With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
‘French workers wouldn’t take this’ — is our movement exceptionally tame?
KEITH FLETT argues against the lazy trope that British workers and their organisations are inferior in the militancy stakes to those around the globe – especially in light of the current strike wave

TOM NAIRN died recently aged 90. He was an important figure on the left from the early 1960s when he authored, with Perry Anderson, Origins of the Present Crisis (New Left Review 1964).
He was also notable for writing the Break-Up of Britain (1977) primarily on Scottish independence, and The Enchanted Glass (1988) on the monarchy.
While I certainly didn’t concur with his specific analysis on many occasions, his persistence as an opponent of the current British state was — and is — important.
More from this author
KEITH FLETT revisits the 1978 origins of Britain’s May Day bank holiday — from Michael Foot’s triumph to Thatcher’s reluctant acceptance — as Starmer’s government dodges calls to expand our working-class celebrations

From bemoaning London’s ‘cockneys’ invading seaside towns to negotiating holiday rents, the founders of scientific socialism maintained a wry detachment from Victorian Easter customs while using the break for health and politics, writes KEITH FLETT

Facing economic turmoil, Jim Callaghan’s government rejected Tony Benn’s alternative economic strategy in favour of cuts that paved the way for Thatcherism — and the cuts-loving Labour of the present era, writes KEITH FLETT

Starmer’s slash-and-burn approach to disability benefits represents a fundamental break with Labour’s founding mission to challenge the idle rich rather than punish the vulnerable poor, argues KEITH FLETT