Andy Stowe
17 January 2021 · · Reviews
Dear Comrades! These people have to be forgotten
Ironic Stalinism is making a bit of a comeback on social media among idiots who fancy themselves to be on the left and choose to find something amusingly unconventional about celebrating a m…
5 January 2021 · · Britain, Covid-19, Education, trade unions · 3 comments
Education workers teach Tories and Starmer the bleeding obvious
Last week the National Education Union (NEU) represented about 450 000 teaching assistants, learning mentors, premises staff, office workers and teachers in schools and colleges in England a…
4 November 2020 · · Austria, France, Fundamentalism, Turkey · 1 comment
Jihadi murderers are enemies of the working class
In little under two weeks reactionary, neo-fascist, religiously sectarian jihadists have launched murderous attacks against two French churches beheading female worshippers. They have decapi…
22 September 2020 · · Britain, Labour Party · 2 comments
Starmer says if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em
In his first conference speech as Labour leader Keir Starmer mentioned “Britain” seven times, “family” nine times, “opportunity” eight and “country” twenty-six writes Andy Stowe . Some cynic…
14 September 2020 · · USA
Trump’s debt to the Ku Klux Klan
Donald Trump’s political roots, and those of the heavily armed neo-fascist militias taking to the streets to support him, are in the slave-owning Confederacy and the failure of the post-Civi…
9 September 2020 · · Reviews
The wretched poor of Paris
Viewed in late 2020 the opening scene of Ladj Ly’s film Les Misérables looks like it was shot in an alternative reality writes Andy Stowe . Hundreds of football fans are crowded together in …
19 August 2020 · · Britain, Uncategorized, antiracism · 1 comment
Left unites to defend migrants
The day started with news that a yet unidentified sixteen year old Sudanese boy drowned in the English Channel trying to make his way into England writes Andy Stowe . That evening over one h…
28 July 2020 · · Britain, Tories, Uncategorized · 3 comments
Obesity is a class issue
Using my eight-minute walk to the station to reflect on the Tories’ anti- obesity strategy I passed a chip shop, a branch of an omnipresent national sandwich chain offering all sorts of “ sw…
4 July 2020 · · Reviews · 1 comment
Corrupt socialists? Heaven forfend!
Andy Stowe reviews the French political drama Baron Noir Did you know that some people sign up to the thirty-day free trial on Amazon Prime, watch everything they want to, then cancel the su…
24 June 2020 · · Britain, Covid-19 · 2 comments
Walk at a steady pace towards machine guns urges Johnson as 65,000 die
Forget Churchill writes Andy Stowe . The wartime leader Boris Johnson most resembles is General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, the blustering incompetent First World War commander in t…
2 June 2020 · · Britain, Covid-19
Johnson shielded by Brexit populism
It almost defies belief that if an election were held next week the result would still be a Tory victory writes Andy Stowe . A YouGov poll conducted over the last weekend of May suggests Joh…
26 May 2020 · · Britain, Covid-19, Tories · 1 comment
The Johnson Cummings élite death cult
Lawyers sometimes refer to a client’s convoluted and implausible account of their actions as “the utter bollocks defence” writes Andy Stowe . Explaining a thirty-mile drive with your partner…
19 May 2020 · · Britain, Education · 3 comments
Should parents and staff trust the Tories about return to school?
No one can doubt the Conservative Party’s commitment to children living in poverty and overcrowded homes with inadequate diets writes Andy Stowe . The Child Poverty Action Group says 4.1 mil…
3 May 2020 · · Britain · 6 comments
The patriotic myth of VE Day
Spare a thought for all those British patriots who’d been prudent enough to buy their Victory in Europe (VE) day paraphernalia well ahead of time writes Andy Stowe . Their commemorative tabl…
1 April 2020 · · Covid-19 · 2 comments
Self-isolation, Corbynism and class consciousness
The British Conservative Party have had considerable success in their decades long project of smashing up working class organisations and atomising working-class communities, writes Andy Sto…
18 March 2020 · · Covid-19, Uncategorized · 1 comment
Pay the workers! Suspend rent and bill payments!
The Tories have known all along that something like this pandemic was coming writes Andy Stowe and coronavirus is starkly posing questions about austerity, profiteering, the control of produ…
3 March 2020 · · Britain, Labour Party · 5 comments
Starmy times ahead
It seems inevitable that Keir Starmer will be the next Labour leader and Angela Rayner will be his deputy writes Andy Stowe. At any other time, a Labour MP who’d been a successful lawyer who…
29 February 2020 · · Culture, Reviews, Uncategorized
Greed – comedy with a kick
We are living through something of a golden age of class war cinema writes Andy Stowe. Joker offered us an urban rebellion against the rich; Parasite showed them getting their comeuppance fr…
10 January 2020 · · Britain, Scotland
The Lexit road to English patriotism
English patriotism is good, Scottish nationalism is a dead end - according to the Morning Star, writes Andy Stowe . From the Soviet “theory” of socialism in one country to Kim Il Sung’s fant…
30 December 2019 · · EU, Labour Party, Racism · 1 comment
Actually, it is racist
One conclusion being drawn from Labour’s defeat is that the party under Corbyn was insufficiently concerned about migration, English nationalism and the concerns of the “majority of the work…
13 December 2019 · · Labour Party · 6 comments
A disastrous election result: defend the gains of Corbynism.
On an emotional level it feels like a death in the family writes Andy Stowe . The Tory victory was, above all else, a triumph for a reactionary project of the hard right that has been incuba…
26 November 2019 · · Labour Party · 3 comments
Corbyn is right to be neutral on Brexit
Labour is the only party with a chance of forming the next Westminster government which is committed to giving us a second referendum on Brexit writes Andy Stowe . Remainers should vote Labo…
21 November 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party · 2 comments
Labour’s election winning manifesto
Labour’s 2019 election manifesto could very well be the set of ideas that wins the election writes Andy Stowe . One of the things that tells you it’s very different from every manifesto of t…
14 November 2019 · · Labour Party, Racism, trade unions
Union leaders shouldn’t make excuses for racism
The Brexit referendum result showed that there is large scale racism in British society writes Andy Stowe . It affects both the Labour Party and the unions. There’s the infamous “controls on…
13 October 2019 · · Reviews · 1 comment
Joker – is it getting crazier out there?
" What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fuckin' deserve! " Joker Joker was such an overwhelming fil…
25 September 2019 · · Britain, Democracy · 1 comment
Parliamentary Sovereignty – Brexiteers don’t like it up ‘em
The Labour Party conference immediately understood the significance of the Supreme Court judgment against Boris Johnson writes Andy Stowe . It greeted the humiliation of the arch-Brexiteer w…
31 August 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 4 comments
Labour movement begins to face down the coup
Jeremy Corbyn encouraged people to take to the streets on Saturday 31 August to protest against Boris Johnson’s attempt to shut down Parliament writes Andy Stowe . A massive crowd filled Whi…
28 August 2019 · · Britain, Democracy, EU, Labour Party, Tories · 1 comment
Only Labour can stop Johnson’s coup
John McDonnell is absolutely right to say that Johnson’s suspension of Parliament is a “very British coup”, writes Andy Stowe . A government of hard right ideologues is shutting down the ver…
20 July 2019 · · EU, Labour Party
A Missed Opportunity
The March for Change could have made July 20 th 2019 one of the most significant days in recent British political history writes Andy Stowe . Instead of a contingent of Cornish nationalists …
18 July 2019 · · Labour Party, USA
Ermine robes and baseball caps
The closest thing to a Hitler rally most people alive today will have seen was Donald Trump’s audience in Greenville chanting “ send her back ” writes Andy Stowe . An enraged white mob was p…
21 June 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party, Tories
Johnson government is a threat to Labour
Nothing short of an alien invasion in the next couple of weeks is going to stop Boris Johnson becoming the next British prime minster writes Andy Stowe . His well-documented dishonesty , rac…
8 June 2019 · · Reviews
Chernobyl, the Soviet Union and Marxism
The superb new HBO TV series Chernobyl dramatises the Marxist understanding of the Soviet Union writes Andy Stowe. Chernobyl captures that sense of shoddiness and bleakness in the final days…
5 June 2019 · · Britain, USA · 2 comments
The Brexit Party – Trump's British wing
When you arrive at the Brexit Party’s homepage the first image that greets you is a young black woman in a still from their European election YouTube video writes Andy Stowe. It’s their way …
5 May 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 1 comment
Every Labour vote counts in the European election
Labour voters should ignore the Morning Star’s call for a “ people’s boycott ” of the European elections writes Andy Stowe. The left campaign in favour of Brexit never really took off. Lexit…
29 March 2019 · · Britain, EU · 2 comments
The differences between cats and dogs
Cats and dogs are pretty similar to the inexpert eye writes Andy Stowe . Both have four legs, a tail, hairy bodies and can ruin the furniture. But every cat owner has had a jealous twinge wh…
24 March 2019 · · Britain, EU · 6 comments
A million on the streets of London
There’s no doubt that some of the most high-profile people involved in organising and speaking at the March 23rd People’s Vote demonstration comprise a real rogues’ gallery writes Andy Stowe…
17 March 2019 · · Britain
Stop Brexit and get rid of the Tories
The Tory Brexit is hanging onto life by a thread writes Andy Stowe. The March 23rd demonstration called by the People’s Vote campaign has the potential to land the killer punch on both Brexi…
8 February 2019 · · EU, Labour Party · 3 comments
The British Road to Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn’s papacy of Labour’s broad church has been successful in keeping together all the party's doctrinal strands and potentially schismatic sects writes Andy Stowe . MPs like Kate H…
29 January 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party, Uncategorized · 2 comments
Labour's Immigration Bill fiasco
Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn are distinguished by political careers devoted to anti-racism and defending migrants’ rights writes Andy Stowe . So, it’s entirely legitimate t…
28 November 2018 · · Britain
Brexit will make working people poorer
Building a massive coalition in favour of Brexit was a triumph for the hard right Tories and Ukip writes Andy Stowe . A lot of working class people were persuaded to vote for something that …
21 October 2018 · · Britain · 5 comments
Massive demonstration against Tory Brexit
From Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square an estimated 700,000 people filled central London on Saturday October 20 th protesting against the Tory Brexit writes Andy Stowe . It was the large…
18 October 2018 · · Reviews · 1 comment
Peterloo – the relevance of history
Mike Leigh’s new film Peterloo is the cinema of class war. It’s an unrepentantly pro-working class, anti-ruling class piece of work which every single Labour Party member, trade unionist and…
25 September 2018 · · Britain, Tories
Tory split or general election?
You’ll have noticed that some of the supermarkets have already started displaying Christmas merchandise writes Andy Stowe . You might even have begun mentally drafting your letter to Santa s…
7 August 2018 · · Britain, Labour Party
Momentum, antisemitism and the coup
Just when you think that the attacks on Jeremy Corbyn can't get any more ludicrous writes Andy Stowe , a journalist working for Rupert Murdoch remembers something he read in The Sun a year a…
17 July 2018 · · Britain
A good weekend for the left
While it's probably wrong to categorise Trump as a neo-fascist, he is the rallying symbol for the new nationalist hard right globally writes Andy Stowe . His visit to England and Scotland on…
9 July 2018 · · Britain
Pile on the pressure for a general election
In retrospect, writes Andy Stowe, the high point of Theresa May's career as prime minister could turn out to have been her October 3rd 2017 speech . She ground to a halt due to a coughing fi…
25 June 2018 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 2 comments
People's vote march shows potential for left anti-Brexit voice
When tens of thousands of people take to the streets you know you are dealing with a spontaneous movement writes Andy Stowe . This of course means that they might turn up with all manner of …
17 June 2018 · · Labour Party
Labour Live festival disappoints the sneerers
If the organisers had contrived to have Mozart, Elvis Presley and Prince emerge from a spaceship to perform an amazing new bit of music at the Labour Live festival on June 17 th , Jeremy Cor…
10 June 2018 · · Racism · 7 comments
Tommy Robinson, English nationalism and Brexit
Three things strike you when looking at videos and photos of the neo-fascist demonstration on June 9 th calling for the release from prison of the Islamophobic criminal Tommy Robinson writes…
6 May 2018 · · Britain, Labour Party, Tories, local government
Council election results reveal polarised situation
The council election result in Kensington and Chelsea is a good indicator of how polarised the political situation is in Britain writes Andy Stowe . The Conservative controlled council there…
13 April 2018 · · Britain, Labour Party, Syria · 4 comments
Don’t bomb Syria - No support for Assad
A decade ago, a time when Boris Johnson was able to present documentaries on the BBC about the glories of Roman imperialism, visitors to the main market in Damascus could still see the bulle…
22 March 2018 · · Labour Party · 1 comment
Labour must promise referendum on Brexit deal
Brexit will be the culmination of the British right's most successful project since Thatcherism and Andy Stowe argues that Labour must offer voters a chance to vote on the deal that is event…
19 March 2018 · · Britain, Labour Party
Corbyn supporters on a roll
It has been a good few weeks for Corbyn supporters in the Labour Party writes Andy Stowe . Steven Saxby, described by the Evening Standard as an "arch-Corbynite" has been selected as the par…
22 November 2017 · · Women · 1 comment
Sexual harassment on the left
Sexual harassment of women is pervasive in society writes Andy Stowe . The allegations against Harvey Weinstein and a list of men which grows daily are indicative of a much wider problem and…
11 August 2017 · · Reviews, Uncategorized
Love is not enough
Andy Stowe reviews Naomi Klein’s new book “ No Is Not Enough ” on Trump’s rise and her plan for defeating him. The first thing that hits you reading this very useful summary of the reasons b…
28 July 2017 · · Our History
Dunkirk – superbly executed nationalist myth making
Addressing the British parliament in June 1940, Winston Churchill described the German rout of the French, Belgian and British armies and the seaborne evacuation of 338 000 troops as a "colo…
27 June 2017 · · Britain, Labour Party · 6 comments
Stop messing about - The Marxist left and Labour
The Socialist, paper of the Socialist Party (SP), estimates that Labour may now have more than 700 000 members writes Andy Stowe . There’s no doubt that the party’s membership has increased …
18 June 2017 · · Britain, Housing, Tories · 5 comments
Grenfell Tower tragedy shows this Tory government is illegitimate
Elizabeth Windsor, the English queen, isn’t supposed to make political statements, but on June 16 th she announced to the world that she thinks Tory Prime Minister Theresa May is a morally g…
11 June 2017 · · Ireland, Tories · 1 comment
Why is the DUP so reactionary?
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has attracted a lot of opprobrium for its reactionary positions on every subject you can think of and for their ongoing links with loyalist terrorists wri…
30 April 2017 · · Reviews, Russian revolution
This bright life will come
Travelling to the British Library's impressive and unmissable Russian Revolution: Hope, Tragedy, Myths exhibition, I read an article on Putin's government's suppression of the Jehovah's Witn…
15 April 2017 · · North Korea, USA · 1 comment
No to war, Trump and Kim
There are two things rulers typically do when they want to make a mark on the world. They build something big or they go to war writes Andy Stowe . The US Department of Homeland Security has…
12 March 2017 · · Britain, Labour Party · 1 comment
Momentum conferences are like buses
Andy Stowe reports from the first of this month’s Momentum conferences. Momentum describes itself as having “evolved out of Jeremy Corbyn’s 2015 Labour leadership bid to build on the energy …
13 February 2017 · · Reviews
Stalin's artistic counter-revolution
Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932 - An exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London 11 February —17 April 2017 (£16, £12 concessions) It's one of history's ironies writes Andy Stowe that …
2 January 2017 · · Reviews, Uncategorized
Why isn't God answering?
Andy Stowe reviews Silence by Martin Scorsese. Any film about Jesuit missionaries that has Ad maiorem Dei gloriam ( f or the greater glory of God), the Catholic order's motto, as the opening…
20 December 2016 · · Culture, Reviews
Rebellions are built on hope – a Star Wars review
Andy Stowe reviews Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Is science fiction set to become the popular storytelling vehicle of choice for writers and audiences who despise everything Donald Trump stan…
13 July 2016 · · 1 comment
All hands on deck to help Jeremy Corbyn win
“Jeremy Corbyn has touched parts of the electorate Labour hasn’t reached in a long time” writes Andy Stowe . That was the judgement of Laura Kuenssberg, the Tory propagandist who delivers mo…
17 June 2016 · · 3 comments
Jo Cox and the well of hatred
Jo Cox, fifth from left. Photo: Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East Socialist Resistance sends its sympathy and solidarity to the family, friends and comrades of Jo Cox writes An…
20 March 2016 ·
An uncertain future for Ant and Dec
It was cruel of the BBC's Andrew Marr to compare David Cameron and George Osborne to the TV presenters Ant and Dec writes Andy Stowe . One pair does nothing more than host frothy light enter…
13 November 2014 ·
Lutfur Rahman rallies support against Tory Islamophobes
Upwards of a thousand Tower Hamlets residents packed into a meeting to defend the east London borough’s directly elected mayor, Lutfur Rahman writes Andy Stowe . Rahman, who describes himsel…
6 April 2014 ·
Why are the Tories, the BBC and Labour out for Luftur Rahman?
Andy Stowe looks at what's behind the co-ordinated attacks by Labour, the Tories and the BBC on Tower Hamlets mayor Luftur Rahman Peter Davies was best man at the wedding of Chancellor of th…