Brilliant analysis; this victory truly marks a historic turning point. Zohran Mamdani’s triumph isn’t just a political win; it’s a moral and generational one. Against smears, billionaires, and fearmongering, he showed what real people-powered politics looks like: unapologetically socialist, anti-racist, and rooted in justice.
As a Palestinian, I found his stance deeply moving, he stood firm in solidarity with our struggle for freedom and against genocide, even when vilified for it. His courage, remind us that the fight for liberation in New York, Gaza, or anywhere is one struggle.
When ordinary people unite against fascism, racism, and capitalist greed, they can win. Thank you, for capturing the significance of it for UK politics. 🌹✊🏽🇵🇸✌️ #MamdaniVictory #Solidarity #Palestine #JusticeForAll
Very pleased and thankful for some good news. Perhaps this will boost our own Muslim mayor in London who’s had to be strong and fierce against the smears including from carrot face! Good luck to both xx
Your comments have made me feel ever so much better, Owen. It's been rather depressing reading the US media post-mortems. I am an ex-New Yorker living in the UK and so can still vote, which I did, for Momdani of course. What has made me cross is how the corporate press in New York (the New York Times for one, which wouldn't endorse him) are reporting on his victory. He has an enormous uphill battle on his hands since most of the media will be scrutinising his every move in the hopes that he will fail. One column in the NY Times actually said "And Tuesday's [elections] were decided by the kind of highly engaged, lower-turnout electorates that have repeatedly backed Democrats in recent years. " Lower turnout! NYC had the largest voter turnout in over two decades. Virginia saw the highest ever non-Presidential turnout, EVER. When even the NY Times starts gaslighting, you know the corporate world is scared of the power of the people. Not only that, and also not being broadcast so loudly, is that though Trump didn't engage fully with most of the elections nation-wide, every single candidate that he did endorse, lost. Every single one. There is hope.
Great writing again Owen. Here in Melbourne my family celebrated. Someone said, "We can play his speech on YouTube, it's speech is 24 minutes." I thought, well, let's hear a bit of it. But 24 minutes has never gone by so quickly. It was riveting and time and again brought tears to my eyes. And as much as a politician could, perhaps, he made his victory about the movement, not about him. I keep having to remind myself - The Capital of Capitalism has a Democratic Socialist Mayor. Dare to dream people!
A great win and a small step towards a new/renewed democratic socialist left. But let's remember the neoliberal paradigm still holds all the cards and all the money and they will try to ensure that the basic premise of the State Finances being like a household will continue to dominate and that the interests of the rich will continue to be prioritised by government. As a report on how even in Germany government policies are overwhelmingly orientated towards the rich put it: Government of the people, by the elite, for the rich".
The left need to start understanding government money, by (re)-reading Keynes and the current writers on MMT, such as Stephanie Kelton, Richard Murphy, Steve Keen, Warren Mosler etc. Deficit Spending by government creating money while there are under used assets and taxing back at an appropriate level to control inflation, with the emphasis on taking the proceeds of wealth will enable the massive public investment the UK is in dire need of to rescue crumbling public services and infrastructure. We used to be able to "afford" things like free tertiary education and public libraries, but the neoliberals told us the State has to get out of the way and let private enterprise take over because it is so much more efficient - yes, efficient at taking money out of ordinary people's pockets and transferring to the rich.
Unless the Left starts explaining that money is not the problem (for a monetary sovereign) and its the money grabbing rich that are the problem, whose lobbyists have brainwashed us all, then nothing much will change - because the neoliberals will always say "there is no money" so there will have to be cuts to welfare, tax rises for the majorityand tax breaks for the rich "wealth creators".
Brilliant analysis; this victory truly marks a historic turning point. Zohran Mamdani’s triumph isn’t just a political win; it’s a moral and generational one. Against smears, billionaires, and fearmongering, he showed what real people-powered politics looks like: unapologetically socialist, anti-racist, and rooted in justice.
As a Palestinian, I found his stance deeply moving, he stood firm in solidarity with our struggle for freedom and against genocide, even when vilified for it. His courage, remind us that the fight for liberation in New York, Gaza, or anywhere is one struggle.
When ordinary people unite against fascism, racism, and capitalist greed, they can win. Thank you, for capturing the significance of it for UK politics. 🌹✊🏽🇵🇸✌️ #MamdaniVictory #Solidarity #Palestine #JusticeForAll
Beautiful comments, thank you Shahir.
Gratitude for your journalism ❤️🇵🇸
Very pleased and thankful for some good news. Perhaps this will boost our own Muslim mayor in London who’s had to be strong and fierce against the smears including from carrot face! Good luck to both xx
Your comments have made me feel ever so much better, Owen. It's been rather depressing reading the US media post-mortems. I am an ex-New Yorker living in the UK and so can still vote, which I did, for Momdani of course. What has made me cross is how the corporate press in New York (the New York Times for one, which wouldn't endorse him) are reporting on his victory. He has an enormous uphill battle on his hands since most of the media will be scrutinising his every move in the hopes that he will fail. One column in the NY Times actually said "And Tuesday's [elections] were decided by the kind of highly engaged, lower-turnout electorates that have repeatedly backed Democrats in recent years. " Lower turnout! NYC had the largest voter turnout in over two decades. Virginia saw the highest ever non-Presidential turnout, EVER. When even the NY Times starts gaslighting, you know the corporate world is scared of the power of the people. Not only that, and also not being broadcast so loudly, is that though Trump didn't engage fully with most of the elections nation-wide, every single candidate that he did endorse, lost. Every single one. There is hope.
It is a win for human decency, it is a real joy, like breathing really fresh air, after the turmoil of the last few years.
So true Maggie.
Great writing again Owen. Here in Melbourne my family celebrated. Someone said, "We can play his speech on YouTube, it's speech is 24 minutes." I thought, well, let's hear a bit of it. But 24 minutes has never gone by so quickly. It was riveting and time and again brought tears to my eyes. And as much as a politician could, perhaps, he made his victory about the movement, not about him. I keep having to remind myself - The Capital of Capitalism has a Democratic Socialist Mayor. Dare to dream people!
A great win and a small step towards a new/renewed democratic socialist left. But let's remember the neoliberal paradigm still holds all the cards and all the money and they will try to ensure that the basic premise of the State Finances being like a household will continue to dominate and that the interests of the rich will continue to be prioritised by government. As a report on how even in Germany government policies are overwhelmingly orientated towards the rich put it: Government of the people, by the elite, for the rich".
The left need to start understanding government money, by (re)-reading Keynes and the current writers on MMT, such as Stephanie Kelton, Richard Murphy, Steve Keen, Warren Mosler etc. Deficit Spending by government creating money while there are under used assets and taxing back at an appropriate level to control inflation, with the emphasis on taking the proceeds of wealth will enable the massive public investment the UK is in dire need of to rescue crumbling public services and infrastructure. We used to be able to "afford" things like free tertiary education and public libraries, but the neoliberals told us the State has to get out of the way and let private enterprise take over because it is so much more efficient - yes, efficient at taking money out of ordinary people's pockets and transferring to the rich.
Unless the Left starts explaining that money is not the problem (for a monetary sovereign) and its the money grabbing rich that are the problem, whose lobbyists have brainwashed us all, then nothing much will change - because the neoliberals will always say "there is no money" so there will have to be cuts to welfare, tax rises for the majorityand tax breaks for the rich "wealth creators".
This was fantastic, by the way. I cried through most of Mamdami's speech, and your commentary was spot on.
Can you talk a little about how AOC became a shill for Israel? It blindsided me.