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Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images Then Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (center), flanked by shadow cabinet members Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey, at a meeting about Brexit in Parliament, London, March 2019; since then, Starmer has become party leader, while Long-Bailey has been demoted and Corbyn has been suspended, both over matters relating to Labour’s problems with anti-Semitism

There had been other moments that promised closure, but this was set to be the big one. At 10 AM on October 29, 2020, Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published the findings of its seventeen-month-long enquiry into anti-Semitism in the Labour Party—an event that many hoped would, at last, conclude a melancholy episode that had played out for more than four long years. That hope was cherished most fondly by British Jews, who had found themselves in an unfamiliar position—at the center of domestic political controversy—and didn’t much like it. They looked to the EHRC not merely to vindicate the case most of them had been making, but also to draw a line under the whole sorry business.…  Seguir leyendo »

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, at a rally in central London in January. Credit Peter Nicholls/Reuters

As I’ve read about the furor over anti-Semitism in Britain’s Labour Party, I’ve thought of my grandfather and wondered what he would have made of it.

In his youth, in czarist Russia, he had been a revolutionary activist, a member of the Jewish socialist movement known as the Bund. By the time the Bolsheviks seized power, he had fled to England to make a new life in North London. The Labour Party was his natural constituency, as it was my father’s. Can the party that welcomed my family have changed so much?

To read the recent headlines, one would think so.…  Seguir leyendo »

Vivimos una era de turbulencia política. Partidos con apenas un año de existencia ahora gobiernan Francia y la vasta región metropolitana de Tokio. Un partido de menos de cinco años lidera las encuestas de opinión en Italia. En la Casa Blanca se instaló un neófito de la política, para profundo malestar de los aparatos republicano y demócrata. ¿Dónde será pues el próximo terremoto político? La respuesta tal vez sea (en realidad, debería ser) el Reino Unido.

En momentos en que el RU enfrenta la conmoción del Brexit, nadie habla de recrear (y mucho menos reemplazar) los partidos políticos establecidos. Muchos se niegan capaces siquiera de pensar algo así.…  Seguir leyendo »

Nigel Farage speaking at the the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) annual conference in Bournemouth, Britain, in September. Credit Toby Melville/Reuters

A remarkable party was held last Nov. 24 at the Ritz Hotel here in honor of Nigel Farage, the politician who did more than any other to create the conditions for last June’s referendum vote on Britain’s membership in the European Union. While Mr. Farage had already stepped down as leader of the populist U.K. Independence Party, this was his moment. President-elect Donald Trump had just tweeted that he would do a “great job” representing “Great Britain as their ambassador to the United States”. This was seen as payback for Mr. Farage’s support during the Trump campaign: He spoke at a rally in Jackson, Miss.,…  Seguir leyendo »

Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure since last September as leader of the Labour Party has been bumpy, to say the least: The party now has the worst poll ratings in its history. Labour’s parliamentary members have complained that Mr. Corbyn cannot manage them. And his tenure has been troubled by poor decisions — he chose, for example, to go to a Cuba solidarity event on the same day that Theresa May, the new prime minister, announced the formation of her cabinet, leaving the opposition with no public response. Mr. Corbyn was widely considered a lackluster campaigner in the effort to persuade British voters that their country should remain in the European Union.…  Seguir leyendo »

Anti-Semitism and the British Left

Opponents of Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing leader of Britain’s Labour Party, usually claim one of two things about him: that his politics are extreme and will lead the party to electoral oblivion, or that his values are admirable but he is too incompetent to put them into effect.

These two arguments seem contradictory, but in Mr. Corbyn’s handling of an anti-Semitism scandal that has hung over the Labour Party, they have converged. In April, after months of accusations of anti-Semitism among party members, particularly on social media, Mr. Corbyn ordered an inquiry and asked Shami Chakrabarti, who had just stepped down as the director of Britain’s leading civil liberties organization, Liberty, to head it.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Jeremy Corbyn phenomenon may be as baffling for those who follow British politics as the Donald J. Trump phenomenon is to those who keep an eye on American politics. Both were regarded as joke candidates when they first entered their respective leadership races. But both have emerged as front-runners, to great consternation in their parties.

More than the width of the Atlantic separates Mr. Corbyn and Mr. Trump — in terms of both politics and personality. But the emergence of the two tells us something about the character of politics today. Mr. Corbyn’s success also raises a profound but rarely broached question: Is there a role at all for the Labour Party in 21st-century Britain?…  Seguir leyendo »

Britain is a much better place today than it was when I was born in the early 1970s. People are free to live as they choose. We are more open and tolerant, and most of us are more prosperous.

As the father of a young daughter, I’ve also come to appreciate how much feminism has achieved within my lifetime. Boys and girls growing up today have far better life chances because of greater equality. And there’s been a revolution in attitudes toward disabled people. What people once attacked as “political correctness,” we now recognize as good manners.

My country is better in so many ways — except when it comes to how we do politics.…  Seguir leyendo »

"No soy Tony Blair…”. Una pausa silenciosa invadió el auditorio en el que Ed Miliband se dirigía al congreso laborista británico. En aquel momento los delegados no sabían si su nuevo líder les invitaba a valorar una noticia magnífica o trágica. El silencio de Ed era intencionadamente equívoco y cuando finalmente –tras cerrar los ojos durante un par de segundos– acabó con un comentario positivo acerca de Blair, la audiencia sabía que Ed había esperado demasiado, que su objetivo era sembrar la duda y la crítica acerca de la herencia política del blairismo, duramente reprobada estos días por los nuevos cuadros del partido.…  Seguir leyendo »

Los ingleses están contentos con la coalición entre conservadores y liberales. Puro sentido común. Visto el reparto de escaños, era la única solución razonable tras la quiebra del «two party system». Ahora ya son tres, tal vez para mucho tiempo. Lección práctica: en democracia mandan los electores y no los sistemas electorales. Ya saben que, según las «leyes» de Duverger, el mayoritario con distritos uninominales debería conducir al bipartidismo. Sin embargo, los amantes de la ingeniería constitucional se equivocan siempre, porque la política, espejo de la vida, es un ejercicio de prudencia y no de lógica abstracta. La democracia tipo Westminster sigue funcionando bastante bien.…  Seguir leyendo »

You might have voted for Nick Clegg on 6 May. But since the general election, I believe both the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties have been on a political journey. I think for both parties the destinations are now becoming visible.

Many who turned to the Lib Dems in 2010, or even those who turned to the party long before that, did so because they thought they saw a party that believed in fairness and social justice.

Indeed it is a party of proud traditions: of Keynes, Lloyd George and Beveridge. But it is increasingly clear that these traditions are being abandoned by Clegg as he goes along with damaging cuts in public spending undermining economic growth, tax rises hitting the poorest hardest, and a clear threat to the universal welfare state.…  Seguir leyendo »

Future is the most important word in politics, but at the election people judged that the Labour Party was out of time. The dad I met having breakfast with his son in Rochester on Saturday morning had voted for us three times; this time he felt we weren’t addressing his concerns about the cost of living.

Too many people like him felt Britain needed change, but that we didn’t offer it. In a “change election” we were perceived to be defending the old order, rather than advancing a new one. Founded as the people’s party, we were too easy to caricature as the politicians’ party.…  Seguir leyendo »

This has been a depressing week for everyone in the Labour party and all who believe in a fairer Britain.

We need to face uncomfortable truths: we lost the election and it was a bad result. Despite the hard work that was done, this is the second worst result for us since universal suffrage.

We can't explain away that defeat on the basis of one person or one moment in a campaign. The reasons for defeat are much more fundamental than that.

Now is the time to make use of the only advantage, frankly, that we get in opposition: the chance to have the far-reaching debate that we did not have in government.…  Seguir leyendo »

El Partido Laborista del Reino Unido está completamente desunido. Los acontecimientos que han rodeado la remodelación del Gobierno estos últimos días no lo podrían haber ilustrado de un modo más gráfico. Como consecuencia de ello, los británicos nos encontramos debilitados y despistados ante la doble crisis que afecta al país: la económica y la de la absoluta merma de la confianza de la opinión pública en nuestro sistema parlamentario.

Después de lo ocurrido en las elecciones europeas, donde los laboristas sólo hemos obtenido el 15,3% de los votos, mi opinión es que, aun siendo dolorosa, la mejor decisión que podemos tomar los laboristas es cambiar a nuestro actual líder, Gordon Brown, quien ha entregado su vida al Partido Laborista y al servicio público.…  Seguir leyendo »

Un famoso cirujano abrió una vez el cerebro de un hombre y, con gran sorpresa, encontró en él una corona, la Biblia, una taza de té, el carnet de un club, un impermeable, una botella de whisky, un caballo, una adolescente con medias negras y un ejemplar de The Times, ante lo cual se apresuró a cerrarlo de nuevo, pues se dio cuenta de que había descubierto el contenido de un inglés. Esta caricatura hace tiempo que se perdió envuelta en la niebla y fue reemplazada por un pueblo muy consciente de que lo que mueve la política moderna es el dinero.…  Seguir leyendo »

It is important not to misread the mood of Scotland as it goes to the polls tomorrow. The desire to punish Labour is palpable, as it is throughout the UK. The difference is that in Scotland the Conservatives remain a broken force and the SNP is the only credible alternative. There is no evidence that this equates with widespread support for the SNP's flagship policy of separatism - those wanting to break up the UK account for at most a quarter of the electorate, according to the polls. (Higher numbers in favour of "independence" include many who want more devolved powers within the UK.)…  Seguir leyendo »

The Tories are bending over backwards to be seen as a modern, progressive, mainstream party, even the "voice of liberal Britain". When elected, David Cameron declared that his mission was "to change the face of the Conservative party" and that, it seems, is just what he has done. With newly selected candidates such as the green campaigner Zac Goldsmith and black youth charity organiser Shaun Bailey, and now the prospect of some Hollywood glamour at the Conservative conference - where the Republican governor and Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger is due to do a turn in October - the Tories have undergone extensive cosmetic surgery.…  Seguir leyendo »

Listen to any of Gordon Brown’s speeches and you might think that the economic wellbeing of our country is a picture of unparalleled success and prosperity.

The truth is that this rhetoric hides a darker reality. Scratch beneath the surface of the economy and you will find that the cost of living makes it harder and harder for working people to make ends meet.

The cost of living is not some abstract economic barometer that is difficult to identify with, but a reality that hits when you open your wallet. Of course there are items today which are available relatively cheaply, from clothing ranges to some electronic goods.…  Seguir leyendo »

By Tony Blair, the prime minister of United Kingdom (THE GUARDIAN, 05/10/06):

The fact that the Tory party conference this week was dedicated to trying to show how much the Conservatives have changed shouldn't be taken by Labour as a reverse, but as an enormous compliment. And the fact that, when you scratch beneath the surface, the old Tory problems are unresolved represents an enormous opportunity.Labour's launch of the next stage of our family friendly policy is a case in point. Sure Start is one of the government's greatest achievements. It is a programme that gives antenatal advice, and early-years help for children who need it.…  Seguir leyendo »

By Ed Vaizey, the Conservative MP for Wantage and was a member of David Cameron's campaign team (THE GUARDIAN, 03/10/06):

Thanks to the birth of our first child, I am missing the Conservative party conference for the first time for many years. It does, however, give me the luxury of watching proceedings from a distance, and seeing how they are distorted by the media prism. At times it's hard to know who's been more hysterical - our new baby or the media and fringe elements of the Tory right.While my sources and my telly viewing tell me this is an exciting and harmonious conference, the press would have us believe the Conservatives are being torn apart by an arcane debate about tax cuts.…  Seguir leyendo »