There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Factionalism in the Labour Party is shutting working-class people out
Having politicians who understand working people’s problems through lived experience is surely part of the solution to a loss of trust in politics. But current trends show Labour going in the opposite direction, warns IAN LAVERY MP
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
AS LABOUR gears up for a plethora of by-elections it seems a good time to assess the state of working-class representation in Westminster. Sadly, an initial look does not make good reading.
In recent weeks selections forced by boundary changes have seen the loss of colleagues Mick Whitley and Beth Winter.
Parliament will be poorer without both Beth, who worked as a trade union official, housing officer for the charity Shelter and a community worker, and Mick, who worked in the merchant navy and at Vauxhall Motors, eventually becoming the union convener. Their losses are both a blow for the left and for authentic voices of working class in Parliament.
More from this author
IAN LAVERY MP looks at the first months of Labour government and warns a new approach is needed if it is to reshape Britain
Former miner and Labour MP IAN LAVERY reflects on how to regain trust and offer hope as we celebrate the Durham Miners' Gala
Former party chair IAN LAVERY urges voters who may be tempted to lend their support to alternative left candidates to stick with Labour to smash the main enemy of our class as completely as possible
IAN LAVERY MP, who took part in – and was arrested on – the great strike, looks back on the significance of this heightened period of class struggle
