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
Latest editorial
Do the Olympics actually promote sport – or are they just a circus for the rich and powerful?
STEVEN WALKER says most of the claims made about the Olympics turn out to be false on further study – the Games do nothing for the working class or global South
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
NOW that the Olympic circus of money and power has moved on it’s a good time to reflect on what it achieved and remind ourselves that at its heart the Olympic “movement” is nothing to do with fairness, sporting equality or opportunity.
It’s about rich countries competing against other rich countries to gain most medals and use the Olympics to project power and prestige. In the Soviet era the Olympics became a proxy Cold War fight between the USSR and the United States. Tokyo reflected geopolitical shifts so that China now replaces Russia as the US’s sporting enemy.
The motto of the Olympics is Faster, Higher, Stronger, underpinned by the values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship, yet its troubled history shows how capital has eroded and tarnished all those high-minded concepts.
Similar stories
Governing body investigates how to reduce waste and carbon emissions from Olympic equipment as the sport confronts its environmental impact, writes JENNIFER McDERMOTT
