Sunder Katwala - openDemocracy (Page 2)

Feeling British after the Olympics

The Olympics have revealed once again that the British are fascinated with themselves and how they feel about who they are, now that they are a multicultural country that is no longer the centre of an Empire. Here we see some of the shifting responses detailed in polling responses run by the new t

By Sunder Katwala

/ 19 Aug 2012

Born in South Africa but representing England: a response to Peter Oborne

Responding to the controversial dropping of Kevin Pietersen from the England cricket team, The Telegraph's political columnist Peter Oborne declared the impossibility of being born in South Africa and giving full loyalty to England. Sunder Katwala unpacks these remarks, arguing that once the invit

By Sunder Katwala

/ 17 Aug 2012

An island story: Boyle's Olympic opening was irresistibly British

London 2012's opening ceremony evoked a 'gently fierce' national pride that was uniquely British in character.

By Sunder Katwala

/ 31 Jul 2012

The shape of the union: the "bigger picture" of the UK local elections

The results of the 2012 UK-wide local elections provide important indicators about the future of the union. With Scotland checking Alex Salmond’s breakneck rise to power and the weak performance of Welsh Plaid Cymru, these nationalist movements have unappetising statistics to digest. Meanwhile, th

By Sunder Katwala

/ 7 May 2012

How to hear one side of an argument: The missing voices of a sledgehammer polemic

'Physical theatre' group DV8's latest production "Can We Talk About This?" is currently being performed at London's National Theatre. Sunder Katwala applauds its corporeal flair but finds a lack of serious engagement with its subject matter of multiculturalism.

By Sunder Katwala

/ 14 Mar 2012

The English conversation has finally begun. What took so long?

Englishness is finally finding a voice, after more than a century. Why has it been muted this long, and is it time now for a strong civic nation, or will an England of blood and soil emerge?

By Sunder Katwala

/ 1 Feb 2012

Ruder, more liberal and as class-conscious as ever: how Britain sees itself today

As arguments over nationhood and independence once again grab the political agenda, Sunder Katwala, director of a new think tank probing attitudes to identity and integration, finds cause for optimism

By Sunder Katwala

/ 16 Jan 2012

Labour's immigration muddle, and a conference of confusion

The Labour Party doesn't know what to do or say about immigration. Last week's conference was a case in point, as two leading thinkers offered radical proposals for tightening immigration that even they admitted are unworkable.

By Sunder Katwala

/ 4 Oct 2011

The Left and the Big Society I: Sunder Katwala

How will the left respond to the clear challenge of the Conservatives' Big Society idea? Niki Seth Smith talks to leading people and institutions on the left to ask them how they see it, beginning with Sunder Katwala, general secretary of the Fabian Society who blogs at Next Left.

By Sunder Katwala

/ 20 Sep 2010

Let everyone watch the debate! Ten reasons to show it live on analog TV

Sunder Katwala calls for the BBC to broadcast the second general election debate

By Sunder Katwala

/ 22 Apr 2010

Anti-fascist MEP threatens legal action over expulsion by Tories

Edward McMillan-Scott MEP may take legal action against the Conservative Party after an internal appeal panel upheld his expulsion from the party.

By Sunder Katwala

/ 15 Jan 2010

Political lessons from 1910

As we face the prospect of a Conservative Government, how we imagine our system ought to work will return to haunt us. Here Sunder Katwala, of the Fabians, takes on a defining 'historic' myth of British government.

By Sunder Katwala

/ 7 Jan 2010