TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK speaks to the Morning Star’s Berny Torre about the increasing frustration the trade union movement feels at a government that promised change, but has been too slow to bring it about
‘Where’s the money coming from’?
Labour’s fiscal policy is already in trouble. But simply printing money is not a solution, says the Marx Memorial Library and Workers School
MONEY TALKS: A general view of City workers on Bank Street at Canary Wharf, London, 2007
DIANE ABBOTT exposes the misconceptions, rumours and downright lies perpetrated around immigration issues
With 12,000 fewer teachers since 2010 and dwindling resources, Scotland’s schools desperately need investment to support diverse learners rather than empty promises from politicians, writes ANDREA BRADLEY
Reversing outsourcing is the pre-election promise the government must honour, says Unison general secretary CHRISTINA McANEA
EMAN ABU ZAYED reminisces about the perilous time her family and neighbours endured in northern Gaza and how they were forced, in fear of their lives, to flee south
The EIS president who defended Marxist politics in the 1980s fought Thatcherite educational policies while organising Teachers for Peace rallies and ensuring Morning Star circulation in Scotland’s pit villages and factories, writes JOHN FOSTER
CANVASSING for Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 a constant question was “Where’s the money coming from?”
One answer could be British money — sterling — a “hard” currency, “hard” because it can be used for trade across the globe, between every country with other “tough guy” currencies. Top of the list for total world foreign exchange reserves is the US dollar, with 57 per cent, the euro at 20 per cent, Japanese yen 5.81 per cent is no 3, sterling is no 4 with £588 billion 5.81 per cent. While movements in the value of hard currencies occur constantly, over time, they are mainly stable.
But money can itself fall victim to crises. In the US between 1980 and 1994 such crises were caused by excess land and house loans, speculation and poor underwriting. Well over 2,000 US banks bailed out or folded. Key to survival was the strength of the dollar and piles of “new greenbacks” with, crucially, political support from the US state.
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From hunting rare pamphlets at book sales to online panels and courses on trade unionism and class politics, the MML continues connecting archive treasures with the movements fighting for a better world, writes director MEIRIAN JUMP
Author RACHEL HOLMES invites readers to come to her talk in London about the great foremother of the working-class women’s movement – Eleanor Marx
The youngest daughter of Karl Marx and her unwavering humanity in the face of injustice remain relevant for our times, writes DANA MILLS
VINCE MILLS reflects on the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 which took place in a period of austerity following the great banking crash of 2007-08 and with deindustrialisation in full swing – a context of relevance today