Politics

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor More unsettling times for the Labour Party, as Catherine McKinnell the Shadow Attorney General has resigned from the frontbench citing concerns about the direction and internal conflict within the party. She has only been in the post since September 2015 and has not had enough time to settle into the role. The MP for Newcastle North, who has three young children, sent a letter to Corbyn explaining she was having problems balancing her personal commitments, but...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor David Cameron was interviewed by Andrew Marr and then band Squeeze came on to sing cradle to the grave. Only they changed the words in the song to "the destruction of the welfare state" and David Cameron still applauded at the end, watch video here.

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A police officer has claimed that police improperly destroyed files complied on Green Party Peer Lady Jones. David Williams believes his unit destroyed records to prevent Jenny Jones from uncovering the degree to which her political work had been monitored. Williams claims it was part of a “highly irregular” cover-up. Lady Jones, who is also Deputy Chair of the committee that supervises the Met police, was kept away from the records regarding the surveillance operation...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Like everyone, I know people I agree with and those I don’t. To weigh up how to interact with them, I always go with the “do you prefer them inside the tent pissing out or outside the tent pissing in”. Well for Cameron and Corbyn today the choice was taken from them. For Corbyn it was because after a mammoth reshuffle three Shadow Minsters resigned anyway and in Cameron’s case his tent washed away during...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor As of yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 6th Jan 2016) business executives have made more money than the majority of people will make during the whole of this year according to the High Pay Centre. The research has discovered that fat cats have already passed the average UK salary of £27,645 a mere two working days into the New Year. The High Pay Centre, an independent think tank, reported that FTSE 100 chief executives receive an average...

Caitlyn Jenner was briefly a saint to the left thanks to her global coming out as a woman. When Bruce became Caitlyn the world became just a little more accepting of transgender people and for that she deserves credit. However, many on the left, especially social justice advocates, have snapped back now it’s become clear that Caitlyn shares the same political beliefs as Bruce – and those beliefs are conservative. Bruce Jenner was a Republican whose views on social issues,...

It was a disaster waiting to happen. In a highly publicised press conference, Tommy Robinson and Quilliam announced that the former had seen the error of his ways and decided to part with the English Defence League, a hard-line anti Islam group. Many prominent organisations and personalities had expressed scepticism at the time, dismissing it as nothing but a PR stunt to bolster the images of both Quilliam, a counter extremism think tank founded by former members of the radical...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The final PMQs before the New Year had an extra-terrestrial vibe and I don’t mean the Tory backbenchers from Cocoon. It began with the PM praising UK astronaut Tim Peake, and everyone who was watching at home. Well we did Dave, you turned your head 180 degrees, like a lizard, and flicked your tongue at the screen. Corbyn wished everyone a happy Christmas even “Tim who wasn’t on this planet,” which inevitably set the Tories...

Callum Towler, Stephen Adams and Owen Black chat about the worrying rise of far-right politics following the Paris attacks. Should Donald Trump be banned from the UK? Do ISIS thank their lucky stars for characters like Farage and Le Pen? Is western liberalism dying in the face of terror? And how can the left reverse this surge? Alternatively, you can also listen via Soundcloud here  Follow us @callumtowler @stephenjcadams1 @owenblk And please leave your thoughts below.