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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Tony Benn: A titan of our movement
JEREMY CORBYN fondly remembers his fellow rebel MP and close friend Tony Benn - including their late-night escapade to put up a commemorative plaque to Emily Wilding Davison in a parliamentary broom cupboard
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
The death of Tony Benn is devastating to me, obviously to his family and to millions all around Britain and the world who recognised him as a friend, an honest man, and someone who passionately believed in the cause of socialism and humanity.
Tony was an MP for 50 years, with only a very short break between a sad defeat in Bristol East in 1983 and his election to Parliament as MP for Chesterfield nine months later.
His contribution to Parliament was magnificent in every way. He saw it as an institution to be revered and supported, but which he wanted to make more effective.
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