Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
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‘Now we’re only seeing families and adults when it hits a crisis point’
On World Social Work Day, Steve Sweeney talks to JOHN McGOWAN, general secretary of the Social Workers Union, about the challenges facing the sector caused by increasing poverty and why specialised unions have a lot to offer
The Social Workers Union’s first elected general secretary John McGowan
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
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
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
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
“THERE’S a real thirst for trade unionism within the social work community now,” John McGowan tells me.
This is perhaps unsurprising given the huge cuts faced by local authorities under government austerity measures that have seen services slashed and driven more and more people into poverty.
McGowan knows this only too well. He is a product of Edinburgh’s tough council estates, counting Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh as a neighbour.
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