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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Sean McGovern: disability rights activist who will be greatly missed
January 27, 1957 – May 6, 2020
My memories of Sean and the Remploy struggle by Claire Glasman, WinVisible
Claire and Sean, circa 2000 at a demonstration
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
I MET Sean McGovern more than 20 years ago at some meeting we attended.
He spoke from the floor as a union rep for the Remploy factory in Brixton, where he had previously worked.
In contrast to union men who seemed dour and bound by their institution, Sean was cheerful and upbeat, with a twinkle in his eye — and of course disabled, which to me was a bonus.
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