The social base of the old Tory Party has disappeared as surely as that of Labour, argues ANDREW MURRAY – today’s right are the debased offspring of a capitalism that speculates without investing and profits without producing
TUESDAY September 15, was unforgettable moment in the life of Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail. Because on that date, at the close of this year’s TUC conference, Gail became the president of the TUC and will hold the office until the close of next year’s conference.
Presiding over the Trades Union Congress is probably the greatest honour any active trade unionist can hope to achieve. But, like most from a working-class background, it was not an easy path to the top.
Gail’s father was a postman and her mother was a refugee from the Nazi-occupied Channel Islands. Gail was proud of her father, a union member, like everyone working for the Post Office then.
JOHN LANG recalls how Murdoch used scabbing electricians and even devised a fake newspaper to force a confrontation with printers – then sacked them all
Working-class women lead the fight for fair work and equitable pay and against sexual harassment, the rise of the far right and years of failed austerity policies, writes ROZ FOYER
CWU leader DAVE WARD tells Ben Chacko a strategy to unite workers on class lines is needed – and sectoral collective bargaining must be at its heart


