Glasmans blue labour overlooks the unions left futures. Anything will do so long as it makes community life sticky enough to trap the. In not setting out the necessity of conflict and organisation, your book is not red. Maurice glasman and the group whove come together under the banner blue labour argue that this political philosophy is, literally, worthless. Maurice glasman provides not only a withering critique of neoliberal hubris and arrogance but also a strong critique of centralising social democracy. Glasman therefore seeks to locate the paradox of the party in an experience of mutuality and. The book tangled up in blue by rowenna davis explores the extent of blue labours influence within the labour party and how glasmans ideas influenced the leadership campaigns of both ed miliband and his brother david miliband. Lord maurice glasman writes in the new statesman as a political position blue labour, of which i am a cofounder, draws upon a rich heritage of socialist and religious thought and practice. Glasmans blue labour philosophy is based around two main arguments. Yet, the blue labour strain is also far from over a tendency grouped around the social thought of maurice glasman that emerged within the party.
A new pamphlet called the labour tradition and the politics of paradox is published today, in the same vein that has been dubbed the blue labour movement. Maurice glasman is a member of the house of lords and the founder of blue labour. Here he is, the boy who used to live over a london shop, ordering tea on the terrace of the house of lords, smoking his. Last night on the subject of blue labour, helen goodman mp with a bit of help from comrade paxman had the better of maurice glasman or as paxman had it goldmansorry grassman. Blue labour pamphlet published today liberal conspiracy. Labour peer maurice glasman says his party will lose. It combines respect for family, faith and work with a commitment to the common good.
Blue labour started life in 2010 with maurice glasman and quickly grew into a small group of academics and politicians. Yet the blue labour strain a tendency grouped around the social thought of maurice glasman that emerged within the party after the. Blue labours theology of the common good sceptical scot. Blue labour, the informal labour policy group established by ed miliband advisor maurice glasman, is to be effectively disbanded. When cruddass essay written, like the main parts of the book, before the. Maurice glasman archives labourlist labour party news. Maurice glasman, also once a miliband confidant and the intellectual. Love it or hate it and, personally, im inclined to love it blue labour is yet to have its day but this book helps to show why and how its day may yet well come. In january 2009, maurice glasman was an unknown academic mourning the death of his mother, a lifelong labour supporter. Blue labour was launched in 2010 by academic and labour peer maurice glasman, and dedicated to reclaiming distinctive traditions of reciprocity and mutuality in the labour movement.
As the figurehead of blue labour, maurice glasman is being hailed as an intellectual guru for the labour party. The essence of blue labour is an embrace of a profoundly human politics rooted in relationships. Mat little profiles maurice glasman, dubbed the father of blue labour and learns more about glasman s plans to clean up the city of london november 22, 2009 10 min read they think im a communist, smiles maurice glasman impishly. Miliband recently authored a preface for a blue labour ebook and this has been. It talks of how glasman was initially working for david milibands campaign and put forward ideas on much more community devolution and the movement for change. This is an excellent book that clearly and cogently sets out the assumptions that would ultimately evolve into the blue labour position. Maurice glasman s blue labour project began this process by declaring open season on many of the partys sacred cows glasman, 2010. Maurice glasman is a political theorist, academic, social commentator and labour life peer in the house of lords. The book further reveals alleged links between glasman and phillip blond. These make clearer than ever before the extent to which blue labour is, at root, a theology rather than a political philosophy. Yet, the blue labour strain is also far from over a tendency grouped around the social thought of maurice glasman that emerged within the party after the financial crash. The resources for labours renewal lie within the practices and history of the labour movement.
Blue labour plots future somewhere between third way and the old way. Blue labour can help the party reconnect with its voters corbyn or smith needs to be radical if labour is to return to power, writes rowenna davis rowenna davis. Forging a new centre ground a book written by highprofile figures of the blue labour group will be released. It was formed in 2010 by labour peer maurice glasman, a political theorist, who also coined the blue labour phrase, which he said represented the core values of the party pre1945.
Blue labour is an advocacy group associated with the british labour party that promotes. The e book is edited by maurice glasman, jonathan rutherford, marc stears and stuart white. Remember the yidden in all the mayhem of their disputed visions. The position has been articulated in books such as tangled up in blue, by rowenna davis, and blue labour, edited by ian geary and adrian pabst. The central contribution of this ebook, and of the blue labour idea more generally, is.
Indeed, its well known that the doctrines founder, maurice glasman, is a. Blue labour helped him to do so without backing into too many leftwing culdesacs. The pope, the jew, and the vision of blue labour james. Blue labour, one nation labour, and the lessons of. But maurice glasman, the original blue labour guru, grew frustrated with miliband, having probably already alienated the party leader with his predilection for colourful. The labour peer, a longterm critic of jeremy corbyn, began pushing the blue labour concept, which emphasises local communities and socially conservative leftwing policies, in 2009.
On social media, in hastily assembled blogs and academic papers, in newspaper columns and in parliamentary soirees. Firstly, he believes that labour has undervalued the importance of religious belief, the. Purpose, the labour party pressure group that aims to put relationships and responsibility at the heart of british politics. Blue labour makes a comeback with launch of new book on saturday, blue labour. Tangled up in blue, by rowenna davis the independent. Written in a warm, sympathetic journalistic style, the book is both a good read and a useful introduction to blue labour and lord maurice glasman, its founder and chief exponent. Forging a new centre ground a book written by highprofile figures of the 26th february, 2015, 12. They explore the recent debates around blue labour in the uk as well as the renewal of the labour party through creative. Blue labour reminds the party that only democratic association can resist the power of capital and that the distinctive practices of the labour movement are built upon reciprocity. The free market and the centralised, statisticallyobsessed state try to subordinate the local peculiarities of life to universal values, whether those values are established by the price mechanism or. Going into the details of how the movements founder, maurice glasman, came up with the label and the idea as a clear contrast to red tory the book does quite a good job of exploring the blue labour idea. Glasmans role in the creation and promotion of blue labour is described in the book tangled up in blue 2011 by rowenna davis. In doing so, he has renewed his party for a generation and ripped into the labour heartlands maurice glasman from woodstock to brexit. Blue labour can help the party reconnect with its voters.
Lord glasman went on a journey through ukraine to find his zaidas shtetl. Dont underestimate toxic blue labour ed rooksby opinion the. The main thinker behind blue labour is maurice glasman or, baron glasman, of stoke newington and of stamford hill in the london borough of hackney a senior lecturer at london metropolitan. Anything will do so long as it makes community life sticky enough to trap the forces of globalisation as they come roaring through. The labour tradition and the politics of paradox is an edited collection based around three papers delivered by glasman, john rutherford and mark stears, with responses from various figures including ed miliband, james purnell and others. Blue labour, an unofficial subgroup affiliated with the labour party, has reported a surge in followers after boris johnsons conservative party won a huge majority in last weeks election. Miliband recently authored a preface for a blue labour e book and this has been interpreted as a sign that hes moving towards a full embrace of blue labour as the partys big idea under his leadership. In this friday essay, alan finlayson engages with glasman. Maurice glasman is a member of the house of lords, founder of blue labour, and director of the common good foundation.
Lord maurice glasman uk labour, was recently interviewed by chair of the chifley research centre, nick martin. Disillusioned with the party he was raised to love, glasman had an epiphany. The demolition of maurice glasman last night on the subject of blue labour, helen goodman mp with a bit of help from comrade paxman had the better of maurice glasman or as paxman had it goldmansorry grassman. Labour peer maurice glasman, the academic and activist. The london metropolitan university academic maurice glasman launched blue labour in april 2009 at a meeting in conway hall, bloomsbury. As this admirably clearminded book by the journalist and labour councillor rowenna davis argues, however, it is erroneous and selfserving of blue labours opponents to define the group by glasmans views on immigration. Labour leader writes preface to blue labour e book in which he praises movement for recognising the centrality of life beyond the bottom. We try to reconcile the revolutionary and leveller john lilburne with his contemporary archbishop laud in our defence of liberty and resistance to enclosures. Indeed, its well known that the doctrines founder, maurice glasman, is a close friend of the labour party leader. That is the message of a new book that lifts the lid on just how influential baron maurice glasman is inside the labour party. By maurice glasman as a result, sackss narrow view of an instrumental and utilitarian politics, a desacralised politics, gives the book a whiff of a lament for the era that has passed of the third way, of blair, brown, cameron and may, in which the nation state was a regional administrator of a global system of capitalism and individual. He is director of the common good foundation and is best known as a founder of blue labour, a term he coined in 2009. Maurice glasman s introductory essay in the recent book about blue labour is quite an entertaining read, where he visualises the labour party as the son of a working class trade union father, possibly a nonconformist christian. Blue labour was launched by labour peer maurice glasman back in.
On a great many metrics, a strong and innovative financial services sector contributes significantly to growth, jobs, and productivity in the wider economy. The talks between maurice glasman, a labour peer and pioneer of the blue labour project to reconnect his party with workingclass voters, and nick timothy, mrs mays co. Plus receive a free e book and 7 articles of your choosing on the prospect website. Maurice glasman is a labour life peer and the founder of blue labour. The brainchild of a modest genius, maurice glasman, blue labour is actually a contemporary.
Sometimes aspects of the blue labour approach admittedly make me uncomfortable as they challenge many of my own deeprooted and calcified ideological presumptions. A christmas and new year letter from maurice glasman. Blue labour plots future somewhere between third way and. Labour mp jon cruddas and middlesex university academic jonathan rutherford have both informed lord glasman they no longer wish to be associated with the project following an interview. Blue labour makes a comeback with launch of new book. Glasman has described blue labour as a completely agitational idea to provoke a conversation about what went wrong with the blair project. Crossposted from the full brexit with one throw of the dice, boris johnson broke the brexit interregnum. The labour party had just suffered arguably its worst defeat since 1918. Red is the colour of blood, of conflict and struggle. A spectre is haunting the labour party the spectre of blue labour. The group organised four meetings in london and oxford to debate with senior labour politicians the. And on the subject of political economy, and in arguing for reciprocity and a democratically organised workforce, it is not tory.
528 1428 899 601 858 1489 1222 394 794 485 1401 1477 1650 1453 553 468 588 667 642 1348 1185 822 52 362 1230 887 910 438 816 1333 829 551 175 595 1110 981 403 785 1083 1014 603