The campaign against the Bank of England’s ongoing theft of Venezuelan gold is gaining support across the labour movement and beyond, writes MATT WILLGRESS
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Communist by day and a Catholic by night
PAULINE MURPHY writes on the life of Irish Republican, poet and writer Brendan Behan and his flirtations with socialist politics
Brendan Behan (left) and American actor Jackie Gleason (right) in the dressing room at the show of Take Me Along in 1960
The new Prime Minister must abandon decades of automatic support for US foreign policy, which makes us all less safe, argues DIANE ABBOTT MP
Claims that Nicaragua has abolished elections followed a headline that stripped Daniel Ortega’s remarks of their historical and political context. The full speech tells a different story, says BECCA RENK FOSTER
Media Lens at 25: David Cromwell and David Edwards reflect on a quarter-century of media criticism, explaining why independent journalism is more important than ever
MAT COWARD introduces some of the electoral oddballs of the political fringe who remain one of the liveliest features of British democracy, despite efforts to abolish them
by Weyman Bennett and Maz’s family
NINETY-FIVE years ago today, Brendan Behan entered the world's stage. As the Irish civil war was raging in 1923, Behan was born in the heart of Dublin to a family steeped in the Irish Republican tradition.
Being born into a staunch family of Republicans meant that it was a natural progression for young Brendan to join the Irish Republican Army (IRA), as many in his family had done before him.
Behan's involvement in the Republican movement led to a stint behind bars. However the time he spent in jail opened the door to a career in writing.
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