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
Latest editorial
The people’s revenge on the man behind Peterloo
KEITH FLETT relates what happened to William Hulton, the man who sent the Yeomanry on horseback to cut down the suffrage marches on St Peter's Field
The charge of the Yeomanry left 15 marchers dead
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
WILLIAM HULTON (1787-1864) is not a name that features significantly in British history, he deserves more recognition, as does what eventually happened to the vast estate he owned on the edge of what is now Greater Manchester.
It’s thought that the Hulton family may have held the land since as early as 989AD, which made it until very recently the longest period in which a piece of land had been held by a single family in British history.
Hulton came into his inheritance in 1808 aged 21 and married Maria who bore him 13 children.
Similar stories
The government cracking down on something it can’t comprehend and doesn’t want to engage with is a repeating pattern of history, says KEITH FLETT
KEITH FLETT traces how the ‘world’s most successful political party’ has imploded since Thatcher’s fall, from nine leaders in 30 years to losing all 16 English councils, with Reform UK symbolically capturing Peel’s birthplace, Tamworth — but the beast is not dead yet
The legacy of an 1820 conspiracy in revenge for Peterloo resonates down the ages, argues KEITH FLETT