The Radical Politics of Nina Simone
Nina Simone, who died on this day in 2003, is often remembered for her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement – but she was also a socialist who saw revolution as the path to true equality.
4297 Articles by:
Raven Hart
Raven Hart is co-founder of the Bristol Cooperative Alliance, an organisation that aims to promote a decentralised economy that empowers local communities and facilitates democratic self-determination.
From Enoch Powell to Margaret Thatcher
Often seen as an outlier in British politics, Enoch Powell was in fact deeply influential in the development of the Conservative Party – and laid the intellectual foundations for the Thatcherite project which followed him.
How Newcastle Fans Are Organising to Take Back Their Club
Unwilling to accept mismanagement under Mike Ashley or a Saudi takeover, Newcastle United fans are organising an alternative – a Supporters’ Trust which aims to buy part of the club when it next falls into crisis.
When the British Empire Waged War on Free Speech
Today’s right-wingers cast free speech as a distinctly British value, but they have precious little to say about the history of the Empire – which mounted a brutal campaign to deny these rights to colonised peoples.
It’s Time to Build a Grassroots Movement to Take Football Back
We can’t rely on the traditional institutions to save us from the European Super League. FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League have all failed football – it’s time for the fans to take ownership over the game again.
The Gentrification of Football – And Everything Else
The European Super League is football’s equivalent of a luxury skyscraper – which is fitting, because the game’s super-wealthy owners are complicit in gentrifying the very communities which helped to build it.
In British Politics, ‘Sleaze’ Isn’t the Exception – It’s the Rule
The Greensill scandal isn’t a story about a few bad apples, it reveals how British capitalism works – politicians using state power to enrich private corporations while the public picks up the tab.
The European Super League Is the Inevitable Conclusion of Football Capitalism
The European Super League would be a disaster for football, but it hasn’t come from nowhere – it is the end of a long road of commercialisation which has torn the game away from the working-class communities that built it.
How New Labour Turned Its Back on the Mass Membership Party
When Tony Blair first became Labour leader, he saw mass membership as a way to drive the party rightwards – but in power it soon became clear that grassroots politics were incompatible with New Labour policies.
The Centre Can’t Save Democracy
The political centre sells itself as the answer to our democratic crisis, but it was their technocratic reforms that hollowed out politics – and facilitated the rise of the far-right.
Images of a Workers’ Barcelona
A newly-discovered archive of photos from revolutionary Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War depicts the collectives, institutions and workplaces of a society run by workers themselves.
Class Politics Are the Key to Myanmar’s Future
As protests against Myanmar’s coup continue, it’s clear that the only coalition which can defeat the junta is an alliance of the working class which bridges the country’s ethnic, regional and gender divides.
Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition
The Labour leadership’s efforts to appear more Royalist than the Tories is a symptom of their sycophantic politics – if you won’t utter a critical word about the royal family, you’re not serious about challenging power.
Hartlepool Wants Real Change, Not Empty Words
The fact that the Tories might win a seat like Hartlepool shows how much Labour has lost touch with its roots – the only way to win the by-election is to fight for working-class communities.
Birmingham’s Bright Lights
Birmingham has a reputation as a place where cultural life died a death in the face of grinding poverty, but that is a sterile myth – we explore the Second City’s brief and unexpected role as a centre of 1960s radical counterculture.
Against Vaccine Passports
Covid-19 vaccines are an astonishing medical breakthrough which offer hope for a life after lockdown – but giving the state the power to police their uptake would be a huge threat to civil liberties.
Britain’s Media Monopoly Is a Threat to Democracy
Britain’s media is owned by a tiny handful of corporations, with three companies controlling 90% of newspaper circulation – if we want a real democracy, it’s time to break the power of the media moguls.
Unconventional Comics
Long dismissed as child’s play, comics have carved out space for themselves as a form through which to examine the political – touching on everything from urban history to the fight against fascism.
Surviving While Excluded
During the past year, up to 3 million people have been left out of the government’s Covid-19 response schemes – they have faced the pandemic without any income support, and the consequences have often been dire.
The Signs that Make a City
The signs on the street are a measure of how much authorities care about their citizens – and from stylish fonts to neon lights, Britain has a lot to learn from European cities which have used signage to enliven the urban landscape.