Mask-off outbursts by Maga insiders and most strikingly, the destruction and reconstruction of the presidential seat, with a huge new $300m ballroom, means Trump isn’t planning to leave the White House when his term ends, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
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Labour needs to seize the agenda and fight for a wealth tax
RICHARD BURGON MP says Labour needs to spell out a bold alternative with a National Care Service funded by taxes on the super-rich
A 5 per cent tax on wealth above £100 million, 10 per cent on wealth above £500m and 20 per cent on wealth above £1 billion would raise £97 billion
BEN CHACKO speaks with Knesset member OFER CASSIF about rising political violence, the prospects for peace and his continuous ‘silencing by suspension’
The City is leaning on Rachel Reeves to cut welfare spending — when what’s needed is cuts to all the benefits given to the mega rich, corporations and banks to help them not pay or blatantly dodge their fair share of tax, explains BERNIE EVANS
The choice between two Blairites to revamp the tepid centrism of our ruling party doesn’t even come as cold comfort as we wander the city streets suffering from their third decade of austerity and the fifth of wage stagnation, writes MATT KERR
ANN HENDERSON looks at the trailblazers of the Women’s Trade Union League and their successful fight for female factory inspectors — a battle that echoes in today’s workplace campaigns
HENRY FOWLER puts the strike of public-sector workers in New Zealand in the wider context of deteriorating employment conditions throughout the world’s major economies
MAT COWARD looks back at a protest 105 years ago this month, whose reporting by the media bears uncomfortable similarities with demos today
THE debate on how to fund much-needed social care investment has forced the issue of taxation to the top of the political agenda.
Of course, the crisis in social care goes well beyond just its woeful funding - it raises issues of privatisation and profiteering, of sickeningly low pay for such important workers, of deregulation, and of the underfunding of local councils.
But our broken social care system can’t be fixed without a huge boost to funding. The Health and Social Care Select Committee, for example, says a £7bn annual increase in social care funding would only be a “starting point” and that a “substantially higher” figure would be needed.
Of course, the crisis in social care goes well beyond just its woeful funding - it raises issues of privatisation and profiteering, of sickeningly low pay for such important workers, of deregulation, and of the underfunding of local councils.
But our broken social care system can’t be fixed without a huge boost to funding. The Health and Social Care Select Committee, for example, says a £7bn annual increase in social care funding would only be a “starting point” and that a “substantially higher” figure would be needed.
It's right that the whole Labour movement is rejecting the regressive Tory plans to pay for much-needed investment through national insurance hikes. Such a hike would hit the lowest-paid workers while letting off the hook those whose income comes not from work but from wealth.
But what is Labour’s alternative to the Tory plan? It is simply not good enough to say we will wait until the next election to map out our alternative either on social care or on how we will raise the funds for investment in our public services.
An election could now be less than two years away. Labour is lagging behind in the polls, the leadership’s approval ratings have plummeted this year with the public increasingly deeming it unlikely to form the next government.
To turn this around our party needs to urgently paint a picture of what it stands for. Timidity at this time from the Labour leadership risks many more years of Tory rule.
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