By Callum Towler I recently re-watched Adam Curtis' seminal BBC documentary series 'The Century Of The Self' - a provocative analysis of how Sigmund Freud's ideas about our irrational desires first spawned the PR industry in the 1920s, through his calculating nephew Edward Bernays, and later seeped into politics as a ...
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Today’s PMQs began with a quick guide to consumerism, Susan Elan Jones, Lab, asked why Sunday trading hours shouldn’t be extended: “What about families?” she asked despairingly. The PM robustly replied: “This is about families.” Eh, no Dave, this is about consumer capitalism. He nearly ...
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I guess if you failed to get on X factor, Britain’s Got Talent and that naked TV game show with Keith Chegwin, you can always e-mail Jeremy Corbyn for your fifteen minutes of fame, and hope he asks your question out. The lady who was ...
By Professor Mary Mellor The Labour U-turn to vote against Osborne’s fiscal charter ‘trap’ is welcome, but it cannot stop there – Labour needs to open up a real debate about public access to money in a modern economy. Osborne’s aim to enshrine in law that States must not run ...
By Callum Towler At rallies, protests, even among friends, I hear two phrases frequently levelled at Conservatives: the ‘Evil Tories!’ or those ‘Tory Scum!’ Such mud-slinging has long been attached to a faction of left-wing activism bitterly opposed to Conservatism. Unbridled from the restraints of coalition, we now see our ...
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor He wore a suit and tie (more Matalan than Moschino, but smart nonetheless) and was greeted with rapturous applause. “Any chance we can start?” he asked, not aware he was still clapping himself. Corbyn had an autocue, which made his speech less rambling than previous ...
By Joe Mellor Deputy Editor A laugh is good, it’s good to laugh, I don’t think we laugh enough. I’m all for laughing, I don’t even mind being laughed at, I’m from Newcastle where we laugh at each other remorselessly. So I hope I have made myself clear/laboured the point, ...
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The politician everyone is talking about wasn’t mentioned today, even though the likelihood is he will be leading the party next week. It appears the Panorama documentary, which was warmly received by the Tories and most of the Labour benches, won’t stop the Corbyn juggernaut. ...
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I remember being at school and being caught throwing some chalk at a fellow pupil (that shows my age and level of rebelliousness). I denied it even though I had done it and everyone knew I’d done it. The more they asked the more I ...