Russell Elliott
@russell-conwy.bsky.social
'To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing' Raymond Williams.
Eco-socialist, soft Left, Compass, PCS #AuDHD
Eco-socialist, soft Left, Compass, PCS #AuDHD
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Your Party members have decided to name their fledgling entity Your Party. Meanwhile the right-wing propaganda machine continues its campaign to destroy the last vestiges of the social contract between government & citizens. Maybe resisting that should be a priority for any serious left?
November 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Your Party members have decided to name their fledgling entity Your Party. Meanwhile the right-wing propaganda machine continues its campaign to destroy the last vestiges of the social contract between government & citizens. Maybe resisting that should be a priority for any serious left?
Reposted by Russell Elliott
I'm surprised they didn't end up voting for something like "Party McPartyface" with how the rest of the conference has been going 🤣
November 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I'm surprised they didn't end up voting for something like "Party McPartyface" with how the rest of the conference has been going 🤣
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Always good when the people responsible for the problem start denouncing it and telling you only idiots could’ve been taken in.
November 30, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Always good when the people responsible for the problem start denouncing it and telling you only idiots could’ve been taken in.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
I see that - like Cummings - we’re moving from “Morgan is a genius, his PowerPoint presentations are legendary, let’s print everything he sends us on WhatsApp as roaring banner front page headlines” to “What kind of fucking imbecile would ever listen to this clueless no-talent chump”.
The rise and fall of the superadviser, and the future of Morgan McSweeney | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 30, 2025 at 8:37 AM
I see that - like Cummings - we’re moving from “Morgan is a genius, his PowerPoint presentations are legendary, let’s print everything he sends us on WhatsApp as roaring banner front page headlines” to “What kind of fucking imbecile would ever listen to this clueless no-talent chump”.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
the implications of Trump’s playing with tariffs. His book is for everyone who wants to really understand the mess we are in, which means – it is for everyone.” [3/3]
www.versobooks.com/products/337...
www.versobooks.com/products/337...
The Story of Capital
For decades, David Harvey has been teaching Marx's work, particularly Capital, to great acclaim. He has analysed chapter by chapter - sometimes line-by-line - Marx's three volumes and the Grundrisse. ...
www.versobooks.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:04 PM
the implications of Trump’s playing with tariffs. His book is for everyone who wants to really understand the mess we are in, which means – it is for everyone.” [3/3]
www.versobooks.com/products/337...
www.versobooks.com/products/337...
Reposted by Russell Elliott
His knowledge goes well beyond the generalities of commodity fetishism and capitalist exploitation of nature. Although often critical of Marx, he uses Marx to explain problems we are experiencing today, from 2008 meltdown to the return of rents and [2/3]
November 29, 2025 at 4:04 PM
His knowledge goes well beyond the generalities of commodity fetishism and capitalist exploitation of nature. Although often critical of Marx, he uses Marx to explain problems we are experiencing today, from 2008 meltdown to the return of rents and [2/3]
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Slavoj Žižek: “David Harvey unites the impossible: a broad global theoretical approach to capitalism with detailed economic analyses. As every good dialectician, he knows how to recognize a general tendency in what appears as marginal accidents of economic daily life. [1/3]
November 29, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Slavoj Žižek: “David Harvey unites the impossible: a broad global theoretical approach to capitalism with detailed economic analyses. As every good dialectician, he knows how to recognize a general tendency in what appears as marginal accidents of economic daily life. [1/3]
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Capitalism manufactures demand to meet its capacity to produce junk, and feed its insatiable desire for growth. It uses artificial scarcity to pit people against each other, when it could easily just make enough for everyone. And it never, ever ends.
www.currentaffairs.org/news/black-f...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/black-f...
Black Friday, Red Tower
Every year, Americans hurt and kill each other fighting over Black Friday deals. To understand why, turn to nihilist horror author Thomas Ligotti.
www.currentaffairs.org
November 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Capitalism manufactures demand to meet its capacity to produce junk, and feed its insatiable desire for growth. It uses artificial scarcity to pit people against each other, when it could easily just make enough for everyone. And it never, ever ends.
www.currentaffairs.org/news/black-f...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/black-f...
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Mainstream politics are broken in the UK. Labour, Tories & Reform cling to the same discredited economic & social model. There was a constituency for the Corbyn-Sultana Your Party but they have blown it with ego & SWP entryism. Sad but a good day for the Greens.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Your Party conference thrown into chaos as Zarah Sultana boycotts first day
Sultana skips Saturday’s proceeding in solidarity with delegates expelled over links to other parties
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Mainstream politics are broken in the UK. Labour, Tories & Reform cling to the same discredited economic & social model. There was a constituency for the Corbyn-Sultana Your Party but they have blown it with ego & SWP entryism. Sad but a good day for the Greens.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Russell Elliott
I mean, she's not from the far left factions herself. I do think there's strong evidence that she's believed her own hype and thinks she's the big cheese - she's demonstrated very few leadership qualities at all in this - but she's not part of the alphabet spaghetti
November 29, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I mean, she's not from the far left factions herself. I do think there's strong evidence that she's believed her own hype and thinks she's the big cheese - she's demonstrated very few leadership qualities at all in this - but she's not part of the alphabet spaghetti
Reposted by Russell Elliott
It's not my fight, but Your Party was absolutely right to insist on no double-party memberships for this precise reason, and absolutely right to kick out the SWP because they're the SWP for fuck sake.
November 29, 2025 at 2:19 PM
It's not my fight, but Your Party was absolutely right to insist on no double-party memberships for this precise reason, and absolutely right to kick out the SWP because they're the SWP for fuck sake.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Polanski's advantage with the Greens is not having to deal with factional far left bullshit. Sultana's complacent naivety is thinking factional far left bullshit can somehow be put to good use.
November 29, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Polanski's advantage with the Greens is not having to deal with factional far left bullshit. Sultana's complacent naivety is thinking factional far left bullshit can somehow be put to good use.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
I understand the political party that the independents wanted and what its distinctive, seat-winning position that the Greens or any of the parties of the far left could not occupy. I do not, absolutely do not, understand at any level what Zarah Sultana is seeking to accomplish.
November 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I understand the political party that the independents wanted and what its distinctive, seat-winning position that the Greens or any of the parties of the far left could not occupy. I do not, absolutely do not, understand at any level what Zarah Sultana is seeking to accomplish.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Are there any other countries whose "patriotic" publications pay foreigners to write about what a hellhole they think their country is?
November 28, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Are there any other countries whose "patriotic" publications pay foreigners to write about what a hellhole they think their country is?
Reposted by Russell Elliott
a great example of New Labour's anti-intellectual style that I'd completely forgot: bsky.app/profile/casm...
One forgotten aspect of "Cool Britannia" were ministers bragging about how they loved Britpop rather than stuffy old opera and classical music. I remember a Radio 4 Arts panel in 1998 where some fruity-voiced chap was furious that they were all about Oasis and The Verve instead of Michael Tippett.
November 28, 2025 at 8:36 PM
a great example of New Labour's anti-intellectual style that I'd completely forgot: bsky.app/profile/casm...
Reposted by Russell Elliott
But the trouble with Blue Labour is that while there is some intellectual groundwork there, it's (a) obscured by Glasman's idiotic braying and (b) leads the party to electoral toxicity
It's not that it's anti-intellectual, but that it doesn't work strategically (partly as it's morally abhorrent)
It's not that it's anti-intellectual, but that it doesn't work strategically (partly as it's morally abhorrent)
November 28, 2025 at 5:36 PM
But the trouble with Blue Labour is that while there is some intellectual groundwork there, it's (a) obscured by Glasman's idiotic braying and (b) leads the party to electoral toxicity
It's not that it's anti-intellectual, but that it doesn't work strategically (partly as it's morally abhorrent)
It's not that it's anti-intellectual, but that it doesn't work strategically (partly as it's morally abhorrent)
Reposted by Russell Elliott
I say this as someone who is very much anti-intellectual - few politicians in this country did more to make anti-intellectualism central to political communication than Tony Blair
He wasn't anti-intellectual himself, but New Labour was very self-conscious about cultivating a "common touch"
He wasn't anti-intellectual himself, but New Labour was very self-conscious about cultivating a "common touch"
November 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I say this as someone who is very much anti-intellectual - few politicians in this country did more to make anti-intellectualism central to political communication than Tony Blair
He wasn't anti-intellectual himself, but New Labour was very self-conscious about cultivating a "common touch"
He wasn't anti-intellectual himself, but New Labour was very self-conscious about cultivating a "common touch"
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Since its Friday night and we all love a laugh, here’s my theory of how the Glorious Revolution in 1688 has been at the core of British governance ever since.
November 28, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Since its Friday night and we all love a laugh, here’s my theory of how the Glorious Revolution in 1688 has been at the core of British governance ever since.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
The News Cycle is so quick that it seems to have entirely missed a Brexit/Reform party member being sent to prison for 10 1/2 years for taking bribes from Russia
November 23, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The News Cycle is so quick that it seems to have entirely missed a Brexit/Reform party member being sent to prison for 10 1/2 years for taking bribes from Russia
Reposted by Russell Elliott
It’s a sign of how insane the news cycle is these days that this historic failure of government policy got just one day of news coverage this week.
Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it’s astonishing how quickly the agenda moves on these days.
Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it’s astonishing how quickly the agenda moves on these days.
BREAKING: UK’s response to Covid was “too little too late”. Acting faster could have saved 23,000 lives in England according to the public inquiry.
Boris Johnson presided over a “toxic, sexist, chaotic culture” in No10, where rule-breaking seriously undermined public confidence.
Boris Johnson presided over a “toxic, sexist, chaotic culture” in No10, where rule-breaking seriously undermined public confidence.
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
It’s a sign of how insane the news cycle is these days that this historic failure of government policy got just one day of news coverage this week.
Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it’s astonishing how quickly the agenda moves on these days.
Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it’s astonishing how quickly the agenda moves on these days.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
It's democratic socialists who are trying to rebuild grassroots democratic politics in the United States.
November 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
It's democratic socialists who are trying to rebuild grassroots democratic politics in the United States.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Everyone who cares about defending our civil liberties should be speaking out about this gross injustice.
November 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Everyone who cares about defending our civil liberties should be speaking out about this gross injustice.
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Six prisoners for Palestine are nearing their *fourth week* on hunger strike.
They are facing two years on remand without trial. They demand bail, a fair trial, an end to counter-terror powers used on protesters and the deproscription of Palestine Action
They are facing two years on remand without trial. They demand bail, a fair trial, an end to counter-terror powers used on protesters and the deproscription of Palestine Action
November 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Six prisoners for Palestine are nearing their *fourth week* on hunger strike.
They are facing two years on remand without trial. They demand bail, a fair trial, an end to counter-terror powers used on protesters and the deproscription of Palestine Action
They are facing two years on remand without trial. They demand bail, a fair trial, an end to counter-terror powers used on protesters and the deproscription of Palestine Action
Reposted by Russell Elliott
Worth remembering as this unfolds that it was disabled people and people from ethnic minority backgrounds who disproportionately died. Tens of thousands needlessly lost their lives, many who died alone or with just an iPad. Thousands more were left with life changing Long Covid. A true scandal.
BREAKING: The UK’s response to Covid was “too little, too late”, a damning official report on the handling of the pandemic has concluded, saying the introduction of a lockdown even a week earlier than happened could have saved more than 20,000 lives.
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Worth remembering as this unfolds that it was disabled people and people from ethnic minority backgrounds who disproportionately died. Tens of thousands needlessly lost their lives, many who died alone or with just an iPad. Thousands more were left with life changing Long Covid. A true scandal.