Here and There: A Labour Party Trumpeter (1936)

The Here and There column from the July 1936 issue of the Socialist Standard

A Labour Party Trumpeter

Mr. Herbert Morrison has been on a lecture tour in the United States of America. His object was to interest American audiences in the League of Nations and the policy of the British Labour Party. According to a report in the Chicago Daily News for April 24th, he said: —

I think there is misunderstanding about the British Labour Party, because you haven’t had many visitors who represent average official opinion of this Party; more of your visitors have represented the extreme Left Wing of the Party or else the Independent Labour Party, which fights us. A British Labour Government would be well fitted to co-operate with your country whether it has a Republican or Democratic Government.

In effect, Mr. Morrison is saying that the Labour Party is “well fitted" to administer the capitalist system. As Socialists we do not need to be assured of this. We have said so for thirty years and more. Members and supporters of the Labour Party who have denied it, might, however, ponder the point again.

 

I.L.P Confusion and Hysteria

The above quotation from the Chicago Daily News was reproduced and unfavourably commented upon in the New Leader for May 29th, in a column headed "This is Capitalism." The I.L.P. boasted for many years that the Labour Party was its child. And a proud parent it was, too. But after thirty years of telling the workers that the Labour Party was “Socialist," the I.L.P. discovered that it was not. After taking so long to discover that the Labour Party is not a Socialist party, it could reasonably be assumed that it would not easily be forgotten. Let us see. The New Leader for May 22nd discusses the various proposals for a "United Front." It dismissed the idea of a "People's Front," such as exists in France and Spain, and which includes Liberals, as unsupportable because of its capital character. The I.L.P. argues for a "Workers' Front."

It is a united Working Class Front without any alliance or compromise with the Liberal and League capitalists.

It is a united Working Class Front between the Labour Party, the Co-operative Party, the I.L.P., and the Communist Party on a maximum agreed programme, with liberty of criticism and action beyond this programme.

It is common action between them on a Federal basis—an alliance of partners, not a rigid and unreal unity such as affiliation to the Labour Party would involve—in order to join forces against our common enemy the capitalist class and its political parties, and to realise common aims.

It will be noticed that the I.L.P. refuses to enter an “alliance or compromise with the Liberal and League capitalists," but will enter a “United Front" with the Labour Party (which it denounces as a capitalist party) "in order to join forces against our common enemy, the capitalist class and its political parties, and to realise common aims." Join with capitalist parties to fight the capitalist class “to realise our common aims." Phew!

Again, in the New Leader, May 29th, Mr. John McGovern, M.P., in a letter to the Editor, complains that the Editor of the I.L.P. inter-party journal, Controversy, deleted a statement from an article by him (McGovern) that C. A. Smith, Fenner Brockway and C. L. R. James had stated that they “would bear arms and join the army if they were in Abyssinia . . .  on behalf of the Emperor."

In his reply, C. A. Smith rises to noble heights: ". . .  I now repeat that had I been in Abyssinia only conflicting duties or sheer cowardice would have prevented my fighting against the Fascist invaders." Twenty years ago the capitalist class persuaded millions of workers to fight in war for capitalist interests with the cry of “Defend poor little Belgium." To-day, Mr. C. A. Smith, a leader in the self-styled revolutionary I.L.P., has let himself into a similar trap. Poor Abyssinia! Drive out the Fascist invaders! For whom and for what end?

Communists and the Labour Party

The Communist Party has applied to the Labour Party for affiliation. The correspondence relating to the application has been published in a penny pamphlet by the Communist Party. In one letter to the Secretary of the Labour Party, Mr. Pollitt says: “The Communist Party, if affiliated to the Labour Party, would certainly work, as many of your most energetic and sincere members are now working, to strengthen the policy and principles of the Labour Party for the achievement of Socialism, in accordance with the democratic principles provided in the Labour Party constitution, and would at the same time in the daily struggle loyally carry out all agreed upon decisions and mobilise all upon whom it has influence to take part."

Mr. Pollitt goes on to speak approvingly of the “People's Front" as it exists in France. He asks of the Secretary of the Labour Party: “Is it not a fact that the United Front has saved France from Fascism ? Is it not a fact that so profound has this experience been that the United Front has broadened out into the People's Front, embracing large sections of the middle class and all who fear Fascism and war."

Notice "embracing large sections of the middle classes." Even Mr. Pollitt, accustomed as he is to right-about-face changes in Communist Party policy, hesitates to point out that a People's Front on the French model means an alliance with the Liberals. Workers whose memories are not so conveniently short as Mr. Pollitt's will remember that not so long ago the Labour Party was referred to in communist journals as "traitorous," “Social-Fascist" and "war-mongering." The Labour Party has not forgotten, and there seems no prospect of a " United Front " just yet! It is an amusing thought, though, that we may yet see the erstwhile advocates of the violent overthrow of capitalism reproaching the Labour Party for being “too extreme." It is really very confusing.

Poverty, Health and Housing

In a review of a book called Poverty and Public Health, by G. C. M'Gonigle and J. Kirby (Gollancz, 6s.), the News Chronicle (June 8th, 1936) gives some interesting figures on malnutrition and housing.

The close connection between wages and health can be seen from the following table: —

Wages 25s. to 35s., death rate 25.96 per 1,000.

"          35s   "  45s.      "      "    19.34  "       "

"          45s   "  55s.      "      "    19.23  "       "

"          55s   "  65s.      "      "    15.13  "       "

"          65s   "  75s.      "      "    13.51  "       "

"          75s   and up,.    "      "    11.52  "       "

The death rate among workers whose wages are less than two pounds a week is therefore nearly twice as high as among workers whose wages are between three and four pounds a week.

Other interesting facts are mentioned. Far example, an investigation carried out in Stockton revealed that a slum population, after being moved to a new housing estate, was showing a death rate of 33.55 per thousand instead of the expected rate of 8.12 per thousand. That is to say, four times as many deaths as should have occurred were occurring among these ex-slum dwellers now living under “ ideal ** conditions. The plight of unemployed workers on new housing estates is particularly appalling. On one such estate it was found that the amount of money available for four was 2s. 10½d. a week per man. Contrast this with the cost of the British Medical Association's minimum diet, which in 1932 was 4s. 10½d., and which to-day. Dr. M'Gonigle says, is 7s. Our reformers, if they face these awkward facts at all, will doubtless advocate more reforms; reforms catch votes anyway.

Wage-Slaves and Health

Labour Management for February has an interesting article called “ One-Day Absenteeism,*' by Dr. Garland, the medical officer at a large factory which employs thousands of women workers. The doctor argues for greater tolerance for the worker who takes an occasional day off from work. The occasional day off would have a “tonic" and “stimulating" effect on return to work. Workers at the factory where Dr. Garland is employed are shut out for the day, and lose the day's wages, if they are not within the factory gates when the hooter blows. On the other hand, if the worker is away on account of sickness for one day or more, she (or he) does not lose her wages. The result is, according to Dr. Garland, that many workers who are absent because of being shut out in the morning, produce medical certificates to explain their absence for the day. Some of these certificates are for complaints that would lay the average person low for several weeks. The panel doctor in working-class districts apparently cannot afford to risk unpopularity by refusing certificates. His income from medical certificates, at one shilling each, even on a small panel of only 1,000 patients, means an addition to his income, according to Dr. Garland, of probably one hundred pounds a year. On the other hand, says the doctor, “The average worker is rarely feeling so fit and sound that he or she hasn’t an odd pain or ache somewhere that can be magnified into gastritis, enteritis, tonsilitis, or some other ‘ itis ' . . . ."

A curious mix-up which reveals how dependent is the position of the medical practitioner and how near many workers are to working no longer in this life.

Changes in Russia

The U.S.S.R. is introducing a parliamentary regime, or at least some of it. The much-vaunted Soviet system of “pure proletarian democracy" is to be replaced by a parliamentary form of government, which, until recently, was looked upon with withering and pitying contempt by the fervent communist. There are to be two chambers, direct voting, the abolition of plural votes (the town workers, under the Soviet constitution, had proportionately more votes than the peasants), the secret ballot, and much of the paraphernalia of western parliamentary government. Any organised group of citizens, we are told, will be able to include names in the list of candidates for parliamentary seats. Louis Fischer tells us in Reynolds News (May 31st, 1936), “The new Constitution contains numerous provisions sensational in their significance. For instance, an interesting declaration will be made about private property."

That declaration should be interesting.

Something else is interesting too. The Russian Government is seeking pacts and alliances with the western parliamentary countries. Shall we yet see another "War to Save Democracy" ?

The Passing of the Crisis

The Ministry of Labour returns issued at the end of May make interesting reading. The number of people at work reached the figure of 10,831,000, which is the highest in the history of unemployed insurance, and excludes the recent inclusion of agricultural workers in unemployment insurance. The number of unemployed was 1,703,941, as against nearly three million, three or four years ago. The facts are significant. Capitalism, once having reached the lowest pitch in the slump, recovered, and is now, once again, going through a period of expansion. There is nothing new in this; it has been the course in every industrial crisis for the past one hundred and fifty years. The pendulum in capitalist production having swung back must, by its very nature, swing forward again. But where are the shoddy economists, capitalist and self-styled Socialist alike, who only yesterday were telling the world that the end of the capitalist system was at hand? Have they relegated the end to an uncertain future date, as the Christians have the second coming of Christ ? The chances are that if the workers allow capitalism to continue long enough to have another crisis they will be prophesying as wrongly, dismally and noisily as ever.

It is curious how events can upset flimsy minds. The New Leader published articles about eight years ago eulogising American mass production methods. Henry Ford, we were told, had shown Marx to be wrong. The New Leader has since discovered many new “lines.” Others talked glibly of the crisis which had lasted since the last war—the mere fact of there being unemployment continuously since then was evidence enough, for them, of a continuous crisis. A little knowledge would show how capitalism really works. The recurring periods of depression and expansion, with the consequent increase and decrease in unemployment, are the very essence of capitalism. These in themselves will not bring it to an end. This will only be done when the.workers understand that the appalling poverty and insecurity which exist side by side with immense wealth in periods of depression and expansion alike, can be abolished by the social ownership of the means of life.

 

The Passing of a Labour Leader

Bruce Clavering has an article in the Sunday Referee (May 24th, 1936), about the life of J. H. Thomas. Certain facts stand out and emphasise how useful he has been to the capitalist class. In 1911, the article says, "the railwaymen wanted to strike. Thomas saw Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer. He launched an impassioned appeal, but Lloyd George was unmoved.  "I, too, am a Welshman/ said L.G.”

“Then the Chancellor made his own appeal. He pointed out that the Kaiser had issued a virtual ultimatum over Morocco, banking on the trouble in England keeping Britain’s hands tied. Thomas responded to the appeal and called off the strike.” 

"During the war he swelled the army with more recruits than almost any other single man. As an Englishman he was a patriot . . . . he achieved the best for his country and for himself.” 

Trotsky’s verdict on Thomas was, “This incredible lackey.”

Whether J. H. Thomas was sincere, insincere, rogue or fool does not interest us. He served the master-class faithfully and well, and in doing so was supported enthusiastically by the railway workers. His usefulness to the master-class and, to some extent, his popularity with them, was because he could command an enormous working-class following.

His life aptly illustrates the perils for the working-class in “leadership” and the need for the working-class to have knowledge of Socialist principles.

Harry Waite

Spotlights on Capitalism (1936)

From the July 1936 issue of the Socialist Standard

China—Scene of the Next War?

Now that the whole of Africa has been parcelled out, there remain very few areas of the world’s surface which are not subject to the political domination of advanced capitalist countries. China, however, is one of them, and so we find the birds of prey gathered around for the final picking. The one secure source of revenue in China is the Customs, and the Daily Telegraph mentions (May 14th, 1936), that they are the one point of economic security for Chinese loans, which are largely held by British capitalists. The Japs, however, have established a demilitarised zone in the north of China, where Chinese troops are not allowed to penetrate, and set up a local Government, known as the “ Independent East Hopei Anti-Communist Autonomous Council.” As a result of this, they are able to obstruct the Chinese Customs in such a way that goods can be brought across the Great Wall of China, or landed on the coast, either duty-free or on payment of only a quarter of the normal duties. This naturally diverts goods from such ports as Shanghai, where full duties have to be paid, and so the amount of both trade and duties at these ports declines, and the actual loss to the revenue has amounted in one week alone to as much as £120,000. As the interest on the loans has hitherto taken “only” one-fifth of the Customs dues, there is still ample cover for the service of the loans. Nevertheless, the bondholders are very much upset, and so the Governments of both Great Britain and the United States have made strong official representations in Tokio.

For nearly a hundred years now, the capitalist powers have been nibbling at China; one of the most notorious occasions was the Opium Wars, fought with the object of forcing the Chinese to buy Indian opium—a harmful drug which they were quite capable of producing themselves. Twice have British troops marched on Pekin, and as long ago as 1860 they burnt the magnificent Imperial Palace, just outside Pekin, to the ground. The French pinched Annam and Tongking—once Chinese provinces, Japan long ago stole Taiwan, and more recently Korea, whilst her present intrigues are setting the teeth of the other capitalist powers on edge. Great Britain holds Hong Kong, whilst land in the vicinity has been obtained for fortification purposes. At every available opportunity the Chinese have been forced to agree to the opening of certain of their ports—called “treaty ports”—to foreign trade, and these even extend to the interior of China up to the limit of navigability of the Yang-tze-Kiang. Modern internal transport is now almost entirely in foreign hands. The majority of the railways are owned by British capitalists, whilst in the latest sphere— that of aviation—a new scramble has commenced. Here the British are behind—due doubtless to the British Government's present embargo on loans to foreign Governments and companies—and so we find the more important towns in this vast country —16 times the size of the British Isles—linked by a network of regular services, the most important being the American (China National Aviation Corporation), whilst the Germans have not been slow and their Eurasia Aviation Corporation flies from Shanghai to Hanchow and from Pekin to Canton. Chinese capitalism is, however, fast developing, and so we find the national South-Western Aviation Corporation operating American machines from Canton to Hangchow and Pakhoi in the southwestern extremity, and even now a dispute has arisen with the French and American lines over the carriage of mails.

Those who watch for the next war may well turn their eyes to China.

#    #    #    #

Beauty in the Stores

F. W. Woolworth & Co., Ltd., who last year made a profit of over £5,000,000, believe in leaving no stone unturned to increase their turnover, and so we find them issuing The New Bond. Unlike Chinese bonds, which produce a revenue for the purchaser, this “Bond" costs twopence and is designed to benefit the seller, rather than the buyer. The buyers are Woolworths' girl slaves, and the purchase of The New Bond is quite optional. We understand, however, that it is a brave girl who would refuse to buy. Like all “house” publications of this nature, the object is to produce a “team spirit” amongst the employees and to make them feel that they are at j one with the firm.

An issue before us contains a beauty chat— . “ Our Beauty Chat ” it is called, and we read— 

“It is the discreet touch of Rouge and Lipstick that makes or mars a face. The lighter shades of Rouge, such as Orange or Cherry, make your skin appear clearer—eyes brighter; but should you have blue-black hair and brown eyes, a slightly darker shade is necessary, such as Rosée.”

Concluding, they say—“ We shall recommend the well-known cosmetics which can be obtained at 'your' Store, so let us vote for a Bigger, Brighter, Beauty Movement!M

And, of course, Bigger and Better dividends. In return the firm will give the employees a paltry Christmas box and a vote of thanks!

  R. M.

Blogger's Note:

Original spelling in the article retained. A year to the day, Japan invaded China in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

New Premises Fund (1936)

Party News from the July 1936 issue of the Socialist Standard

The fund being raised to enable us to obtain larger and more convenient premises has now been open for more than a year and out of the sum aimed at, £300, we have so far received £182. We now urgently appeal for further donations to complete the fund at latest before the end of this year.

A list of donations up to 23rd June appears below.

SPGB Meetings (1936)

Party News from the July 1936 issue of the Socialist Standard

Blogger's Note:

'Comrade Clifford', who was the London speaker at the Durdham Downs, Bristol meeting, was Clifford Groves.

SPGB Propaganda Meetings (1936)

Party News from the July 1936 issue of the Socialist Standard

New Blog Page: Proper Gander

Proper Gander At 15

While reviews of television programmes have occasionally appeared in The Socialist Standard since the 1950s (with possibly the earliest being in January 1955, about the BBC’s adaptation of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four), it wasn’t until 1985 that they became the subject of a regular column. This was Steve Coleman’s always-perceptive and engagingly-written Between The Lines, which ran until 1994. Dave Perrin then followed on with his sharp analysis of how TV reflects the world, continuing until 2001. A decade later, The Socialist Standard’s Editorial Committee decided to bring back the format, and suggested the name Proper Gander. I was happy to be asked about writing it, having recently produced a collection of reviews of dystopian fiction to accompany a Summer School talk. 

The first Proper Gander article appeared in January 2011, covering the sixth series of The Apprentice, which still continues unchanged in format in 2026. Much else has changed in the realm of television, though, in those 15 years. Most obviously, there is now much more ‘content’ competing for our attention, not just in the growth of channels available with or without a subscription, but also through social media and YouTube. While the traditional television channels are steadily on the decline, they can still produce ‘content’ which other outlets can’t manage. TV documentaries and video podcasts are both in the market of influencing viewers’ opinions, but the talking-head template of podcasts isn’t equivalent to the journalistic format of documentaries. The BBC’s Panorama and the exposés commissioned by Channel 4 have remained consistently reliable as sources for Proper Gander articles. Well, that’s reliable in the sense of always being there rather than reliable as interpretations of their subject matter. Usually in a polished, abridged way, they highlight problems generated by the capitalist system, but never identify the system as their cause, of course.

Drama can have more of an emotional impact than a documentary can, whether or not it’s based on real events. An emerging trend during the 2020s is that politicised dramas are likely to have a high profile on the sporadic occasions one is produced. ITV’s Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and Netflix’s Don’t Look Up and Adolescence raised awareness and prompted discussion, for a while. The BBC has appeared less interested in this sub-genre for many years, especially compared with its often-impressive output in the 1960s and ‘70s. 

A trend which appears to have burnt itself out is trash television, such as exploitative gameshows, ‘poverty porn’ schlockumentaries and point-and-sneer talk shows such as The Jeremy Kyle Show. This type of programme, the modern counterpart of travelling ‘freakshows’, has been supplanted by social media content which even more bluntly insults those already downtrodden. Another TV genre which has dwindled is that of comedy, maybe because wider society finds less to laugh about these days. So, sitcoms, satire and sketch shows have rarely been the subject of a Proper Gander article, unfortunately. Looking into what has and hasn’t been covered in the column over the years has been made much easier with the listing below, with a handy description of each show discussed. Thanks go to Imposs1904 for taking the time to compile this for his splendid blog.

Mike Foster

July 2026

2011

• Jan:  Proper Gander (Alan Sugar's The Apprentice.)
• Feb: Know Your Onions (The Onion's satirical programme,  In The Know.)
• Mar: Brooker's Bile (Charlie Brooker's How TV Ruined Your Life.)
• Apr: Cabarets in the lunch hour (BBC2's The British At Work.)
• May: The Stepford Geezers (ITV2's docusoap, The Only Way is Essex.)
• Jun: Celebritherapy (ITV1's reality TV show, Home Is Where The Heart Is.)
• Jul: Choosing To Die (BBC Scotland documentary, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die, on the subject of assisted suicide.)
• Aug: The pecking order (Channel 4’s Undercover Boss.)
• Sep: From WAGs to Riches (BBC3's celebrity culture documentary, Cherry’s Cash Dilemmas.)
• Oct: Cleopatra Coming At Ya (BBC’s children series, Horrible Histories.)
• Nov: Stripped Blair (Channel 4's The Hunt For Tony Blair. The Comic Strip crowd combine political satire with 1950s film noir.)
• Dec: Sugar Rush (Alan Sugar's new reality show, The Young Apprentice.)

2012

• Jan: Reflections on Black Mirror (Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror.)
• Feb: Fancy a Pint? (BBC4’s documentary, The Rules of Drinking.)
• Mar: Point and Sneer (Channel4’s docusoap Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.)
• Apr: Right whinger (BBC2’s Rights Gone Wrong? with Andrew Neil.)
• May: Camcordia (Channel4's The Sinking Of The Concordia – Caught On Camera.)
• Jun: A Masterclass in Manipulation (ITV1's documentary, Britain Beware, about Public Information Films.)
• Jul: A Load of Crystal Balls (Sky's series, Psychic Today.)
• Aug: Undercover Under the Covers (UKTV Really reality television show, Cheaters.)
• Sep: Tory Teenagers (BBC2's documentary, Young, Bright and On the Right.)
• Oct: Giggly Walking CCTV Cameras (Channel 4's reality television show, The Audience.)
• Nov: The Magic and History Tour (BBC3's documentary, Creationism: Conspiracy Road Trip. Mixing pre-history with 'intelligent design' and age-old debates between science and religion.)
• Dec: Bed Pan Humour (BBC4's satirical comedy about the NHS, Getting On.)

2013

• Jan: Pandering and Pampering (BBC2's Inside Claridge's.)
• Feb: Courting Mormons (BBC3's documentary, Young, Mormon and Single.)
• Mar: Night Of The Living Tweet (Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror.)
• Apr: Christianity’s Inanities (Religious television.)
• May: Monarchy’s Maladies (BBC2's documentary, Fit To Rule – How Royal Illness Changed History.)
• Jun: Hoard Today, Gone Tomorrow (BBC1’s Britain’s Biggest Hoarders.)
• Jul: Quizzing the Whizzkids (Channel 4's documentary, Child Genius.)
• Aug: Hidden Cameraderie (Channel 4's reality TV show, Eye Spy.)
• Sep: Smoking Woodbines In The Outside Lav (The working class in television, Paul O’Grady’s Working Britain.)
• Oct: Left In The Dark (Channel 4's The Blackout. A docu-drama about Britain's National Grid being at the receiving end of a cyber-attack, and the resultant breakdown of society.) 
• Nov: Fascist Pepperpots (Dr Who, the Daleks and storylines drawn from the real world.)
• Dec: Fish In The Net (MTV's reality TV show, Catfish.)

2014

• Jan: Screening The Working Class (Owen Jones giving Huw Weldon Memorial Lecture Totally Shameless: How TV Portrays The Working Class.)
• Feb: Who Benefits From 'Benefits Street'?  (Channel 4's docusoap, Benefits Street.)
• Mar: Channel Hopping The Shopping Channels (QVC and BidTV.)
• Apr: To EDL and Back (BBC3's documentary, EDL Girls – Don’t Call Me Racist.)
• May: Mythtaken Identity (BBC2's The Olden Days: The power of the past in Britain.)
• Jun: Ballads And Beards (BBC1's  Eurovision Song Contest.)
• Jul: Hunger For Anger (Channel 5’s Angry Britain: Mean Streets.)
• Aug: The Downside of Upgrading (Jacques Peretti's documentary series, The Men Who Made Us Spend.)
• Sep: Porn and Real Life (More 4 documentary, The Golden Rules of Porn.)
• Oct: Electronic Heroin (Channel 4's Web Junkie: China’s Addicted Teens.)
• Nov: A Barrage of Farage (Panorama’s The Farage Factor. The murky shenanigans and double dealings of Nigel Farage.)
• Dec: Fiscal Exercise (Channel 4’s documentary about social mobility, How Rich Are You?)

2015

• Jan: Do Have Nightmares (BBC 1's Crimewatch.)
• Feb: Court On Camera (ITV's British version of Judge Judy, Judge Rinder.)
• Mar: Bitter Pill (Adam Curtis's documentary, Bitter Lake.)
• Apr: Putting Protest To The Test (BBC3’s documentary, Fighting The System.)
• May: Puppets and Politics (Puppet-based satirical sketch show, Newzoids.)
• Jun: ‘I Love The Smell Of Rubbish In The Morning’ (BBC2’s fly-on-the-wall documentary Wastemen.)
• Jul: Taken To Taskers (Channel 4’s reality TV show, Running The Shop.)
• Aug: Together In Electric Dreams (Channel 4’s drama series, Humans.)
• Sep: Under the Concrete Carpet (BBC4's Britain’s Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield.)
• Oct: High-Tech Hide and Seek (Channel 4's Hunted. State surveillance as a game show.)
• Nov: Soldiering On (BBC1's reality TV show, DIY SOS – Homes For Veterans. A special makeover show focusing on creating a liveable environment for ex-armed forces personnel with physical and mental health conditions.)
• Dec: Cheapness At a Price (Channel 4's Dispatches programme goes undercover in Aldi’s Supermarket Secrets.) 

2016

• Jan: Prejudice and Pride (BBC 3's Reggie Yates’ Extreme UK: Gay And Under Attack.)
• Feb: Victim Porn (A review of voyeuristic schlockumentaries such as I Survived Evil and Fear Thy Neighbor.)
• Mar: The Golden Swill Bucket Awards (Television adverts.)
• Apr: Whatever Happened To Political Drama? (A look at Play For Today and Our Friends in the North.)
• May: Legal Highs And Lows (BBC3's documentary series, Drugs Map Of Britain.)
• Jun: Monarchy Malarkey (Channel 4’s soap opera sitcom, The Windsors.)
• Jul: Branded Comedy (BBC4's sitcom, Going Forward.)
• Aug: Belonging to Our Belongings (Channel 4's reality TV show, Life Stripped Bare.)
• Sep: Back To The Future (BBC2's In The 80s With Dominic Sandbrook.)
• Oct: Prison Break (CBS's Reality TV show, Troubled Teens: Jail Shock, A look at juvenile detention.)
• Nov: Soap Gets In Your Eyes (A look at the BBC's longstanding soap, EastEnders.)
• Dec: Living The Dream (Adam Curtis's documentary, ‘Hypernormalisation’.)

2017

• Jan: The Benefits Trap (Ken Loach's 'I, Daniel Blake'.)
• Feb: Views On The News (BBC2’s reality TV show, Common Sense.)
• Mar: The Extremes of Exploitation (Channel 4’s documentary, The Modern British Slave Trade.)
• Apr: Peering At The Peers (BBC2’s documentary series Meet The Lords.)
• May: The Vegan Revolution ( BBC iPlayer's mockumentary, Carnage.)
• Jun: Slave to the Algorithm (Panorama's What Facebook Knows About You.)
• Jul: Maid In America (The TV adaptation of Margaret Attwood's The Handmaid’s Tale.)
• Aug: Home Truths (BBC1's reality TV show, The Week The Landlords Moved In.)
• Sep: From The UN To Anarchism (BBC4’s Storyville, Accidental Anarchist: Life Without Government.)
• Oct: The Jihadis’ Tale ( Peter Kosminsky's political drama, The State, about the experiences of four young British Muslims who fly to Syria to join Islamic State.)
• Nov: Music For The Masses (BBC4's documentary series, Tunes For Tyrants: Music and Power. Authoritarian regimes and their use and abuse of music for propaganda purposes.)
• Dec: Nutters and Putters (Gary Younge's Channel 4 documentary about disquiet in the American heartland,  Angry, White and American.)

2018

• Jan: Out Of The Blue (David Attenborough's Blue Planet II.)
• Feb: On The House (David Olusoga social history documentary, A House Through Time.)
• Mar: Delicious Chips For Their Tea (Product placement and Coronation Street.)
• Apr: At The Movies: Red Carpet Campaigning (A look at the Oscars.)
• May: A Tale Of Two Cities (China Mieville's dystopia drama,The City And The City.)
• Jun: Image And Identity (BBC3's documentaries on obesity and body image.)
• Jul: ‘One Does’ (Television coverage of the Royal Wedding.)
• Aug: Counter Culture (BBC’s Shopgirls: The True Story of Life Behind The Counter.)
• Sep: Revenue Streams (New media and streaming platforms.)
• Oct: Guarded Bodies (BBC1’s political drama, Bodyguard.)
• Nov: The Great Russian Fake Off (An overview of the Russian State's ongoing disinformation campaigns on social media.)
• Dec: Pulling The Trigger (Derren Brown's Netflix special, Sacrifice.)

2019

• Jan: Sold A Pup? (BBC 1's consumer programme, Watchdog.)
• Feb: Making A Drama Out Of A Crisis (Channel 4’s docudrama, Brexit: The Uncivil War.)
• Mar: The Hand-Made Tale (BBC2’s The Victorian House Of Arts And Crafts.)
• Apr: Alice Through The Looking Glass (Channel 4’s documentary, Sleeping With The Far Right.)
• May: Investigating The Yorkshire Ripper Investigation (BBC4’s three-part series, The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story.)
• Jun: With Kid Gloves (ITV documentary series, Planet Child.)
• Jul: ‘An Urgent Referral Still Takes Quite a Long Time’ (Channel 5’s fly-on-the-consulting-room-wall documentary, GPs Behind Closed Doors.)
• Aug: Mistaken Identity (BBC3's political drama, The Left Behind.)
• Sep: Can’t A Cleaner Like Avocados? (BBC2’s How The Middle Class Ruined Britain.)
• Oct: Palmed Off (BBC3's Unmasked: Make-Up’s Big Secret. A look at the environmental impact of palm oil production.)
• Nov: Cash And The Castaways (Channel 4's reality TV show, Treasure Island With Bear Grylls. A variation on Lord of the Flies - but with adults - for your evening's entertainment. Not so much a 'survival of the fittest' but a 'survival of the slickest'.)
• Dec: ‘You’ve Had It, Ain’t Ya?’ (BBC4’s Arena documentary, A British Guide To The End Of The World.)

2020

• Jan: ‘All I Can Think About Is The Housing’ (Channel 4's Dispatches programme, Born Homeless.)
• Feb: YouTube And You (A look at the social media behemoth, YouTube.)
• Mar: All’s Whale That Ends Well? (BBC 3's documentary, Stacey Dooley Investigates: The Whale Hunters.)
• Apr: ‘The Detail Which Moves You Is The Same Detail That Lets You Know It’s True’ (BBC2's Confronting Holocaust Denial With David Baddiel.)
• May: TV and the Virus (Television coverage of the lockdown.)
• Jun: At The Movies (Jeff Gibbs environmental documentary, Planet of the Humans.)
• Jul: Luxury Legoland (BBC2's documentary series, Inside Monaco: Playground Of The Rich.)
• Aug: Turning The Page (Channel 4's documentary, Page Three: The Naked Truth.)
• Sep: ‘I’ve Got Nothing. I Ain’t Got No-one. But I’ve Got The Shops’ (Channel 5’s fly-on-the-wall documentary, Shoplifters: At War With The Law.)
• Oct: Radio Ga-Ga (TalkRADIO and right-wing talking points.)
• Nov: Rubber Reboot (Britbox revives 1980s favourite, Spitting Image, but misses the satirical mark.)
• Dec: Control And Coercion (BBC3's documentary on domestic violence, Is This Coercive Control?)

2021

• Jan: Cutting-Edge Drama (Steve McQueen's Small Axe films.)
• Feb: Fame And Fortune (BBC 2’s documentary series Celebrity: A 21st Century Story.)
• Mar: An Emotional History (Adam Curtis’s documentary, Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.)
• Apr: Keep Calm And Carry On With The Clichés (BBC1’s documentary, Blitz Spirit With Lucy Worsley.)
• May: ‘She’s Part Of Those Statistics Now’ (Dispatches' The Black Maternity Scandal.)
• Jun: Track And Trace (BBC3’s Tagged series: Women on Tag.)
• Jul: Another Problematic ‘Class System’ (Panorama's Paralympics: The Unfair Games?)
• Aug: Brexit And Exports (Panorama's Brexit: Six Months On.)
• Sep: Between The Lines (BBC3’s documentary series, High: Confessions Of An Ibiza Drug Mule.)
• Oct: Remoulding The Activist (CBS’s reality TV show, The Activist. The politics of charity and 'activism' as a game show.)
• Nov: Police And Abuse (Channel 4's Dispatches programme, Cops On Trial. When the police are the criminals.)
• Dec: Capturing The Christmas Spirit (Christmas, consumerism and woke culture.)

2022

• Jan: Charged Up (Channel 4's Dispatches programme, The Truth About Electric Cars, and BBC 1's Panorama's, The Electric Car Revolution: Winners And Losers.)
• Feb: The Shape Of Things To Comet (Adam McKay's political satire, Don't Look Up.)
• Mar: Where the wealth went (BBC 2’s documentary, The Decade The Rich Won.)
• Apr: The Media as Intermediary (Media bias and state propaganda.)
• May: Four Sale (The privatisation of Channel 4.)
• Jun: Getting over the horizon (Panorama's The Post Office Scandal.)
• Jul: A Bite From The Apple (Apple TV's dystopian drama, Severance.)
• Aug: Hack To The Future (Channel 4's political drama, The Undeclared War.)
• Sep: A Problem Not Registering (BBC News documentary, Disappearing Dentists.)
• Oct: Profits and power ( Panorama's The Energy Crisis: Who’s Cashing In? The energy companies and their super profits.)
• Nov: Hard Labour (Al Jazeera’s four-part documentary series, The Labour Files. The Labour Right's undermining of Jeremy Corbyn and the smearing of the Labour Left.)
• Dec: Mindsets And Misinterpretations (Panorama's Disaster Deniers: Hunting The Trolls. Alex Jones and other conspiracy theorists pouring scorn on disasters and tragedies.)

2023

• Jan:  The richest and poorest (Channel 5's two-part documentary, How The Other Half Live.)
• Feb: Dukes And Rebukes (Channel 4's Prince Andrew: The Musical.)
• Mar: Exploring Englishness (Channel 4's Grayson Perry’s Full English.)
• Apr: Exploitation at work (Panorama's Sex For Work: The True Cost Of Our Tea.)
• May: Flat broke (Panorama's What’s Gone Wrong With Our Housing?.)
• Jun: Send in the crowns (The King's coronation.)
• Jul: Splashing out on drip (Channel 4’s Untold series. Addicted to Drip, which looks at addiction and conspicuous consumption.)
• Aug: The state of North Korea (BBC2 documentary, North Korea: The Insiders.)
• Sep: Super marketing (Channel 4’s documentary, Secrets Of The Supermarket Own-Brands.)
• Oct: SSRIs and side effects (BBC iPlayer's documentary series, Are My Antidepressants Worth It?. Mental health and medication amongst young people in Scotland.)
• Nov: Gathering storm (Channel 4’s docudrama, Partygate. The Conservative Party at play, misbehaving during Covid and lockdown.)
• Dec: Fashion Victims (Panorama's Boohoo’s Broken Promises. A look at the business model of fast fashion.)

2024

• Jan: An appetite for profit (BBC 3's The Skinny Jab Uncovered.)
• Feb: Lights . . . Camera . . . Political Action? (ITV's political docudrama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.)
• Mar: Crossing the line (Channel 4's documentary series, Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle For Britain.) 
• Apr: Presenting the past (Historical dramas and multiculturalism.)
• May: Going public about going private (Panorama’s NHS Patients Going Private: What Are The Risks?)
• Jun: United by music, non-politically? (BBC1's  Eurovision Song Contest.)
• Jul: Temu’s temerity (Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary, The Truth About Temu.)
• Aug: Anti-social media (ITVX’s drama serial, Douglas Is Cancelled.)
• Sep: Hacked off (ITV’s phone-hacking documentary, Tabloids On Trial.)
• Oct: Flipped Off (Channel 4's reality TV show, The Great House Giveaway. The popular British past times of house renovations and Keeping up with the Joneses.)
• Nov: Not-so special offers (Panorama's Supermarket Deals: How Good Are They? The reality of big business supermarkets. If it looks too good to be true . . . )
• Dec: Far into the far right (Channel 4’s documentary, Undercover: Exposing The Far Right. A look at the growth of the far right across Europe.)

2025

• Jan: The latest celebrity to be accused (The scandal surrounding MasterChef presenter, Gregg Wallace.)
• Feb: All over the shop (Netflix's Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy.)
• Mar: The maxim of maximising (Radio 4's documentary series, The Prophets of Profit.)
• Apr: Realistically altruistically (Radio 4's series, The Infinite Monkey Cage.)
• May: Lessons from Adolescence (Netflix’s crime drama Adolescence.)
• Jun: Looking into Black Mirror (Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror.)
• Jul: Being informed about informers (BBC documentary, Informers: Hunting The Enemy Within, on state surveillance in Putin's Russia.)
• Aug: Tell A Vision In Turkmenistan (YouTube documentary,  TV in Turkmenistan is Insane.)
• Sep: Heading down stream (The growth in streaming services.)
• Oct: Crafty cover-ups (BBC4’s documentary, What Are UFOs? Are they out there, and why don't they want to talk to us?)
• Nov: Anti-social media (BBC3’s documentary Blackmailed: The Sextortion Killers. The devastating impact of cyber-crimes.)
• Dec: Manipulated by the Monoform (A look back at the life and career of the radical filmmaker, Peter Watkins, who had recently died.)

2026

• Jan: The luxury gap (Channel 4's documentary series, Inside The World’s Most Luxurious…)
• Feb: Processing progress (Matthew Sweet's documentary, What Happened To Progress?)
• Mar: Reporting on reporting (Panorama's Our Man In Moscow.)
• Apr: Automation and occupations (Panorama's Will Robots Take My Job?)
• May: Theroux the keyhole (Louis Theroux's Netflix documentary, Inside The Manosphere.)
• Jun: Regulations, nations and alienation (As part of the BBC News Scams & Scandals documentary series,The Immigration Fraudsters looks at the prevalence of 'bogus' asylum seekers.) 
• Jul: Grander designs (Kevin McCloud's Channel 4 series, Listed Britain, which details the history of Britain's listed building and British grand architecture.)

Proper Gander: Regulations, nations and alienation (2026)

The Proper Gander column from the June 2026 issue of the Socialist Standard

BBC News  made sure to emphasise that a Home Office investigation which led to a couple of arrests was prompted by the findings of an episode of its Scams & Scandals documentary series. As its title indicates, The Immigration Fraudsters revealed misconduct among ‘legal advisers’ preparing applications for their clients to remain in the UK. Presenter Billy Kenber tells us ‘we’ve gone undercover to expose this hidden world of illegality’, which means that much of the programme consists of blurry, shaky footage from a concealed camera worn by his colleague. Posing as a foreign national, he visits law firms and advisers who can arrange the necessary paperwork for a claim to the Home Office as an asylum seeker. The covert footage reveals that some advisers gather fabricated evidence to meet the criteria, and Kenber suggests that possibly thousands of people have been granted leave to remain on fraudulent grounds.

Those who make claims for asylum include people who have newly arrived in the UK and others who originally entered under a temporary student or work visa or as the spouse of someone with leave to remain. A successful application confers refugee status, which doesn’t automatically mean permanent entitlement to live in the UK, but permits official employment and being able to claim benefits, apply for ‘social housing’ and use all NHS services. People without official approval to be in the country have ‘no recourse to public funds’, meaning they don’t have access to these aspects of the state. Those in this position without the funds to buy their way out have to rely on cash-in-hand work for an income and are more likely to be trapped into slave labour or homelessness.

For a claim for asylum to be granted by the Home Office, a fear of persecution in the applicant’s country of origin is required. As Ejel Khan of the Muslim LGBT Network explains, homosexuality is illegal in many countries, so fleeing one could be grounds for a gay person applying for asylum in the UK. The undercover reporter meets an immigration adviser who says that for a four-figure fee she can arrange a claim on this basis. He says that he isn’t gay, which doesn’t prevent her from offering to provide a letter declaring that he has had sex with a man, and also membership of the ‘Worcester LGBT Asylum Seekers Group’. The reporter goes to one of its meetings in London which has over 200 attendees, some of whom say next-to-none of them are gay.

The Immigration Fraudsters also covers another route for making asylum claims, on the grounds of being a victim of domestic abuse. This applies in situations where someone has come into the country on a family visa, so their entitlement to remain relies on being in a relationship with their partner who already has official status. If the relationship were to end, the partner under the visa would ordinarily lose their right to remain in the UK, unless they were a victim of domestic abuse. The undercover reporter records an adviser offering to arrange a fake claim (under the 2013 Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession) of being a victim of psychological cruelty from his wife.

The documentary’s producers contacted the dodgy advisers about their activities and received replies bluntly denying any wrongdoing. This wasn’t enough to satisfy the Home Office, hence their announcement of an investigation following the programme’s broadcast, which led to raids by its Immigration Enforcement team and arrests. One way of looking at this is that the BBC, as one branch of the state, was carrying out the ‘due diligence’ which fell within the remit of another branch of the state, the Home Office.

Kenber meets with above-board legal experts who say that people who apply fraudulently make it harder for those with genuine claims, a sentiment echoed by immigration minister Mike Tapp after the raids. The Immigration Fraudsters doesn’t include discussion about the wider context of the issue, beyond quoting some statistics about the number of asylum applications. Having a situation where people lie about being persecuted in order to stay in the UK comes from a combination of factors, each illustrating how society’s capitalist framework alienates us. Fundamentally, the division of the world into countries, as territories of different states, reduces people to being subjects of those states. This accords us differing status in relation to other countries, according to our wealth, nationality, immigration rights and even our family role. Alongside this bureaucratic alienation, there’s also that caused in those states and cultures which are particularly oppressive, including towards anyone who isn’t heterosexual. Understandably, people will want to leave those countries for another where their prospects may be better. Domestic abuse, and especially being trapped in a violent relationship, is another effect of living in a divisive, alienating society. Fleeing these situations means being processed and accorded the status of asylum seeker and, maybe, refugee. While many staff work hard trying to help people navigate the system, the framework they work within is complicated by its legal and financial constraints. This doesn’t prevent some people wanting to manipulate it, leading to fake claims for asylum. While there’s nothing admirable about pretending to be a victim of abuse, those who do would have to be in a dire enough situation to push them towards this. The suspect advisers are exploiting their clients’ grim position, but they’re also products of their circumstances. Presumably, this career pays better than their other options. A capitalist economy encourages people to try to make money out of anything, including desperation. The arrests which followed the programme’s broadcast may lead to some disruption of the network of ‘legal advisers’, and the Home Office is likely to tighten up its legislation. Such measures can’t change the conditions which have created the issue, nor resolve the plight of people seeking asylum, with or without fabricated paperwork.

Mike Foster

SPGB Snippets: Ann Widdecombe (2026)

From the Socialist Party of Great Britain website

July 15, 2026

Red faces in the Socialist Workers Party after their tweet on X in response to the death of Widdecombe was ‘Hooray, she’s dead’, followed by immediate deletion as furore swept the media. Some even confused the SWP with us.

So we should point out that, while we oppose capitalism and all its works, and urge the world’s people to establish a post-capitalist society of democratic common ownership, we have no truck with the SWP’s infantile reaction to the death (probably murder) of a pro-capitalist politician, however detestable that person’s opinions.

Capitalism is a worldwide system of private property and market trading, which can only be replaced at a worldwide scale by a conscious and informed majority, not by targeting individuals.

Socialist Sonnet No. 240: Punch and Judy Man (2026)

 From the Socialism or Your Money Back blog

Punch and Judy Man

 The tide ebbs and flows in Clacton,

Waves advance, pause and then retreat,

Quite unmoved by human conceit

Enjoying the fresh air and fun.

It’s not beyond Westminster’s reach

The squabbling for office and place,

Where everyone’s more than one face.

There’s to be drama on the beach,

A show that’s seemingly funny

And yet is actually grotesque,

The character behind the mask

Only performs for the money.

Once you given all you can spare

You’ll find he is not really there.

D. A.

 

Blogger's Note:

A sonnet prompted by Nigel Farage resigning his parliamentary seat in Clacton, in order that a bye-election is triggered, which he will then fight on a 'Let the people of Clacton decide' platform - I'm paraphrasing, of course. All rather silly.

SPGB Snippets: Whoever has will be given more (2026)

From the Socialist Party of Great Britain website

July 8, 2026

A report on wealth inequality graphically illustrates the class divide in 2026.

Apparently, the 56,000 wealthiest adults on the planet – who could fit inside a single football stadium – own three times as much wealth as the poorest 2.8 billion adults (add their families, that’s HALF of humanity).

Those 56,000 must have really worked their arses off…

Just kidding! That wealth has been sucked from the world’s working class and, as Marx predicted in Capital, the nature of capitalist economics has resulted in increasing concentration of real wealth.

The report’s suggestion? Higher taxes for the rich and spend more on education (!!). In other words, tinker around at the edges and leave the cause of the problem alone. Sad or what?