Fighting the good fight

Arguing passionately in favour of the government’s higher education policy in a room full of students was never going to be popular, but I felt myself and Mark Overton put up a good fight opposing the Debating Society’s topical motion ‘This House would scrap top-up fees’.
We were debating against the new President of my Students’ [...]

Time to reset Neal’s Compass?

Despite the despair of my ultra-New Labour friends, I was determined to give Compass a chance when they began a high-profile campaign to instigate some serious debate within the Labour Party. Yet, Neal Lawson’s error-strewn account of the cost of higher education in the Guardian, really has made my blood boil.
Ignoring the fact that his [...]

Winning the battle of ideas

Difficult as it is to avoid the depressing developments in the Middle East and their impact upon the national party’s polling ratings, a few recent developments suggest that Labour supporters, activists and politicians are beginning to soberly chart a path towards a fourth term.
Last week, I was lucky enough to hear Douglas Alexander, an underrated [...]