Renewal
@renewaljournal.bsky.social
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
Subscribe here: https://renewal.org.uk/
Subscribe here: https://renewal.org.uk/
Reposted by Renewal
Great piece by @neilwarner.bsky.social in the latest and fabulous issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social. As he says, the social-Democratic left has much to gain from a more robust anti-oligarchy narrative.
renewal.org.uk/articles/ant...
renewal.org.uk/articles/ant...
Anti-oligarchy as anti-fascism
03 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Warner03 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Warner.pdf95 KBdownload-circle
Progressive responses to the rise of the far right have often been confused due to a tendency to overemphasise its dis...
renewal.org.uk
January 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Great piece by @neilwarner.bsky.social in the latest and fabulous issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social. As he says, the social-Democratic left has much to gain from a more robust anti-oligarchy narrative.
renewal.org.uk/articles/ant...
renewal.org.uk/articles/ant...
Wise words from a valued contributor
The team running @renewaljournal.bsky.social are among the smartest people I know and it's a much-needed venue for fresh thinking, so I'm very chuffed about this:
On Tuesday @philtinline.bsky.social launched a new @futuregovforum.bsky.social report: 'Power Failure: a new theory of power'. Thanks to Phil for an extract of this report, on power shifts and democratic disengagement, new in Renewal online:
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
January 29, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Wise words from a valued contributor
Reposted by Renewal
Very pleased to make my debut in @renewaljournal.bsky.social online today, with an essay about how politics got stuck, drawing on the ideas of @dsquareddigest.bsky.social @abbyinnes.bsky.social Theodore Porter, James C. Scott, Marc Dunkelman, Lisa Miller and others:
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
Disempowering the public
For those leading relatively empowered lives, interrogating power risks stirring up needless conflict. But in the face of warnings that ‘the sense of disempowerment people feel over their everyday liv...
renewal.org.uk
January 28, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Very pleased to make my debut in @renewaljournal.bsky.social online today, with an essay about how politics got stuck, drawing on the ideas of @dsquareddigest.bsky.social @abbyinnes.bsky.social Theodore Porter, James C. Scott, Marc Dunkelman, Lisa Miller and others:
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
On Tuesday @philtinline.bsky.social launched a new @futuregovforum.bsky.social report: 'Power Failure: a new theory of power'. Thanks to Phil for an extract of this report, on power shifts and democratic disengagement, new in Renewal online:
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
Disempowering the public
For those leading relatively empowered lives, interrogating power risks stirring up needless conflict. But in the face of warnings that ‘the sense of disempowerment people feel over their everyday liv...
renewal.org.uk
January 29, 2026 at 2:22 PM
On Tuesday @philtinline.bsky.social launched a new @futuregovforum.bsky.social report: 'Power Failure: a new theory of power'. Thanks to Phil for an extract of this report, on power shifts and democratic disengagement, new in Renewal online:
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...
Reposted by Renewal
Another example is some of Mamdani's language, e.g. "if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The full transcript of Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech after being elected NYC mayor
Mayor-elect centered affordability and the working people of the city in his speech while emphasizing: ‘Hope is alive’
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Another example is some of Mamdani's language, e.g. "if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Renewal
Draws on the Fighting Oligarchy Tour of AOC & Bernie, the New Deal, Popular Front, a range of historic and recent literature on fascism and/or neoliberalism, and analogies between political & economic authoritarianism now being used on the far right (e.g. Thiel, Yarvin, 'CEO-monarch' idea)
January 27, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Draws on the Fighting Oligarchy Tour of AOC & Bernie, the New Deal, Popular Front, a range of historic and recent literature on fascism and/or neoliberalism, and analogies between political & economic authoritarianism now being used on the far right (e.g. Thiel, Yarvin, 'CEO-monarch' idea)
Reposted by Renewal
I enjoyed writing this in the great new issue of Renewal. It's an effort to think through how fighting the far right should be integrated with campaigns for economic alternatives in a "postneoliberal" context
FREE TO READ: Neil Warner (@neilwarner.bsky.social) argues social democrats must connect the far-right threat to authoritarianism already present within neoliberalism, and calls for a cross-scale anti-authoritarian agenda to counter concentrations of both political economic power
Anti-oligarchy as anti-fascism
03 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Warner03 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Warner.pdf95 KBdownload-circle
Progressive responses to the rise of the far right have often been confused due to a tendency to overemphasise its dis...
renewal.org.uk
January 27, 2026 at 4:55 PM
I enjoyed writing this in the great new issue of Renewal. It's an effort to think through how fighting the far right should be integrated with campaigns for economic alternatives in a "postneoliberal" context
Reposted by Renewal
Am pleased that my editorial for @renewaljournal.bsky.social is now online.
It was written back in September, but it seems even clearer now that the choice really is between social democracy and the (tech) bros.
renewal.org.uk/articles/rit...
It was written back in September, but it seems even clearer now that the choice really is between social democracy and the (tech) bros.
renewal.org.uk/articles/rit...
Rita Hinden memorial lecture: Why Labour mustn't lose: social democracy vs the bros’
Dr. Rita Hinden (1909-1971) was a socialist and internationalist activist who played an important role in the intellectual life of the mid-twentieth century Labour Party - most notably as founder of…
renewal.org.uk
January 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Am pleased that my editorial for @renewaljournal.bsky.social is now online.
It was written back in September, but it seems even clearer now that the choice really is between social democracy and the (tech) bros.
renewal.org.uk/articles/rit...
It was written back in September, but it seems even clearer now that the choice really is between social democracy and the (tech) bros.
renewal.org.uk/articles/rit...
Reposted by Renewal
Good piece that offers a guide to break out of the low-trust doom loop.
Centre-left politicians and parties should have respect for the "intellectual capacities of the public", make clear who its people are and communicate the choices and trade offs they're making.
Centre-left politicians and parties should have respect for the "intellectual capacities of the public", make clear who its people are and communicate the choices and trade offs they're making.
FREE TO READ: Rebecca Goldsmith (@beccagold.bsky.social) argues that post-war Labour governments suceeded electorally by channelling voters' desire for the "good life", and warns the contemporary Labour Party against underestimating public idealism
Progressive politics, trust, and the ‘good life’
08 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Goldsmith08 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Goldsmith.pdf79 KBdownload-circle
The Starmer administration has been widely criticised for failing to articulate a positive vision of change. In ...
renewal.org.uk
January 23, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Good piece that offers a guide to break out of the low-trust doom loop.
Centre-left politicians and parties should have respect for the "intellectual capacities of the public", make clear who its people are and communicate the choices and trade offs they're making.
Centre-left politicians and parties should have respect for the "intellectual capacities of the public", make clear who its people are and communicate the choices and trade offs they're making.
Reposted by Renewal
The recent rhapsodising about Carney’s Davos speech and Canada’s repositioning in the new world order has reminded me of my piece on what Starmer can learn from Canada in @renewaljournal.bsky.social, from back in March:
renewal.org.uk/blog/sleepin...
renewal.org.uk/blog/sleepin...
January 23, 2026 at 2:46 PM
The recent rhapsodising about Carney’s Davos speech and Canada’s repositioning in the new world order has reminded me of my piece on what Starmer can learn from Canada in @renewaljournal.bsky.social, from back in March:
renewal.org.uk/blog/sleepin...
renewal.org.uk/blog/sleepin...
Reposted by Renewal
It’s been a real treat to help with this issue. Huge credit to @morganj0nes.bsky.social and @neilwarner.bsky.social for bringing it together. There are some great free-to-read pieces (including Neil’s excellent article on anti-oligarchy as anti-fascism), but you should subscribe for the full thing!
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 6:57 PM
It’s been a real treat to help with this issue. Huge credit to @morganj0nes.bsky.social and @neilwarner.bsky.social for bringing it together. There are some great free-to-read pieces (including Neil’s excellent article on anti-oligarchy as anti-fascism), but you should subscribe for the full thing!
Reposted by Renewal
It's a pleasure to contribute to Renewal's special issue on Labour in power (though unfortunately it's behind a paywall)
SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: with the Labour government facing increasingly painful trade-offs on taxes and spending, Peter Sloman (@pjsloman.bsky.social) discusses the sources and limitations of the Starmer-Reeves approach to fiscal policy
The real cost of a Labour government
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 8:00 PM
It's a pleasure to contribute to Renewal's special issue on Labour in power (though unfortunately it's behind a paywall)
Reposted by Renewal
May have more to say later but just to trumpet that I’m in RENEWAL, and in the same double issue as the Labour Minister who resigned in part over the gendered impacts of the aid cuts and a Labour MP calling for an extra dose of feminism.
FREE TO READ: Paul Kirby traces the history of Labour's long-standing feminist ambitions in the international sphere, and laments their apparent death amidst swingeing aid cuts
The Strange Death of Feminist Internationalism
07 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Kirby07 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Kirby.pdf105 KBdownload-circle
The history of Labour’s international development policy has long been intertwined with its views and aims on gender eq...
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 5:58 PM
May have more to say later but just to trumpet that I’m in RENEWAL, and in the same double issue as the Labour Minister who resigned in part over the gendered impacts of the aid cuts and a Labour MP calling for an extra dose of feminism.
Reposted by Renewal
So pleased to be part of this, reflecting on the fraught place of disability in Labour's history, distant and recent
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 5:43 PM
So pleased to be part of this, reflecting on the fraught place of disability in Labour's history, distant and recent
Reposted by Renewal
My belated Christmas present - a jampacked double issue of Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy.
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 5:28 PM
My belated Christmas present - a jampacked double issue of Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy.
Reposted by Renewal
Very pleased to have contributed to this fascinating double issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social.
SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: George Peretz (@georgeperetzkc.bsky.social) of @soclablaw.bsky.social analyses the evolution of Labour's approach to the courts over the course of the twentieth century, and makes an argument for what social democratic judicial politics should look like
From coldness to warmth: Labour’s legal turn
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Very pleased to have contributed to this fascinating double issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social.
Reposted by Renewal
Absolute blockbuster of a new issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, edited by @morganj0nes.bsky.social @neilwarner.bsky.social and @beccagold.bsky.social which takes a big picture view of the past year and a half of Labour government.
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Absolute blockbuster of a new issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, edited by @morganj0nes.bsky.social @neilwarner.bsky.social and @beccagold.bsky.social which takes a big picture view of the past year and a half of Labour government.
Reposted by Renewal
I’ve written an essay about Labor’s 2025 #ausvotes landslide for the upcoming issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social to give a global social democratic audience a better sense of what happened #auspol
We've also got fantastic essays on:
- the state of social democracy in Scotland and Australia
- Labour's approach to disability, industrial strategy, tech policy, and fiscal rules
- the legacy of Eurocommunism
- the fracturing of Labour's coalition
- the state of social democracy in Scotland and Australia
- Labour's approach to disability, industrial strategy, tech policy, and fiscal rules
- the legacy of Eurocommunism
- the fracturing of Labour's coalition
January 11, 2026 at 8:19 AM
I’ve written an essay about Labor’s 2025 #ausvotes landslide for the upcoming issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social to give a global social democratic audience a better sense of what happened #auspol
Reposted by Renewal
There's some wonderful writing from @febalata.bsky.social in this edition of Renewal, on how extreme wealth undermines democracy, blocks attempts at justice, and on how the fight against it has got to be a core priority of modern progressive politics.
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 2:19 PM
There's some wonderful writing from @febalata.bsky.social in this edition of Renewal, on how extreme wealth undermines democracy, blocks attempts at justice, and on how the fight against it has got to be a core priority of modern progressive politics.
Reposted by Renewal
The new (double!) issue of "Renewal - a journal of social democracy" is now available both online and in print, featuring brilliant contributions from historians, sociologists, political scientists, think tank researchers, and activists (and even the odd Labour MP)
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 2:55 PM
The new (double!) issue of "Renewal - a journal of social democracy" is now available both online and in print, featuring brilliant contributions from historians, sociologists, political scientists, think tank researchers, and activists (and even the odd Labour MP)
Reposted by Renewal
Back into writing this year and I'm in the latest edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social with a piece looking at Scottish social democracy, the structural challenges it faces and the spectre of a Scottish far-right.
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Back into writing this year and I'm in the latest edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social with a piece looking at Scottish social democracy, the structural challenges it faces and the spectre of a Scottish far-right.
Reposted by Renewal
very pleased to see this out!!!
Me on the state of Labour‘s “hard” left, the rise to prominence of the “soft” left, and the prospects of cooperation between the two in order to save the party from electoral calamity.
Me on the state of Labour‘s “hard” left, the rise to prominence of the “soft” left, and the prospects of cooperation between the two in order to save the party from electoral calamity.
FREE TO READ: Alfie Steer (@alfiesteer.bsky.social) looks at the state of Labour's diminished hard left, and considers the prospect for cooperation between it and other factions
The Absolute State of the Labour Left
20 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Steer20 Renewal 33.3-33.4_Steer.pdf104 KBdownload-circle
The Labour left under Starmer is at a low ebb. But while it might be marginalised, its politics remain popular amongst ...
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 4:15 PM
very pleased to see this out!!!
Me on the state of Labour‘s “hard” left, the rise to prominence of the “soft” left, and the prospects of cooperation between the two in order to save the party from electoral calamity.
Me on the state of Labour‘s “hard” left, the rise to prominence of the “soft” left, and the prospects of cooperation between the two in order to save the party from electoral calamity.
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Volume 33, Issue 3-4
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
renewal.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 1:46 PM
NEW ISSUE: Renewal 33/3&4
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Guest co-edited by @neilwarner.bsky.social & @beccagold.bsky.social, this special double issue features nineteen (19) brilliant essays analysing Labour's statecraft and debating the strategic challenges for social democracy in Britain and beyond
Reposted by Renewal
And what does Will Stancil think? @renewaljournal.bsky.social interviewed him a few months back: renewal.org.uk/blog/all-tha...
January 12, 2026 at 8:02 PM
And what does Will Stancil think? @renewaljournal.bsky.social interviewed him a few months back: renewal.org.uk/blog/all-tha...
Reposted by Renewal
You should get the next issue of Renewal because I wrote something about Scottish social democracy.
We've also got fantastic essays on:
- the state of social democracy in Scotland and Australia
- Labour's approach to disability, industrial strategy, tech policy, and fiscal rules
- the legacy of Eurocommunism
- the fracturing of Labour's coalition
- the state of social democracy in Scotland and Australia
- Labour's approach to disability, industrial strategy, tech policy, and fiscal rules
- the legacy of Eurocommunism
- the fracturing of Labour's coalition
January 10, 2026 at 4:43 PM
You should get the next issue of Renewal because I wrote something about Scottish social democracy.