It’s the start of Pride month but Lily from Queer Brewing has announced the closure of the project at the end of July 2026.
They have been able to avoid administration and go out in a way of their own choosing.
From 2019 Queer have raised the standard for queer and trans brewing. The diversity was and is an important principle but importantly the beer was good.
The closure underlines the pressures hospitality face with increasing costs across the piece but with drinkers grappling with a cost of living crisis. Cuts in VAT and business rates are practical matters the Government needs to address.
In the meantime fortunately there is still time to enjoy some Queer beer and raise a glass to brewing liberation..
Wes Streeting was a protege of Peter Mandelson, someone who might one day become Labour leader. Mandelson was a supporter of Tony Blair’s war in Iraq and messages released by the Government on 1st June, underline that he was also clearly relaxed about Israel’s actions in Gaza. Streeting, perhaps under Constituency pressure, but nonetheless raised Gaza in Cabinet. Mandelson was sharply critical. The end of the affair.
Mandelson & New Labour, the end of the affair. The Mandelson files in historical context.
The media is focused on the release of over a thousand pages of documents from or to Peter Mandelson in the period when he was being appointed and became US Ambassador in 2024/5.
The media, most of which lacks historical context, have picked up that Mandelson is criticising Starmer. Whatever one’s view of the current Government (clearly I’m no fan) Mandelson is attacking it from the right. Note his criticism of Wes Streeting for raising the genocide in Gaza in July 2025 for example (again no fan of Streeting, and he no doubt was under Constituency pressure to make the point, but at least he did make it).
The following history of Mandelsonism appeared in the Morning Star in February 2026.
Channel Four aired a three part documentary, The Tony Blair Story, in mid-February 2026. It was a history of the present back to the 1980s, albeit other histories are available. One person, close to Blair, who was interviewed in each episode, was Peter Mandelson. Each episode also concluded with a disclaimer that Mandelson had been interviewed before the full details of his connection to Jeffrey Epstein was known.
It was however a reminder, needed by the few if not the many, that Mandelson was central to the New Labour project and remained so until very recently.
Mandelson first appeared in the Labour Party when Neil Kinnock became leader in the 1980s and Tony Benn noted in his diary at the time that he was not good news for the future of Labour. John Smith shunned Mandelson, but after his death, he became closely associated, using the codename ‘Bobby’, with Tony Blair’s successful attempt to become Labour leader.
Mandelson’s political methods are well known but it was the politics he promoted that was and is really key. In 1996 he published a book, The Blair Revolution, with former SDP activist Roger Liddle.
Seamus Milne then a Guardian journalist reviewed the book in the London Review of Books in April 1996 and had this to say about what Mandelson and Liddle were proposing:
coalition with the Liberal Democrats, public sector no-strike deals, workfare for the long-term unemployed, expansion of private pensions and scepticism towards universal benefits
Mandelson held various Ministerial positions in the early New Labour years from 1997 and he was also sacked twice by Blair for actual or alleged breaking of Ministerial rules
Thanks to Government papers released by the National Archives at the start of 2022 we do have a record of Mandelson’s vision for Labour at the time he was Minister Without Portfolio (May 1997-July 1998). Effectively this meant he was policy advisor to Blair and the papers contain a note he sent to him about what he thought New Labour should be. It read in part:
Its political genesis is a synthesis between the historical position of left and right. It is too simplistic to say it adopts ‘left’ values but is rightward in how to achieve them. It is probably more accurate to say that it has left values but is open about to achieve them and recognises that it was the right, not the left, that up to the end of the 80s was prepared to think more freely. Privatisation of certain industries or the sale of council homes or greater autonomy for schools could have been left ideas
National Archives File PREM 49/244
We can see here the practical impact of the New Times policy pursued by Marxism Today. Understanding that Thatcherism had become a hegemonic project on the right, Mandelson and Blair sought to emulate it with a few tweaks. As Stuart Hall later noted in a sharp criticism it wasn’t the hegemonic project that was the problem it was the failure to see, likely deliberate, that it had to be built on the left not the right.
Mandelson’s influence was minimal when Ed Miliband became Labour leader and as Jeremy Corbyn underlined in a recent Commons speech non-existent during his leadership. Mandelson however was still promoting his project and this time hit upon Starmer, someone with no specific left politics, to head it up.
At a party held in a central London pub in 2022 to celebrate 25 years of New Labour Mandelson was reported as leading a chant of ‘Viva New Labour’.
Recent events suggests the end of this 40 year affair. Understanding why it existed and what it meant is essential for the left.
The Times front page (1st June) leads with a report on a JL Partners poll on union members views on political parties. An extract via the Guardian is below.
JL Partners have their origins as pollsters for Theresa May and the Tories but there is no reason to think they don’t run properly conducted polls. That said the poll was clearly designed for a purpose (see below) and needs to be understood in that context.
Understanding what they mean is another matter and the Times, fiercely anti-union, is not about to enlighten us.
The sample size of just over 1,000 is small. Union membership is around 6.6m, although the focus here is on members of unions affiliated to Labour such as the GMB, Unite, Unison, FBU and TSSA.
There is some support for affiliating to Reform rather than Labour, except that Farage’s political business has no mechanism for that to happen. Moreover policy is determined not democratically but by Farage.
The purpose of the poll, which the Times hints at, is to get the Government to do less things that impact badly on union members and more things that impact well. Andy Burnham may well be pleased, even if its far clear that he would be able to do this if he became Labour leader.
The question of Labour’s institutional links to trade union leaderships is certainly a live one. In the last few weeks both CWU and ASLEF conferences have voted to maintain the link, albeit critically.
Of course political funds can be spent on campaigning rather than donating to Labour directly (and often are, particularly for non-affiliated unions) but the ability to influence legislation, for example, on rights at work, currently exists only within the context of Labour. That can, like everything, change but change takes organisation, hard work and political vision.
In the meantime I don’t think its any surprise that numbers of trade unionists back Reform. Right-wing trade unionism has a long history and does active opposition to it. Perhaps the more interesting thing here is that support for Labour, unsurprisingly is dropping, and where that support is going. Mostly not to Reform I’d suggest, likely to the Greens and support for left campaigns..
Guardian report
Around 1,000 trade union members were polled, and Reform and Labour both attracted 28% support. In 2024 Labour was on 24% with union members.
According to the poll, Reform UK is also comfortably ahead amongst Unite members (on 36%, against 30% for Labour) and amongst GMB members (on 31%, against 22% for Labour). But Unison members are slightly more pro-Labour (28%) than pro-Reform UK (25%), the poll suggests.
After an extended period of many T20 cricket matches RCB have retained the Indian Premier League cricket title beating the Titans at the Narendra Modi stadium.
Players on both teams will be familiar to a UK audience but Virat Kohli scored the winning runs while Jos Buttler kept wicket for the Titans.
There were 2332 fours scored during the 2026 IPL, with fewer but still significant sixes also scored. While the T20 format is familiar the IPL does sometimes have the feel of a Whackit contest with the balance between bat and ball lacking.
Kagiso Rabada took the most wickets-27, while Jofra Archer came third with 25. Archer is not playing in Thursday’s first Test at Lords despite being a centrally contracted England player.
The IPL gets huge audiences- if falling a bit- and is shown by Sky in the UK. There is little MSM media coverage here but the audience of those with a South Asian background is certainly significant.
The IPL franchise runs T20 competitions in a number of other countries and there is talk of the IPL itself extending beyond its already lengthy series and perhaps launching as a global cricket presence (which to some extent it already is)
It might be argued that its cricket but not as we know it.
Farage has been complaining that Restore the far right to fascist party which is run by Rupert Lowe, a former Reform MP who he fell out with, is taking votes from Farage’s political business in Makerfield allowing Andy Burnham a path to victory.
A Survation poll found Restore on 7% but it was a small sample. Moving on to a genuine psephologist Prof John Curtice (Mirror) he noted that if Restore polled at 3% it could prevent Reform winning 70 seats at a General Election leaving it well short of a majority.
Restore has been gathering support from the range of fascist and anti-Semitic splinters in the far right as research from Searchlight has underlined but its name recognition comes from a presence on Twitter, where Lowe is backed and promoted by Musk and on Facebook.
In fact Lowe’s tweets, thanks to Musk, get far greater engagement than Farage and Lowe has earned £72K from tweets in the past period, again far more than Farage.
Whether Musk should be allowed to use his algorithm to promote Lowe and Lowe earn money from it, are questions for anyone who thinks political democracy is a good idea. Starmer has called Musk out but what action will follow? Will he for example lead the way for an exodus of MPs and institutions off Twitter where most still actively reside?
The Ambridge Socialist can only salute Brian Aldridge even though he is on the opposite side of the class struggle. He is, so far, determined to withdraw Home Farm from the family partnership and go it alone. Does it seem likely that this would work? No.
Meanwhile Brian has e-mailed Adam (on a Friday evening) to tell him he is sacked. The grounds for dismissal were not revealed (if there were any) and it seems unlikely it is legal. However Ambridge is not a place for trade unions (at least as reported by the BBC). Rather Adam has e-mailed a lawyer who has told him he has a ‘very good case’ for invoking the mental incapacity clause in the family agreement. What the lawyer actually means is that Adam has provided a very good case for paying her or him lots of fees…
The Moral Maze
Bert has decided to go and live with Clive. Susan after an inspection reported to Tracy that Clive was cooking SpagBol for Bert. Whether it was edible was not revealed.
Later Anna and Tracy in the Bull had a conversation about the issues caring, in whatever way, for an ageing parent brings. At the end of the week, Anna reminded us she is a lesbian, (why not?) and had a sympathetic conversation with Carol. All’s well etc…
Meanwhile Kirsty has been for a check on how her pregnancy is doing. As a result she has told Kate that she is pregnant. Hmmm
Natasha wants to send the kids to a private school
Natasha has seen a bad Ofsted Report on the school the kids are due to go to in September. Typically she determines that may be a private school might be the way forward. Tom is concerned about the cost. Perhaps it’s time for a crowdfunder.
What are they drinking in The Bull?
Congratulations to The Archers on celebrating 75 years of harmless radio entertainment. I shall pop into the Bull and toast the long-running soap with a pint of Shires, apparently the only drink available, since lager, stout, mild and craft beers are never mentioned. Toby Wood Peterborough (Guardian)
Shires of course is a classic British cask pale ale. Adam was to be heard ordering one in The Bull (after work, Hannah Spencer plse note) but Lilian, owner, gave it to him on the house (family). However Ambridge Socialist research reveals that the big seller in The Bull, partly thanks to Lilian, are gin and tonics.
Party like its 1995
The Archers Podcast (from Hay) recreates the stables fire where Grace Archer died (September 1955). Misha Glenny points out that Godfrey Basely then Archers Editor wanted the actress who played Grace out, because she was trying to unionise the cast. Silence…. Moving on
Similarly, Bentinck looks momentarily startled when I remind him, after he reveals his suspicion that David “may not be the brightest of sparks”, that the scion to the Brookfield acres failed his maths A-level twice. But I’m not the only Archers fan willing to be brutally honest: a listener once approached him following a talk they had both attended taking a Marxist view of the Roman empire (not a topic one often hears discussed in the Bull) and told him how funny it had been to hear him asking questions – “because you sounded so intelligent!” He laughs uproariously.
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