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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Bottoms up or top down?
Far from representing the grassroots, the Independent Group is the politics of the ‘hard centre,’ which means PFI, privatisation, austerity, bank deregulation and war, says 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
FORMER Labour MP Angela Smith told Sky News that the new Independent Group must be a “bottoms up” movement.
It was another foot-in-mouth moment for Smith, who previously blurted out a racist burble about minorities having a “funny tinge.”
It is a strange illustration that a political group promoting individuals over policy has some of Westminster’s least impressive individuals up front. It also points to the big contradiction of the Independent Group.
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