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
Will Starmer’s plan to replace members with money even work?
It seems simple: get the big money men and women to finance a Labour Party that represents them and their business interests, just like Blair. The problem is, writes SOLOMON HUGHES, that Blair won elections — Starmer does not
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
HOW is Starmer’s plan to replace members with multimillionaires going? In July the Times reported: “Keir Starmer seeks billionaire cash as Labour struggless to pay staff.” Starmer’s strategy to move rightwards from the leftish-sounding “10 pledges” he made to get elected Labour leader has a cost.
Under Corbyn, Labour again became a mass membership party — and all those subscriptions made the party’s finances healthy. Starmer trying to shift the party much further right than he promised has chased many members away, so the party is running low on cash. There is an alternative: the New Labour model that relies on Labour-leaning millionaire donors to fill the gap.
An advantage for Starmer is that these millionaires positively want Labour to abandon any establishment-challenging policies, because they are part of the establishment. So you get the cash in return for running a bland unchallenging party — which seems to play to Starmer’s strengths.
However, there is a glitch in the machine. All the Labour supporting “high net worth individuals” only really start coughing up the cash if they think the party is close to winning an election. There is no point in spending their cash to support a neutralised Labour Party if it isn’t anywhere near government — it would be neutralising something that is already neutralised.
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