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.
3626 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.
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.
You Can’t Build a Recovery on These Foundations
This week, the Tories had the opportunity to lay the foundations for a recovery – instead they rolled out a series of gimmicks and short-term measures which will be redundant before the summer is out.
It’s Time to Socialise Big Pharma
The Covid-19 pandemic is teaching the world a lesson: we can’t leave the future of medicine in the hands of corporate profiteers.
The Future of Local Journalism Lies in Community Ownership
Across Britain, local newspapers are dying – reduced to chasing clicks before the inevitable next round of layoffs. The only way to save the industry is to hand it back to the community.
The Tories’ Climate Chaos
The Tory government is trying to furnish its green credentials – but beneath the spin its response to the climate crisis is characterised by weak targets, insufficient funding and contradictory policies.
To Peripheral Plaza
A new book on Kraftwerk’s ‘Future Music from Germany’ and a Caribbean tribute both reckon with the echoes of an imagined utopia in a bleak present.
Reading Some Effing Orwell in the Empire
Tribune’s one-time literary editor has become a meme and a cliché, but he remains one of the Left’s most ethically complex writers – and nowhere more so than in his depictions of the British Empire.
The Myth of the Tories’ Bold Economic Policies
FDR’s New Deal amounted to 40% of GDP in the 1930s, Rishi Sunak’s adds up to 0.2% of UK GDP today. His government’s much-lauded economic ‘radicalism’ is little more than a propaganda exercise.