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
Brexit deal: the ‘three tests’ for public services
Rather than Keir Starmer's essentially pro-EU tests, KEVAN NELSON introduces the his own tests from a worker's perspective
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
Keir Starmer has famously set out his six tests that would have to be met for Labour to support an EU exit deal negotiated by the Conservative government.
The tests seek to mitigate against the assumed negative consequences of leaving the EU through calling for the preservation of a strong and collaborative relationship with the EU (test 1), the “exact same benefits” as we currently have as members of the single market and customs union (test 2) and the defence of current rights and protections (test 4).
It is notable that Labour’s support for a deal is contingent on it not diverging from the pre-exit status quo. None of the tests is framed positively, in terms of ensuring that the deal leaves the UK free to act outside the constraints and requirements of single market and customs union membership.
Starmer is only pressing the government in one direction — to stay as close to the EU as possible — and this could help the Tories to use the deal as a means of tying the hands of a future radical Labour government through the continued application of neoliberal EU-level rules and laws to the UK.
More from this author
In an address to the Communist Party’s executive at the weekend international secretary KEVAN NELSON explained why the communists’ watchwords must be Jobs not Bombs and Welfare not Warfare
KEVAN NELSON reveals how, through its Organising to Win strategy, which has launched targeted campaigns like Pay Fair for Patient Care, Britain’s largest union bucked the trend of national decline by growing by 70,000 members in two years
A view from the ground: KEVAN NELSON reports from a meeting of British communists with representatives of the Communist Party of Israel and the Palestinian People’s Party, discussing the dire situation for Palestinians and relentless zionist expansionism
Our new approach has driven membership growth and victories, including a £40m pay rise for NHS healthcare assistants by empowering members and forcing employers to negotiate through escalating pressure, writes KEVAN NELSON
