Author Archives: Chris Saltmarsh
7 things I’ve learned as a climate activist
I have been active in the climate justice movement for almost seven years to the day. I was part of environmental campaigns at college, but it really started for me…
If the left is serious about tackling climate change, we need to back HS2
Sections of the UK’s terminally incoherent environmental movement have chosen High Speed 2 (HS2) as their latest object of opposition. The planned high-speed rail system was first proposed in 2009…
Joe Biden ought to listen to the Sunrise Movement on the Green New Deal
In November 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was first elected to Congress and the Sunrise Movement thrust the Green New Deal into the mainstream by occupying Nancy Pelosi’s office. The Presidential election…
The future of the Labour Left under Keir Starmer
After four and a half years of dominance in the Labour Party, the Labour Left have lost control of the leadership and the National Executive Committee with the election of…
What does Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet mean for the Labour Left?
As Keir Starmer’s election as Leader of the Labour Party became increasingly inevitable over the three and a half months following Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation, Labour Party hacks had to turn…
Where Rebecca Long-Bailey went wrong
Jeremy Corbyn famously said during the 2019 General Election that: "There is no such thing as Corbynism. There is socialism, there is social justice.” If Corbynism did ever exist as…
The success of the student divestment campaign shows what the climate movement can deliver
Over half of UK universities have now made a commitment to divest from fossil fuels in some way. Of the 78 divested institutions, a majority of their commitments cover all…
Keir Starmer’s pledge to ‘end factionalism’ would take Labour back to vapid personality politics
Image credit: Chatham House - Creative Commons Keir Starmer’s campaign to be Leader of the Labour Party has so far pitched left narratively, hamming up his history of supporting unions…
What do Greens and the billionaire press have in common?
Monday morning began with some confusion for Labour activists as Barry Gardiner, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, responded poorly when questioned about Labour’s decarbonisation plans on Radio…
Talking Brexit on the doorstep
This election is about far more than Brexit. The social fabric of this country and global climate stability is at stake. However, canvassing for Labour since the election was called,…