About Niki Seth-Smith

Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and Co-Editor of OurKingdom.

Articles by Niki Seth-Smith

May Day for Emergent Service Workers: a protest against ourselves

This May Day, Space Hijackers set up camp outside Google's London HQ. Part-pagan, part-protest against the struggles of digital labour, this was a "political party - but the good kind".

A new dawn for the Unions? Frances O’Grady and economic democracy

The TUC’s new General Secretary seems to represent real change in the 'pale, male, stale' world of British unions. But can she shake them up in policy terms, and draw in the energy of a disparate anti-austerity movement?

Risk and revelations: on leaving OurKingdom

After two and a half years as Co-Editor of openDemocracy's British section, Niki Seth-Smith is leaving OurKingdom. Through intimate reflections, she gives an insight into the project, Britain's landscape of power, and the struggle against neoliberalism to come.

Thatcher was not the answer but a new direction was needed

Before advocating a return to a pre-Thatcher era of socialism and solidarity, remember the suffocating Labour years preceding her ascension. This House, playing at The National, takes us back to the last hurrah of a failing post-war consensus.

Can we trust the BBC? Audio from Cafe Oto event

Late last year, at the tail end of the Savile-McAlpine crisis, OurKingdom held a discussion on the BBC. Kicked off by panellists Peter Oborne, Jacky Davis, Omar El Khairy and Anthony Barnett, it was an intense public debate at a turning point for the Corporation. Here is the complete audio.

OurKingdom Best of 2012: have your say

Help us pick out the writing and the moments worth remembering from the last year. 

Lobbyists and the Day of Rage

On the day that millions of anti-austerity demonstrators took to the streets across Europe, an official EU event took place on ‘engaging Europe’s citizens’. A troubled participant tells her story.

Occupy and its ally in the Bank of England

Last night, as part of the New Putney Debates, senior Bank official Andy Haldane said Occupy is "right" about the economic crisis. What kind of friend is he?

Who are the Conservatives now? The One Nation debate

Ed Miliband’s confident evocation of the Tory mantra ‘One Nation’ speaks volumes about the Conservative Party's failure to conserve its ideological roots. But who will benefit from the land grab? 

The end of the 'Great British Summer'

'The Great British Summer' of 2012 is well and truly over. OurKingdom takes a rollercoaster journey back through the season to close its series.

Capture parliament to renew democracy: will Whittam Smith’s strategy work?

Andreas Whittam Smith’s radical call to seize the UK Parliament from career politicians resonates with the anger of a disenfranchised public. While it is increasingly clear that getting ‘the right people’ into ‘the right seats’ is not enough to stimulate meaningful democratic reform, these proposals could provide an important framework for disrupting the vested interests of the political and corporate elite.    

Festivals, nu-folk and the allure of the 'temporary community'

Intimate 'boutique' festivals are mushrooming across the English countryside. Their biggest selling point: a sense of belonging. Is this a rejection of individualistic hedonism? Or the return of the pastoral, manufactured by the urban elite? One thing is certain - they are a sign of things to come.

A job seeker sets himself on fire: how will Cameron respond?

An unemployed man set himself alight outside a job centre in Birmingham this morning, allegedly over a claim. This, days after the Prime Minister prepared Britain for more welfare cuts with a speech denouncing our 'something for nothing' culture. So what is the job seeker owed, if anything? What would Cameron say?  

Labour should talk about England (but no action, please): Ed Miliband on the Union

The Labour leader has set out his defence of the Union in a speech that appealed to his party to recognise England and show pride in the English. But is this enough, with Scotland considering independence and the English question waiting to explode?

A country mansion and a wireless connection: Raymond Williams and the future of transformative education

As formal education in Britain faces commodification, networks of informal participative learning are flourishing. openDemocracy is building ties with these through our relationship to the Raymond Williams Foundation, whose residential last week explored the theme of the Long Revolution.

Taking 'perhaps' seriously: the resurgence of the British co-operative spirit

For a century, the 'political left' has dominated the 'social left'. But in post-crash Britain, the balance is beginning to change. So argued Richard Sennett in the annual Compass lecture this week, prompting a lively discussion on the craft of co-operation. 

Regeneration: the launch of a new collection on intergenerational justice

A new collection of essays on intergenerational justice was launched in London with an open debate. Is the generational prism useful, and what are the distinctive challenges for the young?

A small victory for transparency: the House of Lords report on investigative journalism

The Lords' report on the future of investigative journalism takes note of Clare Sambrook's disturbing evidence on government mendacity.

This week's guest editors

openGlobalRights editors

Our guest editors James Ron, Leslie Vinjamuri, Sophie Arie and Archana Pandya introduce this week's theme of:

Emerging powers and human rights.

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