It’s been a busy month on Look, Stranger! and I haven’t yet had the opportunity to welcome those who have joined in that time. So welcome, and if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far, there is plenty more where that came from. Thank you also to everyone who has read, liked and commented. As much as I have enjoyed writing, it is your appreciation and support that makes it all possible and worthwhile.
So, in that spirit, here are some articles from the past month or so you may enjoy.
And if you’re not a paid subscriber, please do look again, stranger for complete access to my weekly paid essay and to the Look, Stranger! archive.
My verdict on fourteen years of Conservative government
“This has been a period in which the Conservative party lost its discipline. That is not just true personally and politically, it is true intellectually. The centrist Cameron regime gave way to a more blue-collar conservatism of Theresa May which in turn yielded to Boris Johnson’s marriage of nativism and corporatism. Then the Conservative party lurched backwards towards a caricature account of the Thatcher and Lawson years under Liz Truss. Rishi Sunak is the soggy end to all this, a man standing on the deck as the water gushes in”.
I asked who might follow Sunak as Tory party leader
“Sunak does indeed give the impression of a nerdy would-be tech bro stumbling onto a political panel and asking why businesspeople cannot take over. He is not exactly a political natural and his ratings are now lower than Liz Truss’s so he has hardly cut a dash with the public either. But here is the really alarming thought for the Tory party. Sunak might actually be better at politics than the candidates who are lined up to replace him”.
On the occasion of Nigel Farage’s 60th birthday
“Will he retire to tend the Cornish gins that he introduced in September 2022, popping up every now and then as the face of a dubious investment vehicle and hosting his comically dull show on GB News, the retirement home for the synthetically angry campaigner who has lost the issue on which his career was based? Is this enough attention for this perennial show-off?”.
My reflections on Israel’s war in Gaza (£)
“Without a political change within Israel it is all but impossible to see any way out. Netanyahu is running a government packed full of incompetent politicians whose loyalty is prized over their ability. Everything he does is about self-preservation. He has been at the top of Israeli politics for a long time, too long, and he is now imperilling the reputation of his country in the world and the safety of the people in the region. For the moment, the war’s objective is as far away as it has ever been and the carnage is terrible”.
The lesson of Nye Bevan at the National Theatre (£)
“The really interesting thing about Bevan is that he was both the rhetorical ideologue of his day and, at the same time, a man envious of power and adept in its use. It is rare to find these two traits in one politician and that is what makes Bevan a man of enduring interest”.
A tribute to my friend, the Labour MP Frank Field (1942-2024)
“In a long career in public service, whose final chapter has now sadly closed, Frank Field stood for goodness in politics. He has embodied both the virtues and the flaws of deep moral commitment in a practical art”.
A tribute to David Marquand (1934-2024), one of British politics’ most insightful writers
“David Marquand operated between realms. He was always the man with a foot in both camps. Politics and academia, Labour and Liberal, he was the man at the join”.
Pleased to have signed up Philip. We'll worth it IMO to read your thoughts on different subjects but I guess particularly in this big political year. I also appreciate you're a fan of His Bobness and would enjoy an appreciation of his career at some point. Hopefully not an Obit just yet! Cheers.