Nudging to Nowhere
The government’s disastrous herd immunity strategy owed much to its fabled ‘nudge unit’ – a relic from an ideological past, when policymakers believed that small changes would solve big problems.
4362 Articles by:
Rae Hart
Rae Deer is an economist and freelance writer.
Lavery Hits Back
Right-wing attacks won’t stop me from getting the message across to members that now is the time to organise in defence of your communities, writes Labour Party chair Ian Lavery.
How Market Reforms Made the NHS Vulnerable to Pandemics
A 2014 report warned that reforms to the NHS would make it vulnerable to pandemics – by making staff redundant, undermining public health and defining spare capacity as waste. It was ignored.
Coronavirus Exposes Construction’s Bogus Self-Employment
More than a million workers in the construction industry are bogusly classified as self-employed. If the government wants them to stay home, it has to extend wage protections to cover them.
This Crisis Will Change the World – for Better, or Worse
The coronavirus pandemic poses enormous economic challenges – now is the time to meet them with policies that promote equality at home and internationalism across the globe.
David Harvey: Anti-Capitalist Politics in an Age of Covid-19
Forty years of neoliberalism has left our societies exposed and ill prepared to face a public health crisis on the scale of coronavirus, argues David Harvey.
The Coming Debt Deluge
As coronavirus leads to lockdowns across the world, capitalism will be forced to face its Achilles heel: the vast mountain of global debt.
Workers’ Power Under Coronavirus
Capital has already exploited the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse for layoffs and wage cuts. If workers are to survive, they’ll need to be organised – and ready to brush off criticism to take strike action.
Coronavirus Could Unravel Globalisation
Coronavirus will slow the engine of capitalist globalisation as nation states seek self-sufficiency. It’s a time to rethink our world economic model – and ask whether a more progressive alternative is possible.
The Coronavirus Debt Crisis
UK household debt hit an all-time high before the coronavirus. Now it’s the next crisis the government has to tackle – and only a suspension of repayments will do.
Salford Against Coronavirus
Socialist councillors in Salford are enabling large-scale community support to make sure that there’s somebody looking after everyone who needs it during the coronavirus crisis.
“They Haven’t Provided the Economic Security People Need to Stay Home”
By delaying a proper economic response to the coronavirus crisis, the government has cost jobs and undermined public health. Today it must act urgently and at scale, argues John McDonnell.
Failing the NHS When It’s Needed Most
NHS staff facing coronavirus have made three clear demands of the government – testing, protective equipment and ventilators. As the outbreak grows, there are no signs that any of these will be met.
Labour Demands a Bailout for Workers
The government has confirmed that it will finally produce a support package for workers tomorrow. Labour has set out its demands: prevent layoffs, support wages, increase sick pay and boost unemployment supports.
Delivering for Those in Need
In the coronavirus crisis, maintaining supply of essential goods will be a key priority. Postal workers enjoy the trust of communities to do this – that’s why their fight to protect the service is so important.
The Anti-Wartime Economy
A war effort requires the total mobilisation of an economy. What we’re facing with coronavirus is different – the need to demobilise the economy for as long as public health demands.
Abandoning Workers to the Coronavirus Crisis
Right now, millions of workers across Britain are losing hours and jobs they need to survive. They are being abandoned by the government – and the costs for society will be disastrous.
The Coronavirus Crisis Is Not a Time to Protect the Elite
The Tory government’s response to coronavirus has been characterised by a determination to protect big business interests and the system that serves them ahead of working people, argues Ian Lavery.
Postal Workers Can Keep Britain Going – If You Back Them
Britain’s postal workers have offered to become an additional emergency service during the crisis: delivering food and medicine, and checking on the vulnerable. It’s time Royal Mail got behind them.
Austerity Pushed the NHS to the Brink – Before Coronavirus
A decade of cutbacks, privatisation and underfunding have seriously damaged the NHS, just as it is about to face its greatest-ever crisis. It needs massive government investment – immediately.