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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The Brexit gateway to a better Britain
JOHN MOORE writes optimistically on the new trading opportunities that leaving the European Union could provide to Britain
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
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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
I DON’T share Brexit pessimism, with its overblown propaganda of the loss of EU trade and three to four million jobs.
Certainly, in the 21st century exports to the EU have increased, though not as fast as exports to the rest of the world. However, the growth in value of British imports from the EU comfortably exceeds the value of our exports to the EU. It is very likely that a favourable trade agreement can be reached with the EU, because of the advantages it gives to both sides.
Fear of the loss of our biggest trading partner overlooks the importance of the British market to EU suppliers, selling much more to us than we sell to them. Germany exported 810,000 cars to Britain in 2015.
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