Opening the one-day event, the MCC director, Frank Furedi,
….
Furedi, once a member of a Marxist fringe party, now a leading ideologue for the new right,
Furedi? Wasn’t he “Living Marxism” or some such then Spiked?
Fun that he ended up funded by Orban of course. But my, my, isn’t The Guardian sniffy about that past?
Yes, yes but can he handle spin bowling. ?
He’s moved from silly mid-on to square leg.
Frank Furedi (real name Frank Furedi).
They hate and loath Katharine Birbalsingh for having done something similar. There’s nothing a lefty hates more than an apostate.
As with organised religion in general
Yes, Living Marxism. It was a very interesting magazine; Libertarian Marxism, which is arguably closer to Marx (“the State withers away”) than communism or socialism.
Folded I think when it was sued by a telly channel (not BBC but still a major one – ITV?) after it criticised their coverage of part of the post-Yugoslavia wars (did it claim they had used dodgy camera angles to make a refugee camp look like a concentration camp to whip up support for British military intervention to help the Muslim minority, or something like that?).
I seem to remember some of the Guardianista Left (George Mombiot?) putting the boot into LM in the libel trial.
Trotskyists gonna trot. Division after division of ever decreasing degrees of difference is the only thing they have left after incest and morris dancing.
Chris Dillow used to claim he was a libertarian Marxist or something like that and used to write some interesting stuff on his blog.
I wondered what happened to him and see he’s Substack.
He made his money as an economist in The City. So, clearly good economist. Moved to journalism – Investor’s Chronicle – when income was to spend, savings were sufficient. More fun. Then retired. Met him just the once. Hmm, dour but rather fun. That very dry dourness of the North perhaps? Or is it Midlands?
Put it this way. You’ve a local, you stop in three times a week for a couple of pints and some chat. You know, normality until a decade or two back. There’s a rotating crew – much like this place in fact. You’d be glad Chris was there on any particular evening you stopped in. Adds value to company he does.
Here’s the real reason they’re pi**ed off at MCC:
Petros Fassoulas, the secretary general of the European Movement International (EMI), one of the organisations highlighted, believes the MCC’s report contributed to “a climate, a mood, an impression” against NGOs. After years of stable funding, EMI’s application for a €650,000 annual EU grant was rejected in 2025, while funding from the European parliament for awareness-raising campaigns on European issues never materialised. Fassoulas said he had no proof that a rightwing campaign to cut EU funding for NGOs had led to that outcome, but described the timing as bizarre.
Centrist and left of centre NGO’s were coming under scrutiny due to the work done by MCC, therefore MCC is ‘attacking civil society’ and must be shut down.
MCC, and now EMI. My head’s spinning…
He’s on Spiked. Readable, unlike his disgusting wife, Ann, who orgasms at the thought of aborting a 40-week foetus.
So, Seamus Milne has never been a member of a Marxist fringe party then?
And I don’t even mean the Labour Party.
Maybe just a regular Marxist party.
Seumas. No, me neither.
Oooh, a nasty piece of work who looked as if he might get real power had Magic Grandad won in 2019. Public-school Trot, natch, son of Alasdair Milne, Director-General of the BBC from 1982 to 1987.
Yes, a full-on “Stalin did nothing wrong, except being a bit too soft” tankie. Just like his mate Susan (SAGE) Michie.