I don't understand sitting down to record a podcast which says: "well lads, turns out history matches exactly with my own assumptions - what are the odds?"

And just on the idea of it being "helpful" to the left more broadly. The austerity measures imposed by the 45-51 Labour government were undoubtedly part of why it was so short lived, and took so long to get back into government.

On the idea of WW2 producing a version of central planning that was distinct from the USSR: the USSR & Stalin were briefly incredibly popular during and after WW2 in the UK because of the effectiveness of wartime propaganda. And how actually "planned" the UK economy was varied massively

On WW2 not being divisive on the left. It forced Labour to reckon with pacifism that was so deep embedded in the movement that the idea of a general strike to stop war was floated at the TUC in the early 30s, and ofc Lansbury resigned because of it (not to mention the CPGB's opposition until 41)

Behind the scenes in Starmer's government are loads of former New Labour people anyway. The argument that Starmer and the modern Labour right are a new kind of ruthless doesn't really add up

100%. The reason they ended up leaving Corbyn and the SCG alone is they were a much smaller parliamentary bloc than they are now - and they came to power within the party almost a decade after the left had been defeated

Absolutely, and both will surely support the new asylum policy

I saw a Labour MP on here saying basically "controlling borders isn't that much to ask for...it's a hygiene issue for voters". I don't think they realise the actual policy implications of what they are saying at all

The Producers theory of governance

That's not how I remember Bugonia

A late challenger emerges

Ended up jealous of the 2 people who walked out when the gore started

Both her and Plemons were so good, I loved the general grottiness of the film but substance wise I don't think it had anything to say beyond the opening scene which contrasted their routines

I thought it was just ok until the ending, but I absolutely DESPISED the ending. If you're going to make an anti-humanist film now I think it should've been about 100x less smug & predictable

My review

The sentence that gets stuck in my head all the time is:

"The crystallisation of 'modernisation' in the mid-1990s has thus foreclosed our ability to imaginatively reconstruct other attempts to update Labour for the modern world, and alternative pathways available to the party."

I think the "National Care Service" was the same. They agreed they wanted to solve the huge issue of social care reform in a huge and transformative way, they just didn't bother to think about it beyond that. See also; abolishing Universal Credit, free broadband, tuition fee abolition.

You'd really enjoy Colm Murphy's book on Modernisation if you haven't read it already. It's v good on showing where the debate was happening within New Labour. Reading it you can't help come away from it thinking that the issue with today's party is no one at/near the top actually cares about ideas