With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
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Their May Day bank holidays and ours
KEITH FLETT looks back on some working-class and ruling-class traditions
VIBRANT: A May Day rally in Trafalgar Square, London
LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend
Keir Starmer’s £120 million to Sudan cannot cover the government’s complicity in the RSF genocide or atone for the long shadow of British colonialism and imperialism, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Join the traditional march from Clerkenwell Green, which will bring together countless international workers’ organisations in a statement against the far right
Ecuador’s election wasn’t free — and its people will pay the price under President Noboa
Mountains of research show that hardcore material harms children, yet there are still no simple measures in place
We face austerity, privatisation, and toxic influence. But we are growing, and cannot be beaten
IN RECENT decades pop songs from the Mamas and the Papas and the Boomtown Rats have reminded us that Monday is not the most popular day of the week.
Indeed before industrial capitalism got a firm grip in Britain, it was common for artisan workers whose weekend consisted only of the Sunday to take Monday off, sometimes extending into Tuesday as well.
The practice was known as Saint Monday. It may surprise people in 2023 that Peterloo in August 1819 and the Chartist protest for the vote on Kennington Common in April 1848 both took place on Mondays.
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
