Leopold’s Reckoning
Decades after he oversaw a brutal regime that mutilated and murdered millions of Congolese, King Leopold’s legacy is finally being challenged in Belgium – but there won’t be justice until a debt is repaid to Congo itself.
4352 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.
Class Politics After Corbyn
The failure of Corbynism was its inability to cut through in working-class communities. The risk of a Starmer-led Labour Party is that it abandons that effort altogether.
How the US Helped to Topple Australia’s Left Leader
In the 1970s, Gough Whitlam’s proposal to bring about a ‘social revolution’ as Australian prime minister threatened America’s Cold War hegemony – so the intelligence services set about a plan to remove him.
Re-skilling the State
Decades of anti-public service ideology has seen the state’s capacity diminished through waves of cuts and outsourcing – if it is to play an active role in the economy again, it must be rebuilt.
How a Devon Hospital Was Saved from Cuts – Then Led the Fight Against Covid-19
A decade of cuts have undermined Britain’s health service. But in North Devon, residents fought back – and now their hospital is playing a leading role in the battle against Covid-19.
Beating the Colour Bar on the Railways
On this day in 1966, British Rail scrapped the colour bar at Euston Station after a campaign by a black worker, Asquith Xavier, and his union – the win paved the way for the Race Relations Act just two years later.
The Recovery We Need
The Tories’ recent announcements won’t be enough to prevent a deep economic crisis – we need a bold alternative from the Left that argues for investment in jobs, public ownership and democratisation.
When the Unemployed Fought Back
In the 1920s and ’30s, the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement mobilised thousands to resist the indignities of unemployment. As we enter another economic crisis, we should learn from their fight.
One Solution to the Housing Crisis? Turn Airbnb into Public Housing
Airbnb bookings have collapsed by as much as 96% during coronavirus – which means huge numbers of liveable properties are available in the very cities that are suffering the worst housing crises.
What a Real Jobs Guarantee Would Look Like
The government’s Kickstart programme is nowhere near enough – the only way to avoid widespread unemployment and a race to the bottom is by guaranteeing public investment in living wage jobs.
What Labour Should Be Saying About the Economy
Instead of caution, Labour should show ambition – it’s time to make the case for a transformative recovery which delivers a pay rise to workers and tackles social crises in housing, care and climate.
All Kinds of Folk
The late Alasdair Gray was Glasgow’s finest – a talent worthy of the great city he depicted both in his murals and monumental novels.
Unconscious Bias Training Is Not Enough
Racism is a structural problem, and fighting it requires the Labour Party to support bold political and economic solutions – Keir Starmer’s unconscious bias training is not the answer.
The Government’s Bailout Won’t Save the Arts
The National Theatre has responded to the government’s bailout by ploughing ahead with plans to fire 400 workers. Without a more ambitious plan to reinvigorate the arts sector, its future remains bleak.
BA’s Redundancy Scheme Is a National Disgrace
British Airways could retain its workforce even without government support – but instead it has chosen to make 12,000 redundant and force 30,000 onto worse contracts. That is a scandal.
Covid-19 Is an Opportunity to Rethink Work
The Covid-19 pandemic has been an experiment in different kinds of work – but it hasn’t forced society to ask the question: why do we spend so much of our time working?
Thurrock Council and the Financialisation of Local Government
In the 1980s Thurrock was a hotbed of left-wing activity, “an island of red in a sea of blue.” Today its council is pioneering in other directions – by replacing funding cuts with vast speculative investments.
New Labour’s Islamophobia
The demonisation of Muslims, asylum seekers and refugees under Tony Blair may make many in Labour feel uncomfortable. But if the party is serious about its anti-racist credentials, it must confront its past.
Socialism’s DIY Computer
The Galaksija computer was a craze in 1980s Yugoslavia, inspiring thousands of people to build versions in their own homes. The idea behind them was simple – to make technology available to everyone.
‘Go Anywhere, Do Anything!’
The new documentary Influence traces the history of Bell Pottinger, the PR agency that laundered the reputations of a shopping list of scoundrels, murderers and dictators.