Assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions HENRY FOWLER reports on day 1 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at Quorn Grange Hotel
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A drop in the ocean: what I learned as a community aid volunteer
MILES ELLINGHAM chronicles his experience volunteering for a local Covid-19 mutual-aid group in London and how the vulnerable tell a story of systemic government unpreparedness
Signs thanking key workers and the NHS are seen in South London
Strike Map co-founder HENRY FOWLER discusses the significance of today’s joint union letter to video game giant Rockstar, demanding trade union recognition for its workers. Their conversation highlights how our movement can harness its collective power to rebuild union power across the private sector
The PM leaves office having squandered Labour’s electoral mandate and alienated its grassroots. He will not be missed, writes BRIAN LEISHMAN MP
Durham Miners’ Association chair STEPHEN GUY speaks to Ben Chacko about the Reform threat, what’s needed from Labour and why the Big Meeting will never lose its politics
Poland’s anger over Ukraine’s celebration of the Nazi collaborationist UPA reflects more than historical grievance, says KENNY COYLE
Can Andy Burnham’s programme deliver a productive economy – or merely a softer version of capitalism, asks VINCE MILLS
SINCE lockdown, despite the rising death toll, hundreds of thousands of young people have come forward in an empathic embrace for those most affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
There are 750,000 NHS responder applicants, weekend supermarket staff and up to 400 different community aid groups.
This explosion of compassionate manpower has been described in the New York Times as “a stirring display of British national solidarity” and may even have led Boris Johnson to negate Thatcher’s famous maxim, admitting: “There is such a thing as society.”
News of a volunteer army blossoming out of a deeply divided society is good news, and quite moving too. However, we mustn’t pat ourselves on the back too hard. Having volunteered to ferry groceries and medicine for the local community relief group, I can tell you first-hand, the more people you interact with, the more apparent our institutional shortfalls become.
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