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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Hunt's hustlers' network grows
SOLOMON HUGHES takes a look at the history of the business ambassadors set up under David Cameron, as Jeremy Hunt prepares a similar scheme to put his hand-picked spivs in the place of actual diplomats
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt speaks at the Policy Exchange, London
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
NEW Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says he will “broaden the pool of talent we tap into for our ambassadors” by getting “businesspeople” into “key ambassadorial posts.” What could possibly go wrong with Hunt’s plan to hire ambassadors from “outside the Civil Service”?
Well the government already did a dry run for this by hiring a bunch of “business ambassadors,” and it looks pretty bad.
They are sort of junior ambassadors, rather than the full ambassadors in Hunt’s new plan. They are members of the business ambassador Network, a group of government-appointed businesspeople who lead trade delegations, have “1-2-1 meetings with senior government ministers” and host “high-level incoming visitors.” If Hunt’s new business ambassadors are anything like the old ones, we are in trouble.
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