Netanyahu’s failed attempt to replace Shin Bet’s chief violates longstanding Israeli political taboos, as the apartheid state’s internal power struggle spirals to a new level of crisis while Gaza burns, writes RAMZY BAROUD
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A belt of Starmer’s crozier
VINCE MILLS is unimpressed by Sarwar’s U-turn over calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the dismal lack of democracy in Labour
Anas Sarwar
Following the historic ban on companies profiting from children’s care, Unison Cymru calls for transparency in implementing the changes and extending the reform to create a truly national, profit-free care service, says MARK TURNER
The left must confront both far-right bigotry and the undeniable problems the exploitation of migrant workers by the ruling class creates — but there are few lessons from the global left on how to strike this balance, laments NICK WRIGHT
STEPHAN BLUM presents the evidence that wine was enjoyed by common folk, independent of upper-class celebrations and religious rituals
The series unveils uncomfortable truths about youth alienation and online radicalisation — but the real crisis lies in austerity and the absence of class consciousness in addressing young people’s disillusionment, says teacher ROBERT POOLE
Our delegation found a small but brave and bold socialist nation that has withstood imperialist machinations and poisonous slander to make impressive leaps in healthcare and women’s rights, reports VETERANS FOR PEACE
Born from my communist social worker mother’s efforts to bridge healthcare gaps, Labour’s push for home-based care now risks becoming another avenue for the US corporate takeover of the NHS, writes RICHARD CLARKE
THINK of Keir Starmer for a minute as a bishop. No, not a Church of England deliberative, liberal sort of bishop — more like a dogmatic Irish Catholic bishop in the early part of the 20th century.
During that period a progressive thinking politician in the south of Ireland might venture something that didn’t quite fit with the church’s thinking — like state provision of health, for example. This would almost certainly see the recalcitrant politician hooked into see the bishop who would set the straying soul back on the right path. These encounters were known “as a belt of the bishop’s crozier.” For the ungodly, a crozier is a symbolic shepherd’s staff carried by bishops.
Over the last few weeks, Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, drew a lot of praise from the left and progressive movement in Britain, including this newspaper, for criticising Starmer and calling for a ceasefire, despite Starmer’s insistence that such a call was futile and would allow Hamas to regroup.
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While VINCE MILLS laments the resignation of Neil Findlay from Scottish Labour, he explains why he won’t be joining him outside the party in the ongoing struggle for a socialist future
The EU and Nato are umbilically tied – but what will the new Trump era and a reconfiguration of US interests mean for the war in Ukraine, asks VINCE MILLS
As polls show Scottish Labour’s support crumbling and Reform rising even among independence supporters, an urgent need emerges for an alternative based on public investment paid for by radical progressive taxation, argues VINCE MILLS
Without challenging the neoliberal framework of our economy or seeking more powers for Scotland, the Scottish Labour leader’s seeming break with Westminster policy rings hollow, writes VINCE MILLS