In the latest edition of the Labour Left Podcast Bryn Griffiths talks to Mark Perryman the editor of the best book on Keir Starmer so far, The Starmer Symptom.
Mark comes from a different political place to me so I really looked forward to our discussion. In the 1980s I was supporting Tony Benn alongside Jeremy Corbyn and selling Brighton Labour Briefing in my local Labour Party. Meanwhile Mark was a member of the Communist Party and part of the Marxism Today team which was occasionally unimpressed by those of us on the Labour Left.
Historically Mark Perryman came from what was called the soft left so it was always going to be interesting to see how far our paths have converged in the face of the Starmer-McSweeney axis. Previously I had interviewed Neal Lawson of Compass and the brains behind the new soft left grouping Mainstream and concluded that ‘The hard left and the soft left are talking again’ so the signs were good.
When Labour Hub published its first Labour Left Podcast episode two years ago with Liz Davies as our guest, we set ourselves the big task of considering the all-important strategic question of how does the Left and in particular the Labour Left make a comeback? It is this strategic question which dominates the podcast.
We start by discussing the role that Marxism Today played in the 1980s during the period of Thatcherism. Mark states in his book that ‘my front is popular’ so I press him on what exactly that statement means to him. What flows is a valuable discussion about coalition building. Key to the discussion is the concept of pluralism.
I like to draw upon Antonio Gramsci’s ideas. So, Mark reveals the thinking behind the title of the book.
Having grappled with the concepts that underpin Mark’s thinking we get down to the daunting task of applying them to today. So, prepare for wide ranging discussion where we consider how we should understand Labour’s sandcastle majority? How can we beat Reform? What’s Labour like according to Morgan McSweeney?
A common theme amongst those of us that criticised Marxism Today was that it was great on the diagnosis of the new challenges we faced; but not so good on the prescription of what we should do about the challenges so effectively described. In the interview I challenge The Starmer Symptom on exactly the same grounds. So, much of the interview is taken up with pushing Mark to set out his strategy to win. Along the way we discuss the launch of Mainstream, economic policy, responding to the Deputy Leadership contest, proportional representation and more.
By the end of the podcast, you will appreciate that Mark Perryman is always up for a robust debate so why don’t you invite him to speak at your local Labour Party political education meeting? Mark would be delighted to come and discuss his essay ‘Testing the limits of Labourism’ and he will share 50% of the book sales on the day to help fund the event. If you are interested mail him at Mark@Perrymanemails.net for a booking.
I don’t usually tell you in advance who the Labour Left Podcast class hero of the month is going to be but given Mark’s choice I feel I must. Mark chose our wonderful late comrade Mike Marqusee. I loved the discussion that ensued. If like me you knew and admired Mike, I am sure you’ll enjoy the nomination which occurs at the end of the episode.
Bryn Griffiths is an activist in Colchester Labour Party and North Essex World Transformed. He is the Vice-Chair of Momentum and sits on the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy’s Executive.
Bryn hosts Labour Hub’s spin off – the Labour Left Podcast. You can find all the episodes of the podcast here or if you prefer audio platforms (for example Amazon, Audible Spotify, Apple etc,) go to your favourite podcast provider and just search for the Labour Left Podcast.
Mike Phipps of Labour Hub previously reviewed Mark Perryman’s The Starmer Symptom and you can find the review here.
