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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Jean Ross: the real Sally Bowles
PETER FROST remembers a mysterious woman he met in the Communist Party half a century ago
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
When I first joined the Young Communist League in the early 1960s I met some amazing people.
One was Joe Bent, a well-known and leading communist in community politics in Southwark.
Bent was a regular communist candidate in many elections. In one Greater London Council election he narrowly missed winning a seat by fewer than 1,000 votes.
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