I’ve had some very complimentary comments on last week’s post, including one from Dave Middleton who originally invited me to write for (the now defunct) Critical Mass Magazine. The Diary format, summarising the events of the past few weeks, seems to be quite popular and I wouldn’t mind it being presented as a monthly feature on another platform – but that leaves me with the problem of finding something to write about for my usual #SocialistSunday posts 🤔

I’m not a journalist and current affairs have been adequately covered before I can get my head around what’s going on, I can express my opinion but so can you. I’m not saying anything very original, I’m just articulating what we already agree on. The people who could learn most from this blog won’t read it, which is why I call it my echosphere.

I could write more about myself, a subject I know intimately, and I know there are a few people who would be interested in learning more of my background. What I would really like to do is put my education to use and take a more philosophical approach. I’m getting some encouragement to do just that but it takes time and, as I’ve remarked before, writing requires a great deal of reading.

It’s too early to celebrate

The judicial review has found the proscription of Palestine Action unlawful, but it ain’t over yet! Shabana Mahmood has vowed to appeal the decision although the number of MPs opposed to an appeal is likely to exceed the 22 who opposed proscription in the first place. Karl Turner MP has said that he voted for proscription because the government lumped PA with two other terrorist groups, he voted as he thought his constituents would wish but now admits that he should have stood his ground. No doubt there are other MPs who were bamboozled by the government but Turner isn’t entirely consistent – he believes that protesters arrested under this legislation were not unlawfully detained despite the legislation itself being unlawful.

Craig Murray explains the situation with greater knowledge and eloquence than I possess. Postpone The Celebrations: https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2026/02/postpone-the-celebrations/

The ban remains in place pending the appeal, police aren’t making arrests but they are retaining information about protesters for possible prosecution if the appeal is successful. We must remain vigilant!

Why I joined the Green Party

I had no intention of joining another party after resigning from Labour but I voted Green in the last few elections and met our local candidate who I still consider a friend. She didn’t try to persuade me vote for her, to be honest there was no other candidate I could have voted for in good conscience, and we had a drink together after the election.

I still didn’t consider joining a party as I was unlikely to be very active and certainly had no intention of running for office, but I took an interest in Your Party as a bold new initiative. I was turned off by a former comrade who tried to persuade me to join in order to vote for Jeremy’s slate rather than Zarah’s, and she wasn’t polite about it! I don’t think Your Party would have seen the light of day without Zarah’s vision and I was very disappointed to see the old factionalism emerging before the party has been launched. I don’t blame either Zarah or Jeremy, they wanted a better kind of politics but couldn’t agree on how to achieve it. I suspect dark forces have been working in the background to undermine the party, and they have apparently succeeded!

The election of Zack Polanski as leader has seen Greens emerge as the party to offer socialist solutions, and they’re growing in numbers. Labour still insist that only they can defeat Reform in Gorton and Denton after scratching their best candidate. Give me strength 🙏🏻

I don’t know what I can contribute to the Greens but my friend, even on a short acquaintance, has decided that I have some skills to offer – I just have to discover what they are 🤔