. 10 Best Science Fiction Books Read in 2025
We began the month with something of a high - a sign that Your Party might be emerging from the cocoon of Corbynism. Subsequent developments suggest a successful emergence is far from guaranteed, seeing as the petty bureaucrats close to Jeremy have decreed that members of other parties aren't allowed to stand for the collective leadership. A ruling that clearly violates the spirit of the vote that was passed in conference. And they also decided to increase the size of the committee by two seats, subsequently rubber stamped by a barely noticed online referendum. It's all very tedious. Coming in second was a look at efforts by some sections of the right to completely delegitimise Labour. This goes beyond the usual moaning about tax and whatnot, but something that goes back to the party's foundation. I.e. That sections of the ruling class have never reconciled themselves to a party based on the labour movement, despite the supine character of Labourism its subordination of the many to the few. Rolling in at three is more Wes-for-leader shenanigans. Won't say any more for now because he's likely to feature here a few times in the year ahead. In at four was my take on The Dark Forest, one of the worst books I encountered this year. And bringing the quintet to a conclusion is the rundown of the best novels read during the year.
What am I hauling out for a second chance in the spotlight? Befitting the reflective mood, how about the most read posts of 2025 and, of course, my tunes of the year.
It's easy to get doomerist about the state of politics. The recklessness and incompetence of this government, the march of Reform, the descent of official politics into outright racism. It's all very disgusting. But at the same time, things are not going according to plan. The media's ramping up of extreme right wing talking points is happening precisely because the popular acceptance of their framing is slowly, unevenly slipping away - and this terrifies them. The long-term value shift toward social liberalism matches the changes to class composition often written about here, and the legitimacy of establishment politics relies more on inertia than active consent than at any time in recent times. The existence of a mass left-wing Green Party and, to a degree, Your Party are cracks in this unstable edifice. So yes, as 2026 breaks there are real reasons for cautious optimism. The tide of filth we saw last year can be turned. A new politics and a better future is both necessary and possible.
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