In his fortnightly column MARK SEDDON reflects on the death of Major Oak and why such ancient trees matter to us
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We need a socialism of faster, fairer and greener growth
Peter Hain challenges Britain’s neoliberal orthodoxy and outlines his vision of financial markets ‘harnessed for the common good’
The world’s largest communist party marked its 105th birthday this week — and remains true to its principles and firm in its course, says OLIVER VARGAS
The left has become too reliant on persuasion and too detached from the workplaces and communities it seeks to represent, argues NICK TROY
RAMZY BAROUD highlights how Israel’s ambassador sought to shut down UN officials documenting sexual violence and abuses against Palestinians
The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has had far-reaching consequences, including a boost to Pakistan’s regional standing, argues ROGER McKENZIE
The recent heatwaves revealed how ill-prepared Britain remains for a hotter future – and how unequal the ability to cope with it has become, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The drive to strengthen European defence is reshaping relations between France, Germany, Italy and Britain, says NICK WRIGHT
In Britain, as across the world — notably continental Europe — the left has struggled to offer a coherent response to the banking crisis which blew like a whirlwind across the globe from 2007-8.
Despite the cataclysmic failure of neoliberalism which the global banking crisis represented, it hardly incited a resurgence of democratic socialism.
Instead, parliamentary parties of the left slipstreamed the right’s incessant demand for savage cuts. But that just meant heading down the same austerity road at a slower pace, when (as Keynes showed in the 1930s) getting the economy back on the path to growth was always a surer way to sort out the public finances.
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If the government really wanted to address public finances, improve living standards and begin economic recovery, it would increase its borrowing for investment, argues MICHAEL BURKE
The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE
Starmer sabotaged Labour with his second referendum campaign, mobilising a liberal backlash that sincerely felt progressive ideals were at stake — but the EU was then and is now an entity Britain should have nothing to do with, explains NICK WRIGHT