From London’s holly-sellers to Engels’s flaming Christmas centrepiece, the plum pudding was more than festive fare in Victorian Britain, says KEITH FLETT
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Why do some fall for the far right?
Fascist groups are taking full advantage of Britain’s instability, writes CHARLOTTE HUGHES
Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
From a lockdown digital project to a vital tool for class solidarity, ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER reflect on half-a-decade of struggle
After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
THERE are various reasons why someone might join far-right groups likes Britain First, the EDL, Pediga and the like. But what makes a person susceptible to fascism and extreme right-wing views?
Many people are drawn to join such groups because they are vulnerable and want to find a sense of belonging, to feel important. Perhaps they feel like an outcast from society and struggle to find friends.
Lonely and easily influenced, their members are angered by recent terrorist attacks and so they look for answers, for a way to make a change. And to them, these far-right and so-called “patriotic” groups seem to have the answer.
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