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
Durham, our school of socialism, our day of pride
HEATHER WOOD, national secretary of Women Against Pit Closures charts her journey and the journey mining community women like her, from 1984 to Durham Gala 2024, explaining why this day remains vital for families decades after closures
INDOMITABLE: The Welsh contingent of miner’s wives and their supporters cross Westminster Bridge during a protest march enroute to a rally at Burgess Park, London on August 11 1984
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
FOLK ask me why the Big Meeting is so special. My answer is always the same.
It’s our day, a day when we celebrate who we are, it’s a day when we fly the flag, our flag, the red flag. It’s the day we hold our banners high, it’s the day when we show our children what solidarity means.
I always think of our communities as families and I think it’s best explained by telling folk about my theory of the three worlds.
More from this author
HEATHER WOOD reports back from another packed annual Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, where Palestinian flags flew high and solidarity with Birmingham’s striking refuse workers was central
The Big Meeting isn’t simply nostalgia, it’s a happy day and a day to show resistance. HEATHER WOOD explains why
HEATHER WOOD pays tribute to a champion of working-class women and a fierce voice of solidarity
HEATHER WOOD tells the story of how she led the women of her mining community to tackle Christmas 1984 with militant working-class organisation and dedication, from cataloguing each family to collecting and distributing presents
