Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
After the revolution: the new Portugal takes shape
Covering the revolt for East German television 50 years ago, JOHN GREEN witnessed first-hand how the revolution blossomed and withered, as anti-worker and reformist forces aligned to keep the Communist Party from power
CARNATION REVOLUTIONARY: Celeste Caeiro, 90, holds red carnations, in Lisbon, April 25 2024. Fifty years ago, Caeiro handed out carnations to rebel soldiers, thus naming the 1974 army coup that restored democracy
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
THE whole revolution had to be planned in such secrecy that only a few officers knew about it and no-one could be certain how far other regiments would support them.
It is amazing how small groups of soldiers, like these with their obsolete vehicles, were nevertheless able to frighten and scatter the dictatorship’s demoralised forces.
“We had strict instructions not to open fire unless absolutely necessary,” a major tells us. “We wanted to avoid the spilling of blood at all costs, so we spoke to the non-committed troops trying to win them over to our side. This we managed to do. Only one or two top-ranking officers refused to join us, and they were arrested.” It was a totally bloodless revolution.
More from this author
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a very readable account of Britain’s involvement in South America
JOHN GREEN is stirred by an ambitious art project that explores solidarity and the shared memory of occupation
JOHN GREEN applauds an excellent and accessible demonstration that the capitalist economy is the biggest threat to our existence
JOHN GREEN isn’t helped by the utopian fantasy of a New York Times bestseller that ignores class struggle and blames the so-called ’progressives’
