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
ONE OF the most positive news stories since my last column was that in its first 10 days since the general election was called, Labour’s campaign received small donations totalling more than £1 million. The average donation was £26.
And despite claims in much of the Tory-supporting media that Labour wouldn’t be able to get people active and supporting the campaign like in 2017, in fact in the first two days of the campaign, the party raised almost as much as it did in the first two weeks of the 2017 election campaign.
Like so many other developments in this general election campaign, this story illustrates a stark contrast between the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party and Boris Johnson’s hard-right Tories.
Reform’s rise speaks to a deep crisis in Establishment parties – but relies on appealing to social and economic grievances the left should make its own, argues NICK WRIGHT
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
JOE GILL looks at research on the reasons people voted as they did last week and concludes Labour is finished unless it ditches Starmer and changes course



