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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Any spare Change UK?
Unabashed by their dismal failure as a party, the smooth-brained folk behind Change UK are mugging for cash – as Brexit consultants, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
Independent Group MPs (left to right) Ann Coffey, Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker and Heidi Allen
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
TWO of the leading people behind the biggest failed anti-Brexit centrist party are now offering corporations a “Brexit consultancy” service, showing a determination to find a financial silver lining in a big political cloud.
The Brexit service is offered by a new political consultancy called “Murphy and Burns.” According to its website, director Nicola Murphy was “CEO of the Independent Group and political executive director of new political party Change UK” – an appointment that caused controversy, as she is also married to Chris Leslie, who was one of the Change UK MPs.
Co-director Harry Burns was the “head of campaigns for the Independent Group” and, like Murphy, helped its short-lived life as “Change UK.” Murphy and Burns set up the consultancy last September, as resignations reduced Change UK to just three MPs, before the new party finally died by winning zero seats in the 2019 election.
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