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
Latest editorial
Why I painted 'the north is not a petri dish' on Manchester's 'Berlin Wall'
Councillor SAM WHEELER spoke to the person responsible for the graffiti slogan that went viral about poverty under Covid-19, Tory iniquity and the legacy of austerity
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
So Elias, could you give us a bit about your background?
I’m from East Manchester and am now a student at one of the universities. I’ve grown up under austerity and seen the effects of it on myself and my family. Cuts, particularly around health and social care have had a massive personal impact on me.
I spend a lot of my time being angry, but I also try and do community work on different projects. It keeps me mostly sane. I still feel powerless to address much of the poverty you see just walking around the city centre though.
Similar stories
We are experiencing a wave of organised, often deadly violence targeting migrants from other parts of Africa — but the poorest South Africans reject this hatred, staying true to the spirit of Ubuntu and Pan-African unity, reports NIGEL BRANKEN
MATT KERR charts his bike-riding odyssey in aid of the Royal Marsden charity and CWU Humanitarian Aid
