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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Why the EU has anti-socialism built into its core
by John Ellison
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
AS WE know, left opposition to the present government’s policies calls, crucially, for reversal of austerity for the majority and of the privatisation bonanza for the few, for state-assisted development of consumer demand and for paying for radical change with austerity taxation for rich corporations and their dividend-stockpiling drones.
So would a referendum vote to separate from the other 27 states of the European Union (and therefore to join those 19 countries which are members of the 47-state Council of Europe but not of the EU) hinder the case for such a radical programme, supposing a left Labour government in 2020, or whenever?
“A member state which decides to withdraw,” says Article 50 of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, “shall notify the European Council of its intention,” and two years later, unless otherwise agreed, withdrawal will occur.
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