Sam Mandi-Ghomi

2 weeks ago | compassonline.org.uk | Sam Mandi-Ghomi

Progressives need to learn these lessons from the national populists in order to defeat them. “The victory of ideas needs organising”. These are the wise words of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Some might, with some justification, argue that Lenin and the Bolsheviks took their own dictum too much to heart. But it’s obviously the case that while ideas are necessary, they are insufficient on their own – they need to be battled for and fought for and that requires organisation.

3 weeks ago | compassonline.org.uk | Sam Mandi-Ghomi

The UK is, by all conventional measures, a rich country. As a member of the G7 – a group of the most advanced economies – it typically ranks among the top ten largest economies measured by GDP. And yet, by another measure that reveals far more about our society and economy, it is failing. Child poverty in the UK is increasing, reaching 30.5% in 2023/24. Around 4.45 million children are growing up in poverty. That’s more than all of the children in London, Wales and the East of England combined.

1 month ago | compassonline.org.uk | Sam Mandi-Ghomi

Click here to sign this open letter and make your voice heard. Dear Mayor Sadiq Khan,London’s water system is facing a profound crisis. Thames Water, the largest water company in the UK, is on the brink – saddled with billions in debt, under public outcry over pollution and chronic underinvestment, and now, reportedly at risk of being sold to global private equity firm KKR. This is a defining moment.

1 month ago | compassonline.org.uk | Sam Mandi-Ghomi

Opening up higher education to half the country hasn’t been quite the progressive boon we were promised. For someone who thinks they know their own mind and has a clear view of their beliefs and what matters, there are a range of issues which I’ve struggled with all my life. Should people have the right to send their children to private schools? Should borders be open? What rights come with what responsibilities? One particular dilemma has bugged me for decades.

1 month ago | compassonline.org.uk | Sam Mandi-Ghomi

Remco van der Stoep: So they [Dutch Social Democrats, PvdA] still have their power base in some larger urban areas, like Amsterdam, but overall they have far less influence, and their membership is aging a lot, so they could see that the future wasn’t looking too bright. Greens are on a bit of an opposite trajectory, growing numbers of members, getting through in much more diverse array of places locally, but nationally also still struggling to get into a real position of influence.