The Real Cheats Are in Tax, Not Benefits
Tax fraud costs the UK more than ten times as much as benefits fraud but is hardly ever prosecuted – it’s all part of a right-wing scam to divert your attention from who really cheats the British public.
3626 Articles by:
Billy Anania
Billy Anania is an art critic, editor, and journalist in New York City.
Our Friends in the Establishment
‘Our Friends in the North’ turns 25 this year. The show dealt with the institutions of British society with a rare honesty, and opened the eyes of many to the ongoing symbiosis between politicians, the police, and the press.
Pinochet’s Long Shadow
Dictator Augusto Pinochet’s influence lingers in Chile’s politics through widespread inequality and the impunity of its security forces – but today, there is a growing movement to bury his legacy.
Capital’s Safe Pair of Hands
Labour’s opposition to tax increases for major corporations isn’t popular or even good economics – but it is a signal that the days when the party challenged big business interests are over.
The Personal Isn’t Always Political
‘The personal is political’ originated as a crucial feminist insight into the politics of daily life – but in recent years, the slogan has morphed into an excuse for reducing politics to the individual and the moral.
Obama’s Third Term
While liberals swoon and right-wingers predict the end of days, there’s little to suggest Joe Biden’s presidency will be transformative – for better or worse, its early weeks look very much like a new Obama era.
Recovery Bonds Could Form a Left Strategy – If Used Correctly
Rather than giving money to middle-class savers, the Left could push a programme of regional recovery bonds to help the areas cheated by the London finance bubble – before the Tories take renewal for themselves.
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.
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.