4348 Articles by:
Rae Deer is an economist and freelance writer.
A decade of cuts have undermined Britain’s health service. But in North Devon, residents fought back – and now their hospital is playing a leading role in the battle against Covid-19.
On this day in 1966, British Rail scrapped the colour bar at Euston Station after a campaign by a black worker, Asquith Xavier, and his union – the win paved the way for the Race Relations Act just two years later.
The Tories’ recent announcements won’t be enough to prevent a deep economic crisis – we need a bold alternative from the Left that argues for investment in jobs, public ownership and democratisation.
In the 1920s and ’30s, the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement mobilised thousands to resist the indignities of unemployment. As we enter another economic crisis, we should learn from their fight.
Airbnb bookings have collapsed by as much as 96% during coronavirus – which means huge numbers of liveable properties are available in the very cities that are suffering the worst housing crises.
The government’s Kickstart programme is nowhere near enough – the only way to avoid widespread unemployment and a race to the bottom is by guaranteeing public investment in living wage jobs.
Instead of caution, Labour should show ambition – it’s time to make the case for a transformative recovery which delivers a pay rise to workers and tackles social crises in housing, care and climate.
The late Alasdair Gray was Glasgow’s finest – a talent worthy of the great city he depicted both in his murals and monumental novels.
Racism is a structural problem, and fighting it requires the Labour Party to support bold political and economic solutions – Keir Starmer’s unconscious bias training is not the answer.
The National Theatre has responded to the government’s bailout by ploughing ahead with plans to fire 400 workers. Without a more ambitious plan to reinvigorate the arts sector, its future remains bleak.
British Airways could retain its workforce even without government support – but instead it has chosen to make 12,000 redundant and force 30,000 onto worse contracts. That is a scandal.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been an experiment in different kinds of work – but it hasn’t forced society to ask the question: why do we spend so much of our time working?
In the 1980s Thurrock was a hotbed of left-wing activity, “an island of red in a sea of blue.” Today its council is pioneering in other directions – by replacing funding cuts with vast speculative investments.
The demonisation of Muslims, asylum seekers and refugees under Tony Blair may make many in Labour feel uncomfortable. But if the party is serious about its anti-racist credentials, it must confront its past.
The Galaksija computer was a craze in 1980s Yugoslavia, inspiring thousands of people to build versions in their own homes. The idea behind them was simple – to make technology available to everyone.
The new documentary Influence traces the history of Bell Pottinger, the PR agency that laundered the reputations of a shopping list of scoundrels, murderers and dictators.
This week, the Tories had the opportunity to lay the foundations for a recovery – instead they rolled out a series of gimmicks and short-term measures which will be redundant before the summer is out.
The Covid-19 pandemic is teaching the world a lesson: we can’t leave the future of medicine in the hands of corporate profiteers.
Across Britain, local newspapers are dying – reduced to chasing clicks before the inevitable next round of layoffs. The only way to save the industry is to hand it back to the community.
The Tory government is trying to furnish its green credentials – but beneath the spin its response to the climate crisis is characterised by weak targets, insufficient funding and contradictory policies.