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
Latest editorial
First ever UN disability probe heaps shame on the Tories
Our government faces the ignominy of having its cruel policies scrutinised internationally. It’s about time, argues LINDA BURNIP
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
NEVER in our worst nightmares did we imagine that the government would behave so shamefully it would be investigated by the UN because of its actions towards disabled people. But that is exactly what is happening now.
Eventually after two and a half years of submitting reports and responding to responses from the government, the long-awaited UN inquiry into Britain has been launched and a team of rapporteurs and staff have arrived here to conduct it.
The fact that this is the first ever inquiry into any country using the optional protocol in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities simply illustrates how obscene the government’s stance towards disabled people has been.
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