After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
International politics and domestic politics are bound up with each other. Countries pursuing an isolationist agenda, however they dress it up, always find that the world does not stop, and no, you cannot get off. This proposition was brought sharply into focus at the G7, where the British government’s reactionary and authoritarian agenda bumped up against the real world.
The G7 meeting has the capacity to address some of the world’s most pressing problems and make a significant contribution to resolving them, in co-operation with the global South.
Yet this Tory government is generally playing a far from constructive role in international affairs, and is actually a blockage to progress on many issues.
Europe is acquiescing in Trump’s manoeuvrings — where Europe takes over the US forever war in Ukraine while Washington gets ready for a future fight with China. And it’s working people who will be left paying the price, says DIANE ABBOTT MP



