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
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The making of a mental-health activist
RUTH HUNT tells the story of a mother forced to take matters into her own hands, first to investigate her son's death and then to reform the mental-health system that failed him
The more Caroline Aldridge learnt about mental-health services, the more she became aware of poor behaviour by staff and managers on a national basis
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
Alba party leader KENNY MacASKILL makes some suggestions on how to save our pubs and reduce irresponsible drinking
The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Opinion polls point to electoral collapse, parliamentary rebellion and a looming leadership challenge as Starmer’s Labour haemorrhages working-class support and the far right exploits the vacuum left by a hollowed-out party, says NICK WRIGHT
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
CAROLINE ALDRIDGE didn’t think she would need to become an activist after her son Tim died aged 30, even though she knew he had been waiting for a long time for the right kind of treatment from the mental-health trust.
At the time she worked for the same trust, so only days after Tim had died, she offered to help so other service users and their families wouldn’t be in the same position.
Rebuffed by the trust and instead treated in a way she found deeply offensive, she began to realise her experiences were not isolated.
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