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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A Leave vote will put Tories at odds with British capital
As Tory MPs are split down the middle a winning Leave vote will only exacerbate the crisis – presenting a unique opportunity for the left, writes JOHN REES
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
The dense thicket of confusion that is the EU debate arises from the fact that the dominant voices on both the Remain and Leave side are right wing or Tory. Both sides contain much racist argument, the predominant voices are pro-market.
So the real differences only emerge if we examine the social forces behind the two camps.
On the Remain side stand the main institutions of British and international capital: US imperialism, Nato, the G7 group of industrialised countries, the EU itself, the Bank of England, the overwhelming majority of large corporations, the majority of the Tory cabinet, the BBC, the Financial Times, the Economist and the Guardian.
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Starmer sabotaged Labour with his second referendum campaign, mobilising a liberal backlash that sincerely felt progressive ideals were at stake — but the EU was then and is now an entity Britain should have nothing to do with, explains NICK WRIGHT
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There is no doubt that Trump’s regime is a right-wing one, but the clash between the state apparatus and the national and local government is a good example of what any future left-wing formation will face here in Britain, writes NICK WRIGHT