Why We Need the Right to Roam
The coronavirus crisis has seen many more people holiday at home this year, but vast private estates mean that only 8% of land in England is accessible – it’s time to fight for our right to roam.
3625 Articles by:
Ellie Whittaker
Ellie Woolstencroft is an activist with Labour for a Green New Deal.
The Real Crisis in the Channel Is the One Facing Migrants
Migrant crossings in the Channel have been described as a ‘national crisis,’ but the real crisis is the war and persecution that forces families to flee their homes – and the border regimes that brutalise them.
Letter: Bolsonaro and the Brazilian Far-Right Are Putting Lives at Risk
Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and figures from across the labour movement sign a letter condemning the Bolsonaro government’s handling of Covid-19 – and warning he poses a threat to public safety.
Towards a New Spanish Republic
As Spain’s former king flees the country after a string of corruption revelations, Podemos co-founder Juan Carlos Monedero makes the case for abolishing the country’s monarchy – and building a new republic.
How Socialists Won Our Democratic Rights
The myth of modern democracy is that it was handed down from on-high. In fact, the ruling class resisted extending the franchise at every turn – and it was socialists who fought them for the right to vote.
The Covid Crisis Could Produce a Rail Revolution
With air travel decimated by the pandemic, countries across Europe are investing in high-speed rail networks – now is the time for Britain to invest, and ensure its regions aren’t left behind once again.
How Socialists Invented the Summer Holiday
In 1930s France, the labour movement made summer holidays a priority — and forced bosses to pay workers for time at the beach.
Remembering John Weeks
Late last month, pioneering socialist economist John Weeks passed away. Ann Pettifor remembers her colleague and friend – and his contributions to left-wing politics.
Clapping Was Not Enough – It’s Time to Give NHS Workers a Pay Rise
Today, across Britain, the same NHS workers that the government called ‘heroes’ during this pandemic had to protest for decent wages and working conditions. The time for clapping is over – they deserve a pay rise.
How the Black Death Changed the World
In just a few years, the Black Death wiped out more than one third of Europe’s population. The world it left behind offered new possibilities for peasants and workers to resist their masters.
Rock in Opposition
A new book on the experimental group Henry Cow concentrates on their attempts to combine socialist politics and avant-garde music.
How the Southbank Centre Betrayed Arts Workers
London’s Southbank Centre is a product of municipal socialism – but today it represents a corporate attitude to the arts, with plans to layoff nearly 400 workers while managers earn six-figure sums.
How Communities Can Organise to Save our Towns
Across Britain, high streets are dying as decades of decline are accelerated by Covid-19 – it’s time to organise not only to save town centres but to transform them into genuine public spaces.
Remembering Michael Manley
On Jamaican Independence Day, we remember the country’s firebrand socialist leader Michael Manley – and his struggle in the 1970s to improve the lives of workers and the poor.
BT’s Attack on Key Workers
BT workers kept Britain connected during Covid-19 – but instead of a reward from the company they now face forced redundancies and cuts to terms and conditions.
Privatised Test and Trace Is a Tory Mess
Instead of investing in public test and trace, the Tory government handed the system over to outsourcing giant Serco and a call centre company. Inevitably, it has failed to deliver.
Hiroshima at 75
The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima 75 years ago today. It remains an act of barbarism unparalleled in the history of war – and its use was never a necessity.
How Market Ideology Destroyed Resilience in our NHS
Corporate management tactics – and the mantra to ‘do more with less’ – claimed to be cutting waste from the NHS, but what they actually cut was resilience and its ability to deal with crises like Covid-19.
Friedrich Engels and the Irish Lever
Friedrich Engels was born 200 years ago today. We remember his engagement with the Irish question – and why he came to believe that, for workers in England to gain their freedom, “the lever must be applied in Ireland.”
Universal Basic Services: A New Model of Collectivism
The labour movement should respond to this economic crisis with a bold vision of a society where everyone is guaranteed the basics in life – and collective interests are more important than private profits.