TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK speaks to the Morning Star’s Berny Torre about the increasing frustration the trade union movement feels at a government that promised change, but has been too slow to bring it about
Germany’s crisis of working-class politics
In the recent federal elections the far-right AfD was able to reach sections of the working class on issues over which the left is divided and unable to articulate a coherent position, a situation that is replicated in a number of other European countries, argues NICK WRIGHT
A man stands in front of the logo at the far-right AfD party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, February 23, 2025, after the German national election
DIANE ABBOTT exposes the misconceptions, rumours and downright lies perpetrated around immigration issues
With 12,000 fewer teachers since 2010 and dwindling resources, Scotland’s schools desperately need investment to support diverse learners rather than empty promises from politicians, writes ANDREA BRADLEY
Reversing outsourcing is the pre-election promise the government must honour, says Unison general secretary CHRISTINA McANEA
EMAN ABU ZAYED reminisces about the perilous time her family and neighbours endured in northern Gaza and how they were forced, in fear of their lives, to flee south
The EIS president who defended Marxist politics in the 1980s fought Thatcherite educational policies while organising Teachers for Peace rallies and ensuring Morning Star circulation in Scotland’s pit villages and factories, writes JOHN FOSTER
WHILE attention is focused on the rise of the right-wing populist Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) — and liberal opinion in Britain anxiously parses the difference and similarities of this peculiarly German formation with our own home grown Reform UK — the collapse of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is the issue exercising Labour MPs.
In the German election the big winner in terms of voter gains is the AfD — with 20.8 per cent it almost doubled its number of voters — while the conservative Christian Democrat/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) increased its vote by 4.4 per cent to total 28.6 per cent. This makes its aggressively right-wing leader Friedrich Merz almost certain to replace the SPD’s Olaf Scholz as chancellor.
The SPD clocked up its worst result in a federal election and its largest loss, eventually winning a humiliating 16.4 per cent.
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US tariffs have had Von der Leyen bowing in submission, while comments from the former European Central Bank leader call for more European political integration and less individual state sovereignty. All this adds up to more pain and austerity ahead, argues NICK WRIGHT
Starmer sabotaged Labour with his second referendum campaign, mobilising a liberal backlash that sincerely felt progressive ideals were at stake — but the EU was then and is now an entity Britain should have nothing to do with, explains NICK WRIGHT
Deep disillusionment with the Westminster cross-party consensus means rupture with the status quo is on the cards – bringing not only opportunities but also dangers, says NICK WRIGHT
Holding office in local government is a poisoned chalice for a party that bases its electoral appeal around issues where it has no power whatsoever, argues NICK WRIGHT
