A History of NHS Privatisation

75 years after its creation, the NHS is drifting from its original ideals – a result of both Tory and Labour policies that allowed private interests to carve up healthcare for profit.

Michael Rosen: ‘Caring Is the Greatest Thing We Can Do for Each Other’

Writer and poet Michael Rosen – one of Britain’s most beloved public figures – sits down with Tribune to talk about the Jewish socialist roots of his politics – and why we should adore the NHS.

Casualty vs Thatcher

In the 1980s, two young graduates set out to write a show about how Thatcherism had left Aneurin Bevan’s NHS dream ‘in tatters’. The creators of Casualty sat down with Tribune to discuss the politics that shaped its message.

The Occupation That Saved a Hospital

In the 1970s, the Labour government announced plans to close the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital in North London. The backlash that followed provides an enduring example of how public healthcare can be defended by grassroots organising.

Life in Her Hands: When the Government Made Hospital Dramas

In 1951, the government released the groundbreaking hospital drama Life in Her Hands — a part of a national recruitment campaign to address the chronic shortage of qualified nurses in post-war Britain, and one of the most explicit examples of positive NHS propaganda.

A Fond Farewell to a Fran

Tribune and the Battle for the NHS

In the years leading up to the creation of the NHS, its founder Aneurin Bevan edited this magazine. He used its pages to advocate for a healthcare revolution.

The NHS Was Always Radical

Aneurin Bevan left this magazine for the Ministry of Health with a mission: to build an oasis of socialist principles within British capitalism.

Palestine Solidarity Is Not a Crime

Today, MPs will vote on a government bill to ban boycotts of Israel – authoritarian legislation that uses opposing anti-semitism as cover to attack Palestine solidarity and remove our political freedoms.

Jeremy Corbyn: LGBT Rights Are Refugee Rights – Let’s Stand Up for Both

The government’s latest attack on refugees would criminalise people fleeing persecution because of their sexuality or gender identity. Discrimination knows no borders – and neither should our solidarity.

Striking Against the Housing Crisis

Croydon Council plans huge cuts to its Housing Advice and Homelessness Department in the middle of a housing crisis. In response, staff have gone on strike to protect their jobs – and save a vital public service.

Labour’s Haringey Stitch-Up

Labour suspended its own rules to bar popular socialist candidates from standing in yesterday’s election in Haringey. Members of its Local Campaign Forum explain why they have resigned following this latest attack on democracy.

Tish Murtha’s Art of the Excluded

A new film celebrates photographer Tish Murtha, who intimately captured life on the margins during Thatcherism’s rise – and demonstrated art’s potential to undermine the powerful.

The Fight for Justice in Brazil is International

Lula’s demands for climate action and diplomacy over war have provoked reactionaries at home and ruffled feathers in the West. These ominous attacks are a warning of the dangers if progressives fail to back him.

Remembering Stonewall

The Stonewall riots began on this day in 1969. The gay liberation movement they created shows how radical politics can change the world.

The Fight for the Future of Higher Education

After years of pay cuts, pension attacks and precarity, university staff have escalated their industrial action with a marking and assessment boycott. But management refuses to listen, deducting staff pay and jeopardising student graduations instead.

Making Workers Pay for the Cost of Living Crisis

The Bank of England’s decision to hike interest rates is part of a plan to make workers pay for the cost of living crisis by driving up unemployment and driving down wages.

Ireland’s Neutrality Stitch-Up

A city councillor who was expelled from Ireland’s forum on neutrality explains how the format was skewed to pro-war views – and why a citizens’ assembly should be held in its place.

Sunak vs Starmer Is a Return to the Broken Status Quo

The political demise of Johnson, Corbyn and Sturgeon represents the restoration of the British establishment after years of populist challenge – but the crises that created them are as urgent as ever.

Climate Finance Exposes the West’s Debt Hypocrisy

The proposal from today’s Paris finance summit to tackle the climate crisis through more loans to indebted countries will only harm the Global South – exposing the reality of an economic system built to suit the West.