Martin McGrath
Welcome to my website. I intend to use this space to hold forth on things like politics, books, technology, films and anything else that interests or irritates me.
You can also use this site to see examples of some of the work I've done as journalist, writer and designer. I'm available for freelance work and my rates are competitive and negotiable for good causes.
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Category Archives: Politics
IS THERE A LABOUR SURGE?
A recent article in Tribune claimed that: “Big swings to Labour are being reported in a number of council by-elections since Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the party.” As far as it goes, it’s certainly true that some swings to … Continue reading
SUMMARY EXECUTION: BOTH WRONG AND STUPID
So David Allen Green (@jackofkent) wrote a very good piece about the legal questions around yesterday’s government announcement that it had used a drone to kill a British citizen fighting in Syria for ISIS. I’m not a lawyer, but his … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Politics
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IT WAS HARRIET WOT WON IT
I have quite admired Harriet Harman in the past, insofar as, as a woman on the left of British politics, she’s had to put up with a lot of shit thrown her way and she’s coped with it with a … Continue reading
WHAT THE LABOUR PARTY IS FOR: OR, WHERE YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR IDEOLOGICAL PURITY
One of the many weird things about the Labour leadership election has been, as a member for nearly 30 years, getting lectured about Labour values by people who – to my certain knowledge – have never been members of the Labour … Continue reading
MARK FERGUSON IS BEING WRONG ABOUT KEYNES AND BUDGET SURPLUSES
Mark Ferguson seemed like a decent, thoughtful bloke who did good work as editor of LabourList, so I was disappointed when he announced he was going to work for Liz Kendall’s campaign. I was even more disappointed today when he … Continue reading
LABOUR AND THE LIMITS OF ASPIRATION
In his piece in The Guardian today, positioning himself as a contender for leadership of the Labour Party, Chuka Umunna wrote: Our vision as a party must start with the aspirations of voters: to get on and up in the … Continue reading
THE ELECTION: NOT KIDDING OURSELVES
There’s no shortage of people dissecting the election result but here are my initial thoughts. Labour did not lose because it wasn’t left wing enough for Scotland – even if Labour had taken every SNP seat in Scotland, it wouldn’t … Continue reading
ONLINE COMMUNITIES DO NOT EXIST
If you spend time on social media of any kind then the “flame war” (to use a fading phrase) is likely to become a way of life. Hate seems to be the first, and sometimes only, language of the internet. … Continue reading
WHAT DOES LABOUR DO? FIVE OBVIOUS STEPS TO WINNING
So, another set of elections, another ungood night for Labour. Admittedly it was a much worse one for the parties in government. Indeed it was so bad, that if the swing against the Conservatives and Lib Dems was repeated at … Continue reading
SOME THOUGHTS ON HOW LABOUR WINS IN 2015
So this year’s elections are over, and lots of people are using the results as an excuse to try and shift their favoured political parties around, so I thought: “Why should I miss out?” I don’t think the European election … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged 2014, parliament, Politics
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