After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
Latest editorial
Like every Tory attack before, the cost-of-living crisis is intentional
It was no accident when Thatcher gutted our national industries and powerful unions, nor was it when Cameron came for what remained of the welfare state in 2010 — this time however, we are fighting for survival, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
Alba party leader KENNY MacASKILL makes some suggestions on how to save our pubs and reduce irresponsible drinking
The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Opinion polls point to electoral collapse, parliamentary rebellion and a looming leadership challenge as Starmer’s Labour haemorrhages working-class support and the far right exploits the vacuum left by a hollowed-out party, says NICK WRIGHT
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
IT HAS NEVER been an aim of Tory governments to raise the living standards of the population. But this government is engaged in the third huge assault on the pay and incomes and services of ordinary people in living memory — and the most vicious of all.
The first of these was the programme of Margaret Thatcher, which completely re-ordered British society in the interests of big business and the rich. She also decimated the trade union movement and bragged that she had recreated the Labour Party in her own image. We are still living with the disastrous consequences of her policies.
The second big attack was launched by Cameron and Osborne, with the eager help of the Lib Dems in 2010. The economy and living standards have never properly recovered from the austerity policies they implemented. Of course, the stated aim then was to reduce the public-sector debt, which had been created by bailing out the banks and the economic damage they caused.
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