SOLOMON HUGHES recommends Sunjeev Sahota’s recent novel set in a trade union election campaign for its fresh approach to what unites and divides workers, but wishes the union backdrop was truer to life
THE European elections confirmed the crisis of the European political systems. It predates the 2008 crash but was accelerated by it.
There isn’t a single “European electorate” but an agglomeration of 28 national political realities. The European Parliament lacks anything like the power of national legislatures.
That’s why though turnout was up in 20 countries and hit a 20-year high, it still fell far short (with most working-class voters abstaining) of a national election — except in Belgium where there was a general election.
From Reform UK to Trump, Orban and beyond, the far right is organised across borders and growing. Waiting for it to collapse is a fatal error – building an international, locally rooted left alternative is now an urgent necessity., argues ROGER McKENZIE
The desperate French president keeps running up the same political cul-de-sac. DENNIS BROE offers an explanation



