How Newham Is Building Community Politics
Newham’s Labour council is leading one of London’s most creative responses to Covid-19 – pursuing Community Wealth Building, living wage jobs and free school meals even amidst a wave of Tory cutbacks.
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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.
Tony Benn’s Plan to Democratise Britain – and Abolish the Monarchy
Thirty years ago, Tony Benn’s Commonwealth of Britain Bill proposed to transform our democracy by devolving power, guaranteeing social rights and abolishing the monarchy – it’s time for today’s Left to take up its mantle.
‘I Literally Had No Money, the Wait Had Been So Long’: Life on Universal Credit
Universal Credit claims have doubled since the pandemic – and a £20 increase is nowhere near enough. Six million people are now stuck in a bureaucratic maze of five-week waits, low payments and benefit sanctions.
The Crisis in Britain’s Courts
The number of prisoners held without trial has increased by one third under Covid. New rules mean that some are in custody for up to eight months – and detainees are pleading guilty just to get released sooner.
Mental Health Is a Political Problem
Mental health is often framed in individual terms with individual solutions – but rising levels of depression, anxiety and stress across society make it clear that we need political answers.
26. Work Won’t Love You Back: An Interview with Sarah Jaffe
In this week’s episode, Grace talks to journalist and author Sarah Jaffe about Joe Biden’s first weeks, Covid and climate crisis in the US, and how the pandemic is changing the world of work.
The Great Cronyism Coverup
Matt Hancock broke the law over outsourced PPE contracts, but the problem goes well beyond Covid – in fact, almost half of the UK’s top 50 corporations have connections with a current MP.
‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’: Remembering the AIDS Crisis
In the 1980s, a virus epidemic ripped through Britain – with Tory government neglect leading to countless unnecessary deaths. To mark LGBT History Month, we remember the AIDS Crisis.
We Need a Grassroots Campaign to Save the NHS
A decade of austerity has decimated the NHS, and the government’s white paper isn’t going to undo the damage – we need to organise the fightback in our communities and workplaces.
The Left Is in a Strong Position – We Should Act Like it
Today’s Left has popular policies, growing institutions, and answers to the fundamental crises of our age. 2019’s defeat was a temporary setback – it’s time to be confident in our ability to shape the future.
Remembering Ed Rooksby
Writer and academic Ed Rooksby passed away last week at the age of just 46. We republish one of his final in-depth interviews – and remember his contributions to socialist thought in Britain.
To Fight Climate Change, Fight Capitalism
Commentators hail the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals as solutions to climate change – but as long as they shy away from challenging capitalism, they will never succeed.
The Rise and Fall of the French Left
France was once the heartland of socialism, but today its left is on the retreat and its far-right emboldened. The roots of this malaise lie in François Mitterrand’s turn from radical reform to neoliberal austerity in the 1980s.
We Can’t Let the Tories Get Away with Britain’s Covid Disaster
The UK government’s pandemic failings resulted in 120,000 deaths and greater economic damage than any other developed nation – but as they plan reopening, the media seems prepared to let them escape the blame.
The Council Tax Debt Crisis
An estimated 3.5 million people in the UK are in council tax arrears – more than half of them as a result of the pandemic. It’s the latest Covid economic fallout that threatens to widen inequality.
Manchester’s Fight for the City
The Court of Appeal has blocked a plan by Manchester City Council to build a 440-space car park on a site local activists are campaigning to turn into a green space – it could mark a turning point in the struggle for a city that works for all.
Public Enemy: Spain’s Persecution of Pablo Hasél
Last week, Spain imprisoned rapper Pablo Hasél for insulting the monarchy. It’s just the latest episode in a broad attack on progressive politics carried out by the country’s politicised right-wing judiciary.
The North Doesn’t Need More Thatcherism
A new report from Tory MPs and a right-wing think tank recommends deregulation to fix the North’s ills – but turning things over to the market has never solved the region’s problems.
Recovery Bonds Are Not the Answer
Labour’s recovery bonds are a retail offer masquerading as something radical – their real beneficiaries will be those with significant savings at a time when many can’t keep their heads above water.
The Holocaust on Film
A film adaptation of Jerzy Kosiński’s Holocaust book, ‘The Painted Bird,’ is a bracing but humane treatment of what ‘modern’ Europe descended into in the 1940s – and a reminder of what could happen again.