Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Brexit is a wake-up call to the labour movement
The way Scottish workers voted in the EU referendum was at odds with the rest of the UK. GRAHAME SMITH explores some of the reasons why
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
ALTHOUGH the result of the EU referendum came as a surprise to many, me included, in hindsight it’s quite clear that the writing was on the wall.
Austerity, the lack of progress in reforming the financial institutions that caused the crash and the consequent recession, the decline in real wages and living standards, the rise in poverty and inequality, the vilification of the poor and the failure to curb excessive executive pay and bonuses, tax avoidance and evasion, have produced a deep-seated belief among large parts of the population that their concerns have simply been ignored by politicians and political institutions.
Asking a redundant steelworker to vote Remain to save the jobs of City of London bankers is hardly a compelling message.
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