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
Truth is the first casualty of politics
The more Starmer’s government demonstrates its inability to offer real change, the more its chances of securing a second term diminish, warns MICK WHITLEY
Cartoon: Lewis Marsden
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
IN THE early hours of July 5 2024, the scale of Labour’s landslide election victory was clear. The Tories were massacred, returning a mere 121 MPs — their worst-ever result in history. Labour returned to Westminster with a thumping majority on the scale of 1997. Sir Keir Starmer was triumphant and hailed by all and sundry as a political miracle worker.
The story was even more dramatic given the turnaround since 2019. Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn Labour had crashed to a heavy defeat that year at the hands of Boris Johnson. Comparisons made with the 1931 election, when Labour won only 52 seats following the split in the party and the election of a national government coalition. The 2019 defeat led to Jeremy Corbyn resigning as leader of the party and all the blame was laid at his door.
While the historical parallel was a popular line with the media pundits and right-wing Labour figures at the time it was profoundly misleading.
More from this author
MICK WHITLEY recounts the 1984 shipyard occupation that led to Britain’s largest jailing of trade unionists and urges Labour to address this historic injustice 40 years on
MICK WHITLEY MP explains why he has put forward an early day motion calling on the Foreign Secretary to make himself accountable to MPs over the appalling brutality in Gaza and for an immediate suspension to arms exports to Israel
MICK WHITLEY MP is today introducing a Bill in Parliament that aims to secure a people-focused and democratic approach towards increased use of AI across the British economy
Striking to keep the Birkenhead shipyard open and save a community from devastation, 37 workers went into occupation. Outrageously, they were jailed for their legitimate action — MICK WHITLEY MP writes now is the time to clear their names
