There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
‘Solidarity forever’ – our message in a very special Gala year
Durham Miners Association leader ALAN MARDGHUM talks to Ben Chacko about the continued relevance of trade unions, the lacklustre general election campaign, whether we can believe opinion polls and the ‘reprehensible’ North Durham candidate, Luke Akehurst
BIG MEETING: Alan Mardghum speaking at last year’s Gala; and (below) pipe bands and banners parade through Durham
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
IN TWO weeks crowds will throng the streets of Durham in Britain and Europe’s biggest celebration of working-class culture — the Miners’ Gala.
For Alan Mardghum, general secretary of the Durham Miners Association (DMA), this year is special — it marks the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike, and will likely take place in the first weeks of a new, Labour government.
“I’m certainly hoping for a change of government, and to kick the Tories into oblivion,” he tells the Morning Star.
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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’
Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street
Durham Miners’ Association general secretary ALAN MARDGHUM speaks to Ben Chacko ahead of Gala Day 2025
