Category: Blog

photo of the outside of the Croatian parliament
Blog
Rafael Ramesa

Croatian politics: a game played by many, won by the HDZ

The 2021 landslide victory in the Zagreb mayoral elections for Tomislav Tomašević was akin to a coronation for the ‘new’ progressive forces in Croatia. The green-left platform ‘Možemo!’ (We Can!) showed that they can reach out to a wide audience. At the same time, a world-renowned physicist, Ivica Puljak, won

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Blog
Nikola Burazer

Serbia in crisis: Can authoritarian trends be reversed?

Despite making progress in EU accession negotiations since 2014, Serbia is a country which has witnessed major democratic backsliding in recent years. Ever since Srpska napredna stranka (Serbian Progressive Party, SNS), led by Aleksandar Vučić, won an absolute majority of seats in the national parliament in 2014, the country entered

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Blog
Harry Parsons

Making Private Equity Work for a Progressive Britain

Overleverage, short-termism and asset stripping must be countered with progressive policies Wielding record levels of cash, US private equity (PE) firms are bargain hunting in Britain, buying up more companies in the first six months of 2021 than ever before. The Conservatives champion ‘Global Britain’, however, they allow our assets

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Blog
Paul Richards

Could the Corbyn party win in North London?

Could Jeremy Corbyn win as an independent? Or will he just serve as a distraction to the fight against the Tories? The Daily Telegraph reports that Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour MP for Islington North, is contemplating starting a new far-left political party using the resources of the ‘Peace and

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Blog
Rishi Patel

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (find out what it means for Labour.)

He’s less glamourous. He’s certainly quieter. But last month, a new voice gave Aretha a run for her money by calling for a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t. The people of Germany listened. Olaf Scholz, Germany’s new Social Democrat Chancellor and leader of a new governing coalition, defied expectations with his methodical and

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Blog
Paul Richards

Momentum says ‘stay and sulk’ — we say ‘stay and fight’

Latest momentum briefing reveals  the widespread chaos and confusion on the hard left Congratulations to Helen Morgan, emphatic victor in the North Shropshire by-election. The electorate’s revulsion at government hypocrisy was matched only by their sophistication in how to best register their protest. As in Eastbourne over Thatcher and poll tax,

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A voter behind a screen in Bosnia and Hezegovina's 2016 general election
Blog
Nedim Hogić

Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Case of Outsourced Politics?

The first essay in Progressive Britain’s new ‘Spotlight on the Western Balkans’ series. Following Bosnian politics can be a daunting task. The country is stuck in a vicious cycle that can make events appear repetitive without any clear possibility for change – at least without the intervention of external actors.

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Blog
Andrew Lewin

Welfare reform: giving back to the people who have paid in

Labour can tackle both political and economic challenges through contributory welfare I am confident that most people who have knocked on a door in an election campaign and had a discussion turn to benefits or pensions, will have spoken to a voter who has said something like: – “I have paid

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Fort in the bay of Kotor, Montenegro
Blog
Milica Delevic

Why “groundhog day” in the Western Balkans is bad news for Europe

Milica Delevic introduces Progressive Britain’s new ‘Spotlight on the Western Balkans’ series. After having been a major focus throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the countries of the Western Balkans (that is to say, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) have largely dropped off the

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Blog
Christabel Cooper

The Rise and Fall of Johnsonism

Johnsonism has been a hard target for Labour to directly attack, but there are now signs that it is struggling. Labour has a chance to present a vision of the Britain where things aren’t “just about OK” What is Johnsonism? Following Rishi Sunak’s Budget, plenty of commentators felt they knew.

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