Rail Cleaners’ Fight for £15
Cleaners who kept London trains safe during the pandemic are paid so poorly that some are homeless and others in appalling debt – now they’re striking against profiteering bosses to demand a living wage.
4344 Articles by:
Rae Hart
Rae Deer is an economist and freelance writer.
Britain Is Turning its Back on Ukrainian Refugees
When Putin invaded Ukraine, Britain’s government pledged to do whatever it could to support the victims of war – but its failure to follow Europe in waiving visas for refugees shows that those commitments were little more than words.
70. Inequality Explosion: An Interview with Max Lawson
This week, Grace talks to Max Lawson, Head of Inequality Policy at Oxfam, about why inequality increased so much during Covid, how it’s affecting our democracies, and what we need to do about it.
The British Media Is Campaigning for Nuclear War
By advocating a No-Fly Zone in Ukraine, the commentariat is demanding that we roll the dice on nuclear war – the latest reminder of just how dangerous our warmongering media truly is.
Punish the Oligarchs, Not the Poor
Western sanctions that drive ordinary Russians into poverty would be both wrong and ineffective – it’s time to hit Putin’s real base of power: Russia’s 500 richest oligarchs.
Only Anti-Capitalism Can Save the Planet
The latest IPCC report lays out the devastating impacts of climate change that lie just around the corner. They can’t be stopped by half measures – the only way to avert disaster is to change the system.
The Zero-Hour Scam
Over one million workers in Britain are now on zero-hour contracts. Their proliferation has never been about ‘flexibility’ – it’s about keeping workers insecure and wages low.
Glasgow’s Radiophrenic Workshops
Glasgow’s Radiophrenia music and sound festival evokes a public broadcast modernism – but also risks being trapped inside an experimental ghetto.
The Long Demise of Germany’s Student Revolt
The German student revolt of the 1960s gave birth to a wave of left-wing publishers, whose politics gradually shifted from radicalism to accommodation with the end of history.
Western Leaders Are Hypocrites When it Comes to War
Western leaders are condemning Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, but they themselves are deeply complicit in bloodshed across the world. We need a movement that can oppose war everywhere.
Capitalism’s Latest Bright Idea: Privatise the Moon
Last week, free-marketeers in the Adam Smith Institute suggested that we privatise the moon. It’s a sign of just far capitalism intends to go in pursuit of profits for the super-rich.
The Left Must Stand Against Putin’s War
The first task for socialists in the appalling war being inflicted in Ukraine is to provide unconditional solidarity with its victims.
Fix the Damn Sick Pay
The government is ending self-isolation requirements and urging ‘personal responsibility’ instead – but as the pandemic proved, it’s hard to be ‘responsible’ when sick pay is so low that staying off work means not making rent.
Trojan Horse On Trial
Britain’s political and media establishment were given convenient cover for their rampant Islamophobia by the 2014 ‘Trojan Horse’ hoax. The fevered response to a new podcast about the affair shows their unwillingness to admit that reality.
The Pensions Amendment Is an Attack on International Solidarity
The Pensions Bill amendment passed yesterday would have outlawed councils from boycotting apartheid South Africa in the 1980s – and is an attack on our democratic rights to express international solidarity.
69. The Battle for Trade Union Rights: An Interview with Matt Wrack
This week, Grace talks to Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, about why the government is trying to take away firefighters’ right to strike – and how FBU members are organising to resist.
The Mental Health Trap
The NHS wants to increase the number of people accessing mental health support in the face of growing need – but when services are already under drastic strain, those good intentions can only go so far.
The Cost of Living Class War
Research shows that the poorest families are set to see their energy bills rise 7.5 times faster than the richest – proof that the cost of living crisis is entrenching the vast inequality that already scars modern Britain.
Charity Won’t Solve Privatisation’s Problems
Last week a bus company halted plans to cut a route, but only after a pensioner offered to fund it himself. It shouldn’t take charity to save services – communities deserve modern bus systems fit for the people.
The Life and Love of Edward Carpenter
For LGBT History Month, historian Sheila Rowbotham remembers Edward Carpenter – poet, philosopher, utopian socialist, and a pioneer of gay rights amid the repression of Victorian England.