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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Tory disarray holds an early warning for Labour
May is raising expectations she cannot meet. But the shadow cabinet must look like it can meet those needs, warns SOLOMON HUGHES
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 WATCHED Theresa May’s conference speech in Manchester. The main hall was full, so I experienced the May self-destruct in an overflow marquee set up inside the “security zone” by a lobbying and PR firm, PLMR.
They represent a variety of companies, including Costa Coffee and BAE systems. So thanks to the corporate political influence machine I was able to watch the Prime Minister falling apart in real time, while enjoying a supply of free pizza and champagne. It felt a bit hyper-real.
The mood among the assembled Tory-friendly lobbyists was real shock. It looked like power dissolving before our eyes and led to many involuntary, pained “ooh” and “uhn” sounds, and a general will-someone-please-end-her-misery feeling.
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As the PM and his chief of staff’s blunders have mounted up, ANDREW MURRAY wonders who among Labour’s diminished ‘soft left’ might make a bid for the leadership
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