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
ISDS: how imperialism wages lawfare on the poor
BERT SCHOUWENBURG reveals the iniquitous institution of Investor State Dispute Settlements by which rich corporations sue the developing world for the 'loss of profits' they have not even made yet
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
IN 1902, Britain, Germany and Italy imposed a naval blockade on Venezuela after president Cipriano Castro refused to honour debts and pay damages incurred by European companies and citizens during the civil wars that followed the Republic’s independence from Spain.
Violent intervention is still employed by Western governments nowadays when they consider it necessary — but more often as not their commercial interests are protected by international trade treaties and investment agreements.
Of these, more than 2,750 bilateral investment treaties, multilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements contain what are known as Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms whereby foreign investors can sue host countries for discriminatory practices that affect their future profitability.
More from this author
We must remember Morocco’s land grab of the Sahrawi people’s territory continues with French and British support, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG, looking into the origins of the annexation
Cristina Kirchner’s imprisonment follows a familiar pattern across Latin America, where courts silence popular leaders — but massive street protests in her support might make this move an Establishment own goal, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG
With turnout plummeting and faith in Parliament collapsing, BERT SCHOUWENBURG explains how radical local government reform — including devolved taxation and removal of party politics from town halls — could restore power to communities currently ignored by profit-obsessed MPs
After brutal police crackdowns on pensioners and the forced approval of secret IMF deals, trade unions are finally responding to grassroots pressure and fighting back against savage neoliberal reforms, reports BERT SCHOUWENBURG
