Category: The Void
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Britain Against the Yookay: Nation Against Empire
Philip Cunliffe identifies the source of the increasing fragmentation of British politics and society in the imperial structures of the state, and its long experience of relying on devolved government and sectarianism to frustrate the national self-determination of the colonised. We live in the Yookay. Everyone instantly recognises their lives and surroundings in the social…
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Geopolitics at the End of the End of History
Lee Jones recently spoke to a conference of logistics professionals about the rapid changes in global politics. He argued that the current chaos is the result of the continuing decay of the old neoliberal order, and that this is leading to the militarisation of international relations, regionalisation of the world economy, and the redundancy of…
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Death Warmed Up
Peter Ramsay argues that the British right’s proposal for a Great Repeal Act only reveals the futility of its approach to the nation. An online Anglofuturist put out a video last week weaving together the words of the Tory politician Robert Jenrick, ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe and conservative historian David Starkey, each promoting the proposal…
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The Politics of Planning
Aaron Wells explains how Labour’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill is unlikely to untangle the political problems in the planning process that plays such a large part in Britain’s building crisis. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner MP talks a big game about ‘taking on the blockers’ who stand in the way of development, but NIMBYism and…
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Reconstituting the Nations: Britain and Ireland after Brexit
This is the text of a talk given by Peter Ramsay to the Desmond Greaves Summer School 2024 in Dublin. He argues that the reconstitution of a sovereign nation-state in Britain depends on the achievement of Irish national sovereignty, and that the relation of the two nations exemplifies the inherent internationalism of the politics of…
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The Heart of Starmer’s Government
As the war in Eastern Europe escalates with Ukraine’s raid on Russia, Tara McCormack asks why Keir Starmer has pledged to put Ukraine at the heart of everything his government does. Britain’s new Labour government can be accused of vagueness and even dishonesty in its campaign to get elected. However, in one area at least…
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Rule of the Void
The UK’s general election result might seem like a restoration of the old pre-2016 political order. A bland technocrat has won a sweeping majority. However, Peter Ramsay and Philip Cunliffe argue that Labour’s massive victory is hollow and leaves the state in a weaker position than ever. The election results are a dramatic manifestation of…
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Who’s Afraid of the WHO?
For more than a year many anti-lockdown campaigners have been scaremongering about a World Health Organisation power-grab entailing new draconian measures in the event of another pandemic. With news that the WHO’s revised International Health Regulations will be much less intrusive than feared, Lee Jones and Shahar Hameiri argue that framing the WHO as the…
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The British Nation: What’s Its future?
Northern Star editor Peter Ramsay will be speaking about the future of the British nation together with David Edgerton, author of The Rise and Fall of the British Nation, and Tomiwa Owolade, author of This Is Not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter. The event is free and takes place: Thursday 2nd May 6.30pm London School of…
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Conscription and the Void in Foreign Policy
Recent discussions in Britain over the reintroduction of conscription only expose the dangerous void between rulers and ruled, argues Lizzie Finnegan. The outgoing Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, recently stirred public controversy by proposing that the British armed forces should be significantly expanded by training and equipping a ‘citizen army’ capable…
The Northern Star 