History suggests apartheid ends not through appeals to conscience alone but through sustained economic and political pressure, says HUGH LANNING
Attacks on the BBC are an act of cultural vandalism
This government is intent on hobbling a great British institution for its own short-term political gain, says NUJ leader MICHELLE STANISTREET
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries
As the US marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, the People’s World Editorial Collective argues that the real legacy of 1776 lies not in official celebrations but in centuries of popular struggles to make democracy a reality for all
Once a source of national pride, Cuba’s healthcare system declines as energy shortages deepen crisis, writes ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Socialists, feminists and trade unionists gathered in Manchester to launch a network committed to evidence-based activism with a renewed emphasis on class and collective struggle. ANNA BARRETT reports
By making it simpler to support workers in struggle, Strike Map’s new Solidarity Fund aims to strengthen strikes when they need it most, write ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER
Only an ambitious programme of state-led investment can restore growth and improve living standards, argues MICHAEL BURKE
NADINE DORRIES was already a fully paid-up member of the BBC-bashing squad when she was appointed as culture secretary by the Prime Minister.
It wasn’t just at the BBC where the almond coffee latte cups were hitting the floor when her appointment was announced.
Dorries, an enthusiastic Brexiteer and Johnson loyalist, must have been equally surprised at her promotion and despite her much-vaunted Liverpool working-class background, one suspects her beverage of choice isn’t builders’ tea, despite her jibe.
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A past confrontation permanently shaped the methods the state will use to protect employers against any claims by their employees, writes MATT WRACK, but unions are readying to face the challenge
Forty years on, TONY DUBBINS revisits the Wapping dispute to argue that Murdoch’s real aim was union-busting – enabled by Thatcherite laws, police violence, compliant unions and a complicit media
![[Pic: Andrew Wiard]](https://morningstaronline.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-01/19860406_a_wiard_0001.jpg.webp?itok=d2RMNwWw)
LAURA DAVISON traces how Murdoch’s mass sackings, political deals and legal loopholes shattered collective bargaining 40 years ago – and how persistent NUJ organising, landmark court victories and new employment rights legislation are finally challenging that legacy
![[Pic: Andrew Wiard]](https://morningstaronline.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-01/19860503_a_wiard_0002.jpg.webp?itok=w0tEojMk)
A handful of journalists at The Times faced a stark personal and political choice in 1986 – cross the picket lines for cash and career, or stand with organised labour at great personal risk. BARRIE CLEMENT recalls why refusing to scab at Wapping was not just an act of union loyalty, but a stand for the future of journalism