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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Hard Labour with Keir Starmer
Hard work: Keir Starmer
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
KEIR STARMER made a new statement of his principles in a speech this month. Labour’s leadership are worried about criticism that Starmer doesn’t stand for anything, but are also reluctant to actually stand for too much, in case they upset the newspapers, so Starmer announced a new set of vague keywords — “security, prosperity, respect” — as his principles.
But Starmer is consistent on one theme — work should be hard.
In his latest relaunch speech, Starmer said that he was offering a “contract” where: “If we work hard, we should also have a right to job security,” one where “you will be expected to work hard.”
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