As tens of thousands return to the streets for the first national Palestine march of 2026, this movement refuses to be sidelined or silenced, says PETER LEARY
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Tory splits, from the Corn Laws to Brexit
William Rees-Mogg thinks the Conservatives may be heading for their biggest bust-up since 1847 – KEITH FLETT assesses
If the government really wanted to address public finances, improve living standards and begin economic recovery, it would increase its borrowing for investment, argues MICHAEL BURKE
MATT KERR takes a winter journey through poetry, labour and memory, from Glasgow to Newcastle, arguing that our radical past isn’t something to revere from a distance, but a tool still meant to be used
One of Canada’s most revered politicians is a native of Falkirk but is relatively unknown in his original homeland. KENNY MacASKILL tells his story
Labour prospects in May elections may be irrevocably damaged by Birmingham Council’s costly refusal to settle the year-long dispute, warns STEVE WRIGHT
HENRY FOWLER and ROB POOLE explain the significance of today’s Megapicket
WITH the Brexit crisis rumbling on and the Tory Party divided between pro-Brexit and pro-Remain MPs, it’s possible that the party faces its biggest split since 1847.
Robert Peel was elected in 1841 with the backing of landowners who did not want the Corn Laws repealed (a tax on imported wheat that kept domestic bread prices high, likewise profits for farmers) but did in fact repeal them in 1846 with the backing of the Anti-Corn Law League.
The working class, primarily the Chartists, were only marginally concerned in terms of the organisation of the League pushing instead, in due course successfully, for a Ten Hours Act to reduce the length of the working day — a measure they correctly judged would have more impact on workers’ lives.
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