Cooking on the Breadline
Low pay and poor conditions in the British food industry leave thousands of those who feed us too poor to feed themselves — but some are pushing back and organising for better.
4291 Articles by:
Rae Hart
Rae Deer is an economist and freelance writer.
Misremembering the 80s
A new Tate Britain exhibition purports to display the photography of the 1980s. In its rooms, that decade has never felt longer.
Remembering Bik
The Irish revolutionary and singer Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane, who has died aged 74, was trusted by Bobby Sands, feared by Margaret Thatcher, and admired by thousands who became politicised through his songs and powerful performances.
‘The Empire was hidden in Belgium. It was called the Empire of Silence.’
Johan Grimonprez speaks about his innovative, Oscar-nominated documentary, which reveals disturbing truths about the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.
The German Left’s Rebirth
As well as a best-ever result for the far-right AfD, yesterday’s German election saw a surge of support for the left-wing Die Linke after years in crisis. In the run-up, longtime leader Gregor Gysi shared his thoughts on how to carry that surge forward.
The Revolt of the Housewives
In 1795, English women facing starvation organised to seize food supplies and distribute them for an honest price — making the case for a system that placed community need above individual profit.
A Gut Radical
From popularising people’s history to crusading for ordinary people’s access to good food and wine, Raymond Postgate’s socialism was about the full enrichment of life for all.
Socialism at the Milk Bar
The authoritarian socialist regimes of the twentieth century tried to rescue people from ‘kitchen slavery’ through communal eateries. In Poland, they survive and thrive.
The Saving Standards Scramble
In the coming years, climate breakdown will ravage the global food systems on which we depend, ushering in a new era of political instability.
Along the Death Road
After a plant in Israel was closed for allowing grave levels of pollution, it was moved to the occupied West Bank — where it ruins the land, spoils crops, and poisons Palestinian workers today.
India’s Farmers Are Facing Down Modi
Last year, India’s powerful farmer movement thwarted Narendra Modi’s plans to win an electoral supermajority. A communist leader of their movement explains how they’re turning the tide on the reactionary BJP.
The Afterparty
Ejected and dejected, Britain’s fragmented left is exploring the possibility of a new political party. The odds are against a socialist alternative to Labour — but Keir Starmer’s leadership may be shifting them.
Fries and a Shakedown
After decades of consolidation, just four firms now control at least 97% of a frozen potato market worth over $68 billion — and a new spate of legal cases are accusing them of price-fixing.
Museum Without Objects
The ‘universal museum’ is a product of Enlightenment thinking, with museums such as the Louvre cast in an increasingly ludicrous position as guardians of global heritage. But is there another way?
Hard Truths Captures the Anxieties of Modern Britain
Mike Leigh’s ‘Hard Truths’, the director’s first contemporary work since 2010, captures the fear, isolation and anxiety bubbling beneath the surface of modern Britain.
Palestinian Justice Won’t Wait for the West
The formation of the Hague Group ensures that the world won’t forget Israel’s crimes in Gaza — nor can Israeli war criminals evading justice, writes Ronnie Kasrils.
Back to Blackrock
Labour’s plan for growth — with deregulation and corporate-driven projects at its core — runs the risk of deepening inequality and handing over national infrastructure to private profit.
How Finland’s Left Is Beating the Far Right
Finland’s Left Alliance is countering the far right by rejecting austerity and championing workers’ rights and climate action. Grace Blakeley sits down with its leader, Li Andersson, to discuss the lessons for the European left.
Leonard Rossiter’s Ontology of Grot
An eccentric new book, ‘Code:Damp: An Esoteric Guide to British Sitcoms’, frames the sitcom career of British actor Leonard Rossiter as a conductor of strange energies unlocking the secrets of post-war Britain.
Solidarity Under Siege
For more than six decades, the USA has subjected Cuba to a blockade designed to destroy its economy — an act of aggression met with a global solidarity movement that has helped keep the country alive.