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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Want to make progress? Know thy barons
SOLOMON HUGHES on tricks of rhetoric that serve to confuse our political narrative
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
WHO are the barons ? Here we are, in the 21st century, and the answer to that 11th-century sounding question will decide whether we go on with stagnating pay, homelessness and fractured, fragmented public services or start to divert money from the rich back to the rest of society. To make that change, we need to know who the barons are.
Chancellor Philip Hammond raised the baron question in his Tory conference speech. Hammond simultaneously apologised to super-rich Tory financial backers for not winning the election, and attacked trade unions.
Hammond said: “I want to thank our financial supporters as well. We need your support more than ever as the union barons mobilise their power behind Corbyn.
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It is rather strange that Labour continues to give prestigious roles to inappropriate, controversy-mired businessmen who are also major Tory donors. What could Labour possibly be hoping to get out of it, asks SOLOMON HUGHES
