With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
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Scotland at the crossroads: 50 years after the original Red Paper
From the ‘marketisation’ of care services to the closure of cultural venues and criminalisation of youth, a new Red Paper reveals how austerity has weakened communities and disproportionately harmed the most vulnerable, write PAULINE BRYAN and VINCE MILLS
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
KEEP LEFT: Red Paper on Scotland 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the original Red Paper on Scotland. Many of the issues facing us today were set in motion at the very time when Gordon Brown, then a young radical, edited the Red Paper on Scotland in 1975.
The current edition looks at many aspects of Scotland in 2025 but perhaps one of the most important is: what kind of country is Scotland?
Where better to start than by considering social care. Both Sarah Cowan and Susan Galloway provide serious analysis of how Scotland has dealt with this issue. From an unapologetic feminist perspective Cowan not only points that women continue to bear the brunt of caring in our society, she goes on to argue that transformation requires its feminisation: “With concerted effort an economy that works for women and men is possible. Recognising, valuing and investing in care is a critical element to deliver the changes that women need to see and redressing the balance in the current economic system. A gender-equal economy will be one that works better for everybody, especially those who currently face the sharp end of economic inequality.”
More from this author
There is little benefit coming to Scotland or the wider UK from projects like Rosebank or Jackdaw – or indeed renewables – as profits are siphoned out of the country by foreign companies, writes PAULINE BRYAN
Unwanted, imposed Tory interventions on Scotland fuelled demands for devolution, and today Labour risks repeating past mistakes if Ian Murray seeks to bypass Holyrood on spending, warns PAULINE BRYAN
With a lack of radical thinking from the Starmer-led UK government, support for Scottish independence is unlikely to evaporate any time soon – spelling trouble ahead for Anas Sarwar, argues PAULINE BRYAN
The party north of the border needs to have a serious think about how it retains its newly elected MPs in the future. How those MPs are able to assert Scottish policy in the UK Parliament will be key, argues PAULINE BRYAN
