MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
The power of mass demonstration
ANDREW MURRAY is compelled by the moment of revolution in British history when Parliament had political intimacy with society
Assertion of Liberty of Conscience by the Independents of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, by John Rogers Herbert, 1847. It depicts a meeting of the Westminster Assembly on 21 February 1644. Philip Nye, a member of the independent party, argues that the form of church government advocated by the presbyterians, under which local congregations submit to higher assemblies of elders, was "thrice over pernicious, to civil states and kingdoms". He was immediately "cryed down", according to Robert Baillie, who kept a journal of the proceedings. The painting depicts many individuals who were not members of the Assembly, because when issues of particular interest were debated, non-members would attend as spectators.
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
The Fiery Spirits
John Rees, Verso, £30
CONNECTING mass political movements with parliamentary representation is a perennial issue for the left in Britain and, indeed, elsewhere.
It is correct to say that the former — the struggle beyond the Palace of Westminster — is the determining factor in political outcomes, but also true that parliamentary articulation can help shape and empower the movement, even as MPs draw strength from it.
More from this author
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
