Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP

IN May, Rethinking Security, a network of organisations, academics and activists working for a just and peaceful world based in Britain, published Lillah Fearnley’s major new report Thinking Inside the Box: How Opinion Polls Shape Security Debates and Policy in the UK.
An independent consultant specialising in research on conflict, peace, security and peacekeeping, Fearnley spoke to me about her key findings, including her analysis of surveys done on British intervention in Syria and her recommendations for future polling.
Why is opinion polling important to security debates and policy-making in Britain?

New releases from Steady Habits, Jeff Tweedy, and Tom Skinner

IAN SINCLAIR welcomes a lucid critique of a technology that reproduces and enables oppression, power, and environmental devastation

Reviews of new releases by Wednesday, Suede, and Nation of Language

Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band