As tens of thousands return to the streets for the first national Palestine march of 2026, this movement refuses to be sidelined or silenced, says PETER LEARY
Latest editorial
No return to austerity — cancel local authority debt
Local councils — some of which now need four times the normal funding — must have their debts waived by central government, argues MARTIN WICKS
If the government really wanted to address public finances, improve living standards and begin economic recovery, it would increase its borrowing for investment, argues MICHAEL BURKE
MATT KERR takes a winter journey through poetry, labour and memory, from Glasgow to Newcastle, arguing that our radical past isn’t something to revere from a distance, but a tool still meant to be used
One of Canada’s most revered politicians is a native of Falkirk but is relatively unknown in his original homeland. KENNY MacASKILL tells his story
Labour prospects in May elections may be irrevocably damaged by Birmingham Council’s costly refusal to settle the year-long dispute, warns STEVE WRIGHT
HENRY FOWLER and ROB POOLE explain the significance of today’s Megapicket
A campaign initiated by the Labour Campaign for Council Housing calls for the government to cancel local-authority debt held by the Public Works Loans Board as an emergency measure to stave off the collapse of council services.
So far nine council leaders and five MPs have signed the statement. Cancellation would give councils £4.5 billion a year extra spending power.
The chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy warned of councils facing “a financial tsunami of reduced income and increased costs.” He was right. The financial crisis of local authorities is spiralling out of control as councils struggle to respond to the pandemic.
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The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE
LOTTE COLLETT welcomes the arrival of a new party for the left, a vehicle for councils to finally fight for progressive policies on housing, green spaces and public facilities, rather than administering cuts and misery from central government
Above-inflation rent increases will push council tenants deeper into poverty while failing to address the housing crisis — and it won’t really raise any money, as council rent arrears are doubling across the country, argues MARTIN WICKS
