Scottish Labour's leaders cannot keep blaming Westminster for the collapse at the ballot box, says VINCE MILLS
THE “triple lock” on pensions is all that is left after 12 years of a disastrous Conservative government — and even that is now under threat. In a society where millions are routinely and knowingly condemned to poverty, hunger and misery by Conservative policies, the hope of some stability in retirement was one of the few lights at the end of a very long and very dimly lit tunnel.
The government, with an obliging mainstream media and numerous think tanks, has exerted significant energies into warning us that with annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation running at 10.1 per cent, a 40-year high, adhering to the triple lock would prove hugely expensive.
Economists have warned that further figures to be released this week will show that inflation accelerated to 10.8 per cent in October. Those who are briefing the media have argued that an estimated £5 billion more, based on current inflation estimates, in the next tax year would be required than if the average earnings figure were used instead.
We cannot refuse to abolish the unjustifiable two-child benefit cap that pushes children into poverty while finding billions of pounds for defence spending — the membership and the public expect better from Labour, writes JON TRICKETT MP
RICHARD BURGON MP points to the recent relative success of widespread opposition to the Labour leadership’s regressive policies as the blueprint for exacting the changes required to build a fairer society
In 2024, 19 households grew richer by $1 trillion while 66 million households shared 3 per cent of wealth in the US, validating Marx’s prediction that capitalism ‘establishes an accumulation of misery corresponding with accumulation of capital,’ writes ZOLTAN ZIGEDY



