Shop
Your Account Sign In
Support Us
Subscribe
Britain World Editorial Features Culture Sport
Britain World Editorial Features Culture Sport
Climate Crisis Far Right Gaza Workers' Rights Women's Cricket World Cup Labour Morning Star Video
Latest editorial
Labour is neither listening nor learning
Advertise Contact us Shop Subscribe Support us Daily Alert
Climate Crisis Far Right Gaza Workers' Rights Women's Cricket World Cup Labour Morning Star Video
Richard Burgon
WAY FORWARD: People's Assembly Against Austerity protest in central London on June 7 2025
Politics / 11 July 2025
Only mass pressure from below will secure the change we need
11 July 2025

RICHARD BURGON MP points to the recent relative success of widespread opposition to the Labour leadership’s regressive policies as the blueprint for exacting the changes required to build a fairer society

A woman holds a communism flag as people gather for the NYCLU's May Day rally for worker's and immigrant's rights at Foley Square, May 1, 2025, in New York
Features / 3 May 2025
We have a world to win!
3 May 2025

In his May Day message for the Morning Star, RICHARD BURGON says the call for peace, equality and socialism has never been more relevant

TAX THE RICH: Anti-cuts protesters spell it out outside the
Features / 4 April 2025
We can defeat the cuts to disability support together
4 April 2025
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that a broad, united mass movement can stop the cuts and ensure it’s the wealthiest that pay their fair share
WORKERS’ RIGHTS: Labour MP for Leeds East Richard Burgon o
Features / 20 January 2025
Labour’s chance to right a Tory wrong on workplace discrimination
20 January 2025
RICHARD BURGON MP says the government should use the Employment Rights Bill to reverse a shameful Tory decision on discrimination
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Prime Minister Si
Labour Conference 2024 / 23 September 2024
A break with austerity is needed to tackle the toxic Tory legacy
23 September 2024
RICHARD BURGON MP, who voted against the cut to winter fuel allowance, warns against a return to austerity, introducing his ideas that could raise billions to properly fund public services and boost wages instead
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves 11 Downing St
Features / 6 December 2023
To save our services simply tax the super-rich
6 December 2023
RICHARD BURGON MP lays out a plan for taxes on the wealthy as an alternative to yet more Tory austerity
As the Tories march to the extreme right, fighting culture w
Labour Party Conference 2023 / 7 October 2023
Time to bury the Tory policies driving this crisis
7 October 2023
RICHARD BURGON MP writes that rebuilding Britain will require not simply a Labour government, but a conscious ditching of the Tory ideology and policies that have caused so much damage
Wreckers: David Cameron and George Osborne's policies underm
Features / 28 June 2023
We need to take on the Tory claim that public investment is unaffordable 
28 June 2023
RICHARD BURGON MP says we need to prevent the Tories from using this crisis to push another era of damaging austerity
Protesters outside Downing Street, London, demonstrating aga
Features / 1 February 2023
The Tory war on trade unions is an attack on all our freedoms 
1 February 2023
RICHARD BURGON argues that the Tories are becoming more authoritarian as opposition to their reactionary policies grows
LOUD AND CLEAR: People’s Assembly Britain is Broken nation
Features / 18 November 2022
We need wealth taxes on the rich, not Tory austerity 2.0
18 November 2022
RICHARD BURGON MP argues the labour movement must put wealth taxes at the heart of its alternative to Tory cuts
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: (Left) a placard with a slogan ‘Until di
Analysis / 25 October 2022
Latin America — the enduring flame of hope
25 October 2022
Ahead of the Latin America Conference 2023 in January, RICHARD BURGON MP looks at the 'second pink tide,' a new wave of social progress across the continent — and why solidarity remains as important as ever
GROWING SOLIDARITY: Workers from different unions and their
Features / 23 September 2022
As Truss unleashes ‘Thatcherism 2.0’ Labour must show people we are on their side
23 September 2022
We might be leading in the polls, but our devastated country cannot wait up to two years for an election — Labour must be forcing concessions and retreats from Truss’s obscene neoliberal cabal here and now, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 7 June 2022
Only mass action can force the Tories to tackle this cost-of-living crisis
7 June 2022
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that whoever is Tory leader, only strikes and mass protest will force the changes we need.
People take part in a People's Assembly demo in 2016
Features / 12 February 2022
We won’t let the 99% pay for this crisis  
12 February 2022
The Tories want the vast majority of people to pay for this crisis - but co-ordinated action can stop them, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
Richard Burgon with fellow MP Barry Gardiner at an anti-Cons
Features / 9 January 2022
In 2022, the left should be confident that we have the answers to this crisis
9 January 2022
We need to step up the fight for progressive solutions to the health and cost-of-living crisis, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
A 5 per cent tax on wealth above £100 million, 10 per cent
Features / 7 September 2021
Labour needs to seize the agenda and fight for a wealth tax
7 September 2021
RICHARD BURGON MP says Labour needs to spell out a bold alternative with a National Care Service funded by taxes on the super-rich
Protesters outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London,
Features / 15 July 2021
Kick the profiteers out of our NHS
15 July 2021
RICHARD BURGON MP warns that the Tories new Health and Care Bill is really about ensuring an even greater role for private companies in our NHS
A People's Assembly march in London, 2016
Features / 23 June 2021
Out of this crisis, we need to fight for a new normal 
23 June 2021
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that the government will only deliver the change we need if we build the movements that demand it
Israel’s injustice against the Palestinian people is again
Features / 20 May 2021
It is time for sanctions to stop Israel’s war on Palestine
20 May 2021
We need to demand real action from the British government as part of global pressure to force Israel to end its war on the Palestinian people, says RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 29 April 2021
Let’s unite to force the Tories to ban ‘fire and rehire’ 
29 April 2021
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that fire and rehire is the new Tory blueprint for the whole economy
Features / 16 April 2021
With its 37p increase the government is punishing disabled people
16 April 2021
Disabled people have been hit especially hard by this pandemic, yet the government is refusing to increase benefits, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 6 March 2021
We need a huge stimulus for people and planet — not more cuts
6 March 2021
RICHARD BURGON MP says a massive programme of state investment is the best way of getting the economy growing and tackling the numerous crises our communities face
Features / 17 February 2021
A vaccine that serves all of humanity – not private profit 
17 February 2021
RICHARD BURGON argues that private control of the vaccines means hundreds of thousands of lives could be lost unnecessarily
Features / 27 January 2021
Fighting Tory plans for a bonfire of workers’ rights
27 January 2021
The Thatcherites in the Cabinet present a real threat to workers’ rights, which our whole labour movement must unite to fight, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak
Features / 13 January 2021
A proper lockdown requires full financial support for workers
13 January 2021
The government needs to ensure workers can afford to stay at home, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 16 December 2020
Let’s push for investment in welfare not warfare
16 December 2020
We need to make the case against a Tory military spending spree and for investment to tackle the real threats our communities face, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
A campaigner outside the Department of Health and Social Car
Features / 2 December 2020
Let’s put a windfall tax on companies profiting from the Covid-19 crisis
2 December 2020
We need to ensure that this crisis is not paid for on the backs of the working class, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs Joe Lambert in Novemb
Features / 3 November 2020
Reinstate Jeremy - Unite to Fight the Tories
3 November 2020
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that Jeremy Corbyn must be reinstated and the Labour Party united to take on the Tories
Features / 30 September 2020
We need to step up the fight to save lives and livelihoods
30 September 2020
The left needs to co-ordinate around alternative policies if it’s going to force the government to change course, argues RICHARD BURGON
Features / 9 September 2020
Tory failures risk robbing young people of their future
9 September 2020
We need to demand bold policies in education and employment if we are to avoid a lost generation, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 15 July 2020
We must create a state that serves people, not capital
15 July 2020
The severity of the crises we face coming out of Covid-19 only deepens the need for a radical socialist programme, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
BA plans to fire its 42,000 staff and rehire them on inferio
Features / 1 July 2020
Solidarity with BA workers – their fight affects us all
1 July 2020
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that we need to fight to stop BA’s attacks on workers’ pay and conditions becoming a blueprint for the whole economy
Features / 10 June 2020
Rent freezes are needed to avoid mass evictions
10 June 2020
RICHARD BURGON MP warns that there is a real danger that the coronavirus crisis will turn the housing crisis into a catastrophe
Features / 27 May 2020
Put people before profit — end lockdown only when safe
27 May 2020
RICHARD BURGON MP argues that the government must only reopen schools and wider workplaces once it’s safe to do so
Features / 13 May 2020
The Covid-19 crisis is class politics laid bare
13 May 2020
With working-class people being treated as the canary in the mine, now is the time to fight back, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
NHS staff observe the minute's silence on Workers' Memorial
Features / 29 April 2020
Let’s remember the dead and fight for a society fit for the living
29 April 2020
As the bodies stack up, the slogan for International Workers’ Memorial Day — “remember the dead and fight for the living” — feels even more poignant than usual this year, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 5 January 2020
No to Trump’s reckless push for war
5 January 2020
We need an international movement against war and for peace – and Labour must play its part, says RICHARD BURGON
Features / 30 November 2019
This election is a battle between the people and the establishment
30 November 2019
Labour unveils the party battle bus while on the General Ele
Features / 8 November 2019
Real change is coming — and the billionaires know it
8 November 2019
After a decade of Conservative and Lib Dem austerity, the country is ready for real change — only a radical Labour government can deliver that, writes RICHARD BURGON
Features / 21 September 2019
Let’s unite to kick Johnson out before Christmas
21 September 2019
We’re coming up to a general election – and it will be as epoch-defining as that of 1945, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 2 September 2019
Why we are fighting back against Boris Johnson’s smash-and-grab raid
2 September 2019
This is not just a struggle for democracy — it is for a society that works for the 99 per cent, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Man of the people: Jeremy Corbyn mixes with the crowds at th
Features / 24 July 2019
Let’s unite to kick Johnson out and get Corbyn in
24 July 2019
Jeremy Corbyn on the campaign trail during the last European
Features / 3 July 2019
Power cedes nothing without a demand
3 July 2019
The recent smear against Corbyn in the Times is an important reminder of what we are up against - and why we must remain united as we approach power, argues RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 17 June 2019
Winning the battle of ideas
17 June 2019
RICHARD BURGON MP previews this weekend’s Arise — a festival to showcase Labour’s left ideas
Features / 29 May 2019
Labour Roots is going to the masses
29 May 2019
This Saturday Jeremy Corbyn will start a new tour of the towns, cities and communities of Britain – because unlike the other parties, Labour is an actual movement, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 17 May 2019
Only Labour can stop the right at the European elections
17 May 2019
Whether you voted Leave or Remain, a vote for Labour is the only way to bring our communities together, says RICHARD BURGON
Features / 1 May 2019
The 99 per cent is the power that can change society
1 May 2019
We should reject false divisions between ‘working class’ and ‘middle class’ – because united we are stronger, says RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 3 April 2019
Climate change is a class issue
3 April 2019
The left is at the heart of pushing alternatives to environmental destruction, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 20 March 2019
Only a socialist Labour government can resolve Britain’s deepening crises
20 March 2019
We need to be ready in our workplaces, colleges and communities to support a socialist government - the only solution to everything from Brexit to climate change, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Chuka Umunna films on his mobile phone as Anna Soubry addres
Features / 20 February 2019
A united Labour Party is the best way to oust these cruel Tories
20 February 2019
Calls to embrace austerity economics and return to the failed foreign policy of the past should not be heeded if we’re to get rid of the Conservative government that’s harming our communities, says RICHARD BURGON
Features / 10 February 2019
Only Labour can tackle the inequality that shames our nation
10 February 2019
A Labour government led by Corbyn will understand grotesque inequality as endemic of a rotten system that needs to be overhauled, says RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 23 January 2019
Tom Maguire: a man of the working class and for the working class
23 January 2019
RICHARD BURGON pays tribute to a legendary socialist from Leeds
Features / 8 January 2019
Only Labour can secure a new deal on Europe and a new deal for the 99 per cent
8 January 2019
RICHARD BURGON argues that Labour’s conference policy offers the best way out of the Tory-created Brexit crisis
Features / 28 November 2018
Britain is broken – a Labour government is ready to rebuild
28 November 2018
As things get desperate we need to unite behind a new anti-austerity mass campaign, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 14 November 2018
We must end the Americanisation of our prison system
14 November 2018
The results of privatisation across our justice sector are catastrophic, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Environmental activist holds a sign with a message that read
Features / 31 October 2018
Solidarity with Brazil must be a priority for all internationalists
31 October 2018
We must fulfil our internationalist duty, writes RICHARD BURGON MP as he launches the Brazil Solidarity Initiative
Unite members march through London as part of the TUC's camp
Features / 17 October 2018
Trade unions are key to Labour being a party for the many
17 October 2018
From its foundation to today, it has been the unions that guarantee the working-class politics of the party, writes RICHARD BURGON MP
Features / 13 September 2018
Uniting against the media onslaught on Jeremy Corbyn
13 September 2018
We can be proud that Labour is an anti-racist, socialist party led by an anti-racist socialist leader, writes RICHARD BURGON
Marchers against the Iraq war in 2003
Features / 30 August 2018
Socialists will not stop fighting for global peace, justice and equality
30 August 2018
The RICHARD BURGON column
The original ‘gang of four’ pictured in 1981 (left to ri
Features / 15 August 2018
Talk of national governments and new parties shows the desperation of those opposed to a radical Labour government
15 August 2018
by Richard Burgon
A painting of Prometheus
Features / 1 August 2018
A life-affirming celebration of the Promethean spirit of socialist rebellion
1 August 2018
With the forthcoming anniversary of the birth of Shelley, RICHARD BURGON reflects on a modern interpretation of Prometheus by poet Tony Harrison
A band plays at the Durham Miners' Gala last weekend
Features / 19 July 2018
Being part of movements for the 99 per cent is key to winning a socialist victory
19 July 2018
Richard Burgon MP reflects on a weekend that showed our labour and progressive movements in their diversity, and how our unity will be vital to securing a left-wing Labour government
Features / 4 July 2018
Today’s Labour Party reflects Keir Hardie’s vision for change
4 July 2018
RICHARD BURGON considers the enduring relevance of the Labour Party’s founder and first leader
Features / 13 June 2018
We must remain vigilant against a far-right resurgence
13 June 2018
Austerity-hit Britain is not immune from the plague of certain forces trying to scapegoat minorities, says RICHARD BURGON
A partially covered-up Grenfell Tower is seen from a nearby residential street in west London.
Grenfell inquiry / 16 May 2018
Grenfell families shouldn’t have to fight for justice
16 May 2018
The granting of a panel for the Grenfell inquiry is a step forward, but why has it taken so long, so much effort, and why is its role so limited, asks RICHARD BURGON
Features / 18 April 2018
Bombing is not the path to peace in Syria
18 April 2018
The lessons of Iraq and Libya underline the dangers of reckless military interventions, writes RICHARD BURGON
Healthcare / 28 March 2018
We must call a halt to the creeping privatisation of our NHS
28 March 2018
Plans by Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to set up a private company to employ NHS staff are symptomatic of a drive towards US-style healthcare, writes RICHARD BURGON
Tribute / 14 March 2018
Tony Benn's ideas have remained as pertinent as ever
14 March 2018
Our commitment to ongoing struggles IS the best way to remember Tony Benn, writes RICHARD BURGON
The Clash in Norway
Culture / 31 January 2018
Arts are the lifeblood of the struggle
31 January 2018
RICHARD BURGON explains how creativity was and is an integral and indispensable part of the struggle for socialism
Outsourcing / 18 January 2018
Carillion’s collapse illustrates all that’s wrong with the Tory economic model
18 January 2018
The failure of Carillion is about far more than the failure of a company. It is about the failure of free market dogma, writes RICHARD BURGON
Opinion / 13 December 2017
A year of tragedy, but also hope for the future
13 December 2017
RICHARD BURGON surveys 2017, where, amid death and conflict, the spirit of socialism was rejuvenated
POLITICS / 1 November 2017
A year has passed since Rudd refused to set up an inquiry into Orgreave. This injustice will not stand
1 November 2017
RICHARD BURGON on how the miners' strike exposes the class loyalties of the Tories today just as it did then
Party Conferences / 6 October 2017
The nasty party’s mask comes off
6 October 2017
Whoever is the Conservatives’ prime minister, austerity and privatisation will continue, public services will continue to be decimated, living standards will continue to fall, writes RICHARD BURGON – arguing that we need to secure a Labour government to remove a system that is rigged against the many