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THE SCANDAL OF THE WORKING POOR

September 17, 2018 by Kenan Malik

This essay, on the ‘working poor’, was my Observer column this week. (The column included also a short piece on hypocrisy and the Church of England). It was published in the Observer, 16 September 2018, under the headline ‘Welfare was meant to help the poor, not subsidise exploitative employers’. It will mean fewer jobs. That was the chorus from many on the right, from Tej Parikh of the Institute of Directors to the chancellor, Philip Hammond, in response to […]

Categories: Britain, Class, Philosophy & Ethics, Politics • Tags: austerity, british politics, conservative party, gig economy, john mcdonnell, labour party, matthew desmoond, poverty, working poor

POST-ELECTION, NEW QUESTIONS

June 9, 2017 by Kenan Malik

Some quick, initial thoughts on the result of the UK general election, more raising questions than providing answers. . 1 It is in keeping with the lack of self-awareness and political nous that characterized Theresa May’s election campaign that she has insisted on staying on as party leader and Prime Minister, apparently to provide ‘certainty’, ‘stability’ and ‘legitimacy’. It is difficult to imagine, after the humiliation heaped upon her by the electorate, that she could seriously believe that she possesses […]

Categories: Britain, Politics • Tags: british politics, conservatives, election, european union, jeremy corbyn, labour party, theresa may, ukip

AN ELECTION BUT NOT A CONTEST

April 19, 2017 by Kenan Malik

An excerpt from my latest column for the International New York Times, on the upcoming election in Britain. It was published under the headline ‘The Foregone Conclusion of Britain’s Election’. This could, and should, have been a vital election, the focus for a great debate about the kind of post-Brexit Britain people want, a fierce contest over issues from austerity to immigration. But the void where an opposition should be means that little of substance will be debated. . To […]

Categories: Britain, Politics • Tags: brexit, british elections, british politics, conservative party, jeremy corbyn, labour party, theresa may, ukip, working class

THE VOID WHERE AN OPPOSITION SHOULD BE

March 16, 2017 by Kenan Malik

This is the full version of the article I wrote last month for the International New York Times on the crisis of the Labour Party and of UKIP. (I cannot publish my INYT articles on Pandaemonium until the month after it is published in the newspaper.) It was originally published on 24 February under the headline ‘Britain’s absent opposition’. On Thursday, storm Doris lashed Britain with ferocious winds and driving snow. That same day, England’s main opposition parties faced a […]

Categories: Britain, Politics • Tags: british politics, conservative party, eu referendum, jeremy corbyn, labour party, left, ukip, working class

BRITAIN’S ABSENT OPPOSITION

February 26, 2017 by Kenan Malik

An excerpt from my latest column for the International New York Times, on the results of the Stoke-on-Trent and Copeland by-elections in England, and their meaning for national politics: As party leader, Mr Corbyn has been a disaster. He is opposed by a majority of Labour members of Parliament, and has signally failed to win popular support outside the party’s base. Yet the party’s problem goes much deeper than its leadership. At the heart of its crisis lies the question: […]

Categories: Britain, Politics • Tags: british politics, labour party, working class

THE REVOLT OF THE FRAGMENTS

June 25, 2016 by Kenan Malik

It was, without question, a bloody nose for the political establishment, the biggest it has received for decades. And many have read the unexpected success of the Leave camp in the British EU referendum straightforwardly as a revolt against the political class and as a victory for democracy. Yes, it was a revolt against the political class in London and in Brussels. But the referendum result was also far more complicated than that. The anti-EU sentiment was not UK-wide. It […]

Categories: Britain, Politics • Tags: brexit, british politics, eu referendum, european union, labour party, left, populism, scotland, solidarity, working class

BEYOND THE BREXIT DEBATE

June 21, 2016 by Kenan Malik

Whatever the result of the Brexit referendum on Thursday, of one thing we can be sure: Britain will neither be invaded by marauding Turks, as anti-EU campaigners suggest might happen if the country votes ‘Yes’, nor will Western civilization collapse, as EU president Donald Tusk fears after a ‘No’ vote. There will undoubtedly be economic and political turbulence, but Britain will not be staring into the abyss, however it votes. But, if the world will not end for Britain, neither will the […]

Categories: Britain, International • Tags: boris johnson, brexit, british politics, democracy, european union, fortress europe, labour party, migration crisis, populism

ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE LEFT

May 29, 2016 by Kenan Malik

This is the full version of the article I wrote last month for the International New York Times on the controversy about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. (I cannot publish my INYT articles on Pandaemonium until a month after it is published in the newspaper.) It was originally published under the headline ‘The British Left’s Jewish Problem’. I have slightly edited it to take account of the fact that the original was published before the London Mayoral election. It has, admitted […]

Categories: Britain, Politics • Tags: anti-semitism, conspiracy theories, identity politics, jeremy corbyn, ken livingstone, labour party, left, muslims, naz shah

THE BRITISH LEFT’S ‘JEWISH PROBLEM’

May 4, 2016 by Kenan Malik

A excerpt from my latest column for the International New York Times, on the controversy over anti-Semitism in the British Labour party: Anti-Semitism used to be a problem primarily of the right. It wasn’t that the left had a totally clean bill of health — there is a history of left-wing anti-Semitism — but its firm foundation of universal values and egalitarian principles established a proud tradition of fighting bigotry against Jews. . In recent decades, however, much of the […]

Categories: Britain, Politics, Race & Immigration • Tags: anti-semitism, british politics, identity politics, labour party, racism