Renewal
A quarterly journal of politics and ideas, committed to exploring and expanding the radical potential of social democracy.
Subscribe here: renewal.org.uk
- Reposted by RenewalGreat 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...
- 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:
- Reposted by RenewalVery 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...
- 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...
- Reposted by RenewalAnother 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...
- Reposted by RenewalDraws 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 RenewalI 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
- Reposted by RenewalAm 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...
- Reposted by RenewalGood 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.
- 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
- Reposted by RenewalThe 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...
- Reposted by RenewalIt’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
- Reposted by RenewalIt'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
- Reposted by RenewalMay 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 RenewalSo 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
- Reposted by RenewalMy 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
- Reposted by RenewalVery 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
- Reposted by RenewalAbsolute 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
- Reposted by RenewalI’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 RenewalThere'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
- Reposted by RenewalThe 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
- Reposted by RenewalBack 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
- Reposted by Renewalvery 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.
- 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
- 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
- Topics covered include: - Labour's approach to fiscal policy, welfare, and industrial strategy - Threats from oligarchy, extreme wealth, and Big Tech - The ideological legacies of Eurocommunism and feminist internationalism Subscribe now for full online access, and/or to receive your print copy:
- FREE TO READ: Anneliese Dodds's (@anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social) Rita Hinden Memorial Lecture, setting out the limits of deliverism, the tech bro threat, and the need for social democrats to defend a form of democracy that is centred on human relationships and connections
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View full threadSUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Sarah Owen MP (@sarahowen.org.uk), Chair of the House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee, argues that faced with a Reform party "fundamentally opposed to women’s safety and equality", Labour should make feminism central to its politics
- Reposted by RenewalAnd what does Will Stancil think? @renewaljournal.bsky.social interviewed him a few months back: renewal.org.uk/blog/all-tha...
- Reposted by RenewalYou should get the next issue of Renewal because I wrote something about Scottish social democracy.
- Reposted by RenewalPlus @christabelcoops.bsky.social @redrabbleroz.bsky.social @marzmac.bsky.social @lucydelap.bsky.social and many more! For full and unfettered access to the issue (online and in a lovely print edition) when it comes out I think you should subscribe here: renewal.org.uk
- Reposted by RenewalIt also has my fabulous issue co-editors @beccagold.bsky.social (writing about social democratic ideas of the good life) and @neilwarner.bsky.social (writing about anti-oligarchy as anti-fascism).
- Reposted by RenewalThe issue features @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social's Rita Hinden lecture on how social democracy should relate to big tech; @sarahowen.org.uk on Labour as a feminist project; @alistrathern.bsky.social on 'commuter Labour'; and @pollybillington.bsky.social on the party's narrative.
- Reposted by RenewalWe're putting the finishing touches on the next issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, which is a double issue about Labour's time in power.
- Reposted by RenewalThe new edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social is one of the most exciting yet, featuring essays from four Labour MPs, as well as from some of the sharpest writers and academics from across the wider left. Subscribe now to get the print edition delivered straight to your doorstep! renewal.org.uk
- The issue features @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social's Rita Hinden lecture on how social democracy should relate to big tech; @sarahowen.org.uk on Labour as a feminist project; @alistrathern.bsky.social on 'commuter Labour'; and @pollybillington.bsky.social on the party's narrative.
- Reposted by RenewalAn excellent review of our Radical Abundance book from Anna Coote.
- "The way to achieve ‘radical abundance’, meaning enough for all, is not to pursue more growth but to shift the balance of power" Anna Coote of @neweconomics.bsky.social reviews "Radical Abundance" by @kaiheron.bsky.social, @kmilb.bsky.social & @bertrussell.bsky.social
- "The way to achieve ‘radical abundance’, meaning enough for all, is not to pursue more growth but to shift the balance of power" Anna Coote of @neweconomics.bsky.social reviews "Radical Abundance" by @kaiheron.bsky.social, @kmilb.bsky.social & @bertrussell.bsky.social
- Reposted by RenewalI have a piece in the upcoming Winter 2026 double issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social that goes through Australian Labor’s tumultuous first term & explains how the “centre left revival” occurred so keep an eye out
- Reposted by RenewalCompletely right from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com that we are increasingly in an age of zero-sum politics. In the latest edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social wrote about what this means for social democrats: renewal.org.uk/articles/soc...
- www.ft.com/content/30a4... Very good frame from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
- Reposted by RenewalRead the full piece, and my recommendations, in @renewaljournal.bsky.social here (thanks @dmk1793.bsky.social for editing and publishing!) renewal.org.uk/blog/a-custo...
- Reposted by RenewalI'm in the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social & @renewaljournal.bsky.social today arguing why rejoining the EU Customs Union won't fix Labour's growth woes. The basic reason: UK and European stagnation predate Brexit, and the real challenge is competing with US and Chinese dynamism.
- "Joining the Customs Union would most likely be good for growth. But if we think it will save us from economic stagnation, we are suffering from a very British form of exceptionalism." David Lawrence of @britishprogress.org argues that a Customs Union is not a cure-all for growth
- With Resident Doctors set to go ahead later this week, it is worth revisiting this piece by @m-ttpa.bsky.social from August on how Britain's broken industrial relations system is an obstacle to negotiation and compromise
- Reposted by RenewalAs with many other questions these days, the closest thing we have to an actual real existing answer to this question in my mind is @renewaljournal.bsky.social
- Reposted by RenewalBefore that a piece first published in @renewaljournal.bsky.social argued for a social democratic futurism. It has a lot of similar themes to Morozov’s piece. I sketched a combo of public automation partnerships, recursive publics and v-Taiwan style deliberation there
- Reposted by RenewalAt this time of growing division and anger, we should remember what defines and unites Britain. Our country is strongest when we're united. When our different communities come together to build a common nation. When we draw renewal.org.uk/blog/a-unite...
- Thank you to @jeevunsandher.bsky.social for writing for Renewal Online about his vision for a united Britain
- Reposted by RenewalRe-upping this excellent little essay @demofuturist.bsky.social wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social, which I continue to think is an extremely pithy and insightful bit of analysis on this topic:
- Reposted by RenewalOne of my favourite recent pieces we’ve published online in @renewaljournal.bsky.social - Archie Cornish on the allotment and the missed opportunity for a modern politics of the commons
- "allotments encapsulate the merits and limits of social democracy: on the one hand, they represent a foot in the door of socio-economic equality; on the other, they belie a compromise that forecloses on something more radical" Archie Cornish on the politics of allotmenteering
- Good to see a Renewal contributing editor gracing our TV screens
- Public vs private sector productivity is often debated — but rarely understood. 📺 @parth0.bsky.social on #PoliticsLive 👇
- Reposted by Renewal[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by RenewalWrote my take on the retreat on day one rights against unfair dismissal, for Renewal. Basically Labour made a promise it turned out it couldn't deliver, a small group of serious trade unions then decided to try to salvage this, but this isn't without severe trade offs renewal.org.uk/blog/pragmat...
- "Trade union pragmatism wins out once again" For Renewal Online, @m-ttpa.bsky.social analyses the causes and consequences of the government's back-track on "day-one protections" renewal.org.uk/blog/pragmat...
- Reposted by RenewalA short piece for Renewal on how the government's failure to present a consistent political argument is, despite its "long-termist" rhetoric, about not being orientated towards a political vision for the future.
- "If the government is to have any hope of getting itself back into the driver’s seat of our political moment, of getting its future back, it must start arguing in terms of a bold and coherent vision for the future." @mbarnfield.bsky.social on the budget and the government's empty long-termism
- "If the government is to have any hope of getting itself back into the driver’s seat of our political moment, of getting its future back, it must start arguing in terms of a bold and coherent vision for the future." @mbarnfield.bsky.social on the budget and the government's empty long-termism
- Great to hear @jydenham.bsky.social's Renewal essay from 2024 - "Whither the soft left?" - discussed in the latest episode of @steverichards.bsky.social's "Rock and Roll Politics" podcast: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
- John's essay is available in full here: renewal.org.uk/articles/whi...
- Reposted by RenewalWith the income tax saga in mind, I’ve written for @renewaljournal.bsky.social about why it is not constitutionally prudent to go beyond the boundaries of what has been sanctioned by the electorate. Importantly, I argue in support of the doctrine of the manifesto. renewal.org.uk/blog/why-man...
- Reposted by RenewalThis is a brilliant piece of research and analysis well worth people’s time.
- Brilliant, place-grounded essay from @sachahilhorst.bsky.social about Reform powering on through its seemingly irreconcilable contradictions
- Reposted by RenewalBrilliant, place-grounded essay from @sachahilhorst.bsky.social about Reform powering on through its seemingly irreconcilable contradictions
- Reposted by RenewalEssential reading from our brilliant Deputy Director @colmpm.bsky.social and former Director Patrick Diamond in @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Ahead of the Budget, they argue that Rachel Reeves must argue more forcefully that "taxes are *the* essential down payment we all pay for a fairer society".
- Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society. Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇 renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
- Reposted by RenewalBreaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society. Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇 renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
- Can Zohran Mamdani's largely educated, middle-income support base be explained - or even justified - from a Marxist perspective? @dmk1793.bsky.social presents five (5) conflicting ways in which it can:
- Reposted by RenewalThis is very much on point about how I and I think perhaps many others quietly feel about Britain? Excellent.
- Reposted by RenewalFor anyone who is interested in an extensive discussion of what “social democracy” means, we asked the current & former editors of @renewaljournal.bsky.social to proffer their definitions & thoughts: renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
- Reposted by Renewal“I believe that to tackle the hate and division we see dominating our modern political debate, we have to build a democracy that is truly representative of its people.” 🌹 @annadixonmp.bsky.social makes the case for Proportional Representation, starting with a National Commission on Electoral Reform
- NEW on Renewal Online: Anna Dixon MP (@annadixonmp.bsky.social) highlights the growing support for PR within the Labour Party, and argues that the threat of Nigel Farage makes electoral reform an urgent necessity
- Reposted by RenewalIn the latest edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, Caitlin set out her vision for a new kind of community-centred Labour politics. You can read her essay for free here: renewal.org.uk/articles/rec...
