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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Reconsidering Brexit
There are crucial and urgent lessons for progressives and the left to learn from the Brexit vote and the political future of Britain depends on how quickly and thoroughly they are absorbed, argue OLIVIER TONNEAU & STEVE SWEENEY
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
JUDGING by the BBC coverage and by my Facebook wall, Brexit is triggered a wave of anxiety: Britain has become a fascist country, what is happening to the world?
I don’t know how much can be said while distress is so acute, but I will try to provide grounds for mitigating this feeling.
We’ve all seen the infamous Ukip “Breaking Point” poster; we’ve read the front pages of tabloids warning against “invaders”; the Leave campaign has sank so disgustingly low that it is hard to resist the conclusion that if such a campaign could win, then Britain must be rotten to the core.
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DIANE ABBOTT exposes the misconceptions, rumours and downright lies perpetrated around immigration issues
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
While Reform poses as a workers’ party, a credible left alternative rooted in working-class communities would expose their sham — and Corbyn’s stature will be crucial to its appeal, argues CHELLEY RYAN