The Tories introduced the 50% strike ballot threshold to make industrial action harder. MATT WRACK argues that a Labour government has no justification for leaving it on the statute book
HAVING reported on these pages in the past about the bizarre and surreal nature of Westminster, six weeks ago I found myself rising in the chamber at Prime Minister’s Questions to ask a question that is usually dismissed by the Establishment and liable to have me labelled a conspiracy theorist.
It is one of the defining characteristics of the pantomime that is the House of Commons that MPs have to deploy the tactic of asking questions that they can predict the answer to in order to make a point.
I asked for a public inquiry into blacklisting. Ten years on since the discovery of the documents that revealed the true nature of the Consulting Association, the seriousness and widespread depth of the blacklisting conspiracy is coming to light.
The public inquiry is the result of more than a decade of determined campaigning. Now, those who fought for justice want the full story of government involvement and police conduct to be told, says KATE FLANNERY
YVETTE WILLIAMS and JOE DELANEY dissect the institutional dawdling that rubbed salt into the Grenfell open wounds prolonging the agony of survivors
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
JOHN GREEN has doubts about the efficacy of the Freedom of Information Act, once trumpeted by Tony Blair


