Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
Labour pushes millions on benefits deeper into poverty
Social security is lagging further and further behind inflation and our government quite simply does not care, argues Dr DYLAN MURPHY
‘TAKING THE MICKEY’: Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz
Kendall
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
ON TUESDAY February 4 the House of Commons debated the annual increase in social security benefits. Minister for Social Security and Disability Stephen Timms bragged about the 4.1 per cent increase in the state pension coming into effect in April and noted the miserly increase in most other benefits which will be increased by 1.7 per cent from April.
During the debate Timms had the nerve to state: “We have committed in our manifesto to reviewing universal credit, so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty … On disability and carers’ benefits, we will continue to ensure that carers and people who face additional costs because of disability or health impairment, get the support that they need.’’
He failed to acknowledge that the 1.7 per cent increase in most benefits, including universal credit, was yet another cut in the standard of living of some of the poorest people in our country. In January of this year inflation was 2.5 per cent and is forecast to rise to over 3 per cent later this year. So this cut in living standards for millions is even before Labour starts cutting over £1 billion a year from universal credit (UC), employment support allowance (ESA) and personal independence payments (PIP) over the lifetime of this parliament.
More from this author
The government’s retreat on PIP still leaves 150,000 new universal credit claimants facing halved benefits from April 2026, creating a discriminatory two-tier welfare system that campaigners must continue fighting, writes DR DYLAN MURPHY
Labour’s austerity package, targeted at disabled people and the most vulnerable in our society, stands to drive over 150,000 children into poverty and millions of adults deeper into hardship, warns Dr DYLAN MURPHY
A devastating new 44-page report reveals Labour’s cuts will push 400,000 into poverty and cost disabled people up to £10,000 annually, while the government refuses to make savings by cutting spending on war instead, writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
The pivotal role of the Red Army and sacrifices of the Russian people in the defeat of Nazi Germany must never be forgotten, writes DR DYLAN MURPHY
