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
A chance to right historic wrongs – but will the chance be seized?
The Miners Strike Pardons Bill coming before the Scottish Parliament is a golden opportunity to address injustices committed against working people – but it does not go nearly far enough, says RICHARD LEONARD MSP
An injured miner is helped away after a scuffle at the same pit, in 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
BEING a member of Parliament is a huge privilege. As history shows, opportunities for bringing about change through parliamentary means don’t come along very often.
In the coming weeks members of the Scottish Parliament will have the chance, their only chance, to right some of the wrongs of the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
Of course, we cannot turn back the clock. All those lives destroyed because of the brutality of that dispute cannot be restored.
More from this author
As bus builder Alexander Dennis threatens Falkirk closure and Grangemouth faces ruthless shutdown by tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, RICHARD LEONARD MSP warns that global corporations must be resisted by a bold industrial strategy based on public ownership
The super-rich falsely claim inheritance tax changes will devastate small farmers, while millionaire landowners continue enjoying numerous tax advantages — why is the SNP supporting this nonsense, asks RICHARD LEONARD
The 500 refinery jobs under threat at Grangemouth and underfunding in further education should be at the top of a new Scottish leader’s to-do list, argues RICHARD LEONARD MSP
RICHARD LEONARD MSP looks at the life and ideals of the famous miners' leader and all-round champion of working-class politics
