The Young Fabians Blog

Cartoons have been a part of politics for as long as politicians. Their popularity is about far more than aesthetics. A great cartoon can highlight an issue or satarise the powerful in ways that few articles can.

Watching Blair’s evidence at the Chilcott Inquiry, for example, I was reminded of Gerald Scarfe’s famous cartoon of the former Prime Minister. Grumpy and weighed down with Iraq’s ball and chain, it stripped Blair of his slick gloss in a way that no committee – however distinguished – could.

The current edition of Anticipations – which will be hitting members doorsteps in the coming days – contains the first ever Young Fabians cartoon (see above). Placed above the Message from the Editor, it captures my view that British politicians have been left behind online. I argue that WebCameron – which is supposed to represent the best our politicians can offer – is little more than the moving picture equivalent of a set piece ministerial speech or top line briefing. Labour should learn the real lessons of the web and use its power to give people meaningful control over the public services that shape their lives.

I want to include more cartoons in future magazines – so this is a call to arms! If you’re a cartoonist and would like to contribute to a future edition of Anticipations, to paraphrase the words beneath perhaps the most famous political cartoon of them all, we need you! Please get in touch.

Also, we’re including Letters to the Editor in the next edition of Anticipations.  Let me know your thoughts about the cartoon and anything else in the magazine. Did you passionately disagree with any of the contributors? Did you strongly support the position of an article? If so, let me know.

We’re always looking to make Anticipations even better. If you have any ideas for how it could be improved, whether it’s new sections, features or topics, we want to hear from you.

I hope you enjoy reading the magazine!

James Green

Anticipations Editor

Since 2006 I’ve been contributing to the journal of the Young Fabians -Anticipations – not just in terms of its written output, but also in terms of its look and feel, and the shape of its content – first, as an editorial assistant to former executive member Emma Carr, and since 2007 as Editor.

Last autumn, I decided that two years as Editor was more than enough for one individual, and that Anticipations would benefit from a change in approach that would come with new personnel. In November, James Green was appointed the new Editor following the Young Fabian Executive ballot.

I’ve been working closely with James on his first issue since then, guiding him through the pain and pleasure of working with publishing and photo editing software so that he, and the entire Executive, can bring you the first issue of this Executive year by the beginning of February.

This morning we received a draft pdf of that issue, on the topic of new media and politics, and it is looking fantastic.

My attention has now turned to how we can maximise new media to increase the offering of the Young Fabians to its members, and to the debates we need as we head into a new Parliamentary cycle. If you have any ideas yourself, then please let me know.