Mark Perryman – författare

04.07.24: Fourteen years of Tory gross mismanagement of government, economy and society came to a crashing and well-deserved end. Keir Starmer's Labour government was elected with a landslide of seismic proportions.But with a huge Parliamentary majority delivered on a share of the vote that would ordinarily spell defeat, this was more about the Tories losing than Labour winning. The old assumptions have been torn up. Throw into the mix an increasingly five-party (six in Scotland) system where once it was two and the potential for electoral volatility if Labour ends up disappointing is obvious.The Starmer Symptom brings together leading political writers to navigate the complex terrain of this seismic shift in British politics. This unique collection analyses voter data, and looks at the break-up of the two-party system with the rise of a populist right in Reform UK and a new independent left. Will Keir Starmer's government be able to successfully combine the pragmatic and social democratic to produce radical change? And if not, who is waiting in the wings?

A vital kickback against national decline. Essential, devastating, and often very funny Alex Niven, Editor, Tribune magazinePacked with insightful commentary The Starmer Symptom pinpoints the reasons why Labour is failing to reverse the rise of the Far Right agenda Cat Arnold, member of the Labour Party NECLabour needs to break out of Labourism and remake itself as part of a broader pluralist bloc. Here is the book that brilliantly explains why Alan Finlayson, Chair of the Editorial Board, RenewalOn 4th July, 2024, fourteen years of Tory gross mismanagement of government, economy and society came to a crashing end. Keir Starmers Labour government was elected with a landslide.However, this was more about the Tories losing than Labour winning. The old assumptions have been torn up, and as Starmers Labour continues to disappoint, the end of the two-party system heralds a new era of political volatility unseen for generations.The Starmer Symptom navigates the complex terrain of this seismic shift in British politics. How can Labour effect the kind of change our society and climate requires? Has Starmer created the basis for the rise of Reform UK? What alternative is there to the neoliberal present, and future? Why is Labour pursuing austerity economics?Mark Perryman previously edited the collections The Blair Agenda, The Modernisers Dilemma and The Corbyn Effect. He is a pioneer of a left culture rooted in the convivial and participative rather than command and control.

The good, the bad, the beautiful game: a mix that few can explain and yet whenever football hooliganism breaks out, the government, the football authorities, the police and journalists are all too ready to offer quick-fix solutions - solutions that rarely consider the underlying causes of the violence. Is it about boys becoming men? Racism and the hatred of all things foreign? Or about a defence of territory and national pride? Hooligan Wars looks behind the easy answers by comparing England's fan culture to football supporters' experience in France, Germany and Holland. The role of fascist groups is investigated. The effect of media coverage of hooliganism is analysed. And the impact of all-seater stadiums reviewed. A separate chapter considers the fans' experiences at the recent World Cup in South Korea and Japan.Rivalry with 'the other lot' and winding up those we love to put one over on will always be a big part of what it means to be a football fan. Is the connection between this and violence something that can never be broken? What would football be like free of hooliganism? In trying to rid the game of its ugly underbelly, are we in danger of softening too many of those rough edges that makes it so special? This is a book that takes risks by asking awkward questions. Football violence is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's time to break the spell.

Imagined Nation: England after Britain Mark Perryman (ed) The break-up of Britain has begun but, unlike the rest of its constituent parts, England remains an imagined nation. Scotland has a Parliament, and Wales and Northern Ireland have Assemblies. What does England have as a nation state - apart from a team to cheer and a flag to wave? Imagined Nation explores the possibilities for England after Britain - as a multicultural nation, capable of addressing the legacies of history, yet confident enough to construct an inclusive future. The contributors to this book put forward a variety of ideas in an effort to begin to create a new imaginary for an old country. Rejecting racialised ideas of Englishness, they outline the prospects for a hybrid nation, and offer a vision of a green and pleasant land as an alternative national future.'Some of the sharpest thinking around on both the pitfalls of nationalism and the potential for a progressive English identity' Gary Younge 'Mark Perryman has long been one of the more articulate commentators on issues of national identity' Andrew Shields, Time Out 'Mark Perryman, the supreme documenter of English fandom' Brian Appleyard, Sunday Times Mark Perryman is writer and regular TV commentator on Englishness and football, and a lecturer in sports journalism at Brighton University. He is convenor of the London England Fans supporters' group, co-founder of Philosophy Football and author of a number of books, including Ingerland: Travels with a Football Nation and (as editor) The Blair Agenda.

May 2009 will be the tenth anniversary of the first elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. This was the beginning of a decade of change - which now includes the restoration of powers to Stormont - that is showing every sign of being an irreversible process. Breaking Up Britain is a unique collection of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish contributors, featuring key political activists from the nationalist parties, commentators and campaigners, academics and journalists. Each writer explores the change that the break-up demands in their own nation, but also discusses its impact upon the whole. This dialogue of differences is essential reading for anyone interested in the shape of politics and culture after a Union. 'This brilliant book helps us understand what Scots, Welsh, Irish and English neighbours, freed from an unhappy Union, might look like.' Billy Bragg

The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics will be the biggest single sporting event in the UK in our lifetimes. The memories of that summer of sport will remain with us forever, but what did those four weeks tell us about ourselves, our society's values and its possibilities? This collection of critical reflections is not anti-Olympics nor against sport. The writers instead imaginatively address the reality of the Games' impact, question what the ceremonies and Team GB represented, and deconstruct the organisers' claims of economic regeneration and boosting participation. This an essential and exciting read for all who understand and appreciate that London 2012 meant something, but are unsure what. Contributors include world-class experts in Olympism, writers and journalists who reported on and were inspired by the Games, social and cultural critics, sports policy consultants and sport campaigners.

A first-ever oral history of ’66 combined with match reports provided by writers from each of the countries England played, create a highly original view of the tournament - how the fans watched the games, the stadia, the newspaper and TV reporting are each revisited. The politics, music and fashion of ’66 are examined too, exploring the forces of fan resistance in England and Germany that have found common cause in opposition to the corporate take over of the game, as well as the entirely new ranking system that calculates England’s fall, and occasional rise, from 1966 to 2016, showing who has overtaken England and why.

Jeremy Corbyn is the epitome of the anti-leader: he would, by impulse, shy away from the very idea of `Corbynism’. Yet when a general election is called, Corbyn’s Labour promises to force a break with the current consensus every bit as historic as those of Attlee in 1945 and Thatcher in 1979. Corbyn is a phenomenon that has been purposely misrepresented and wilfully misunderstood, with supporters derided as `Corbynistas’, fans and cultists. This book of specially commissioned essays explores the true nature of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership; expectations of how Labour might fulfil its promise of a new kind of politics; and the limits to what Labour can achieve; as well as offering tools for transforming the party from the bottom up. Building on the work of Mark Perryman’s previous book The Corbyn Effect, this new collection is vital reading for all those interested in left politics and the future of the Labour Party. It presents a comprehensive account of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party: where it came from, how it has begun a process of radical change, and the party it promises to become.