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
Yorkshire poet and miner’s son Matt Abbott on the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign
Yorkshire poet and miner’s son Matt Abbott introduces a remarkable new album of poems and songs produced by the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign
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
On Saturday, I attended the With Banners Held High event at Unity Works in Wakefield, which officially launched the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) compilation CD.
For those who don’t know me, I’m 26 years old. I was there with my girlfriend, aged 28, and two friends, both aged 29. The day was packed full of music, documentaries and talks, including one from Dennis Skinner, and it was as entertaining as it was informative.
As we tucked into some food downstairs, a man at the end of our table interrupted us to rather bluntly ask why we were there. He observed (correctly) that none of us had been born when the Battle of Orgreave or even the miners’ strike itself took place, and therefore had “no reason” to attend such an event.
Similar stories
One hundred years after 1.7m workers shut the country down in defence of the miners, the struggles that sparked the 1926 General Strike are still with us – and will be honoured on London’s May Day march this year, writes MARY ADOSSIDES
RUTH AYLETT reviews two collections of outright political poetry
Fiery words from the Bard in Blackpool and Edinburgh, and Evidence Based Punk Rock from The Protest Family
The Home Secretary’s recent letter suggests the Labour government may finally deliver on its nine-year manifesto commitment, writes KATE FLANNERY, but we must move quickly: as recently as 2024 Northumbria police destroyed miners’ strike documents