Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
THE labour movement takes understandable pride in the achievements of 1945 — the bold legislative programme of Attlee’s government which changed Britain, permanently for the better.
Decades of neoliberalism have still to undo much of the welfare state or to complete the privatisation of the NHS. When it came time to define the nation, at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, it was the NHS that was showcased as the crowning achievement of this island’s story.
The onset of the pandemic has confirmed that, through the spontaneous outpouring of public support for the NHS through painted rainbows and applause for staff and care workers. The fruits of socialism work and are popular.
NICK TROY lauds the young staff at a hotel chain and cinema giant who are ready to take on the bosses for their rights
DAVID MATTHEWS looks at what a collective future for welfare might have in store for us
As we mark the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, JOHN WIGHT reflects on the enormity of the US decision to drop the atom bombs
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON


