It’s the dramatic rise of China with its burgeoning economy that has put the Trump administration into a frenzy – with major implications both at home and abroad, argues MICHAEL BURKE
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Britain’s authoritarian spiral threatens press freedom
As Western liberal democracies crack down on journalists and activists, CLAUDIA WEBBE urges resistance against the Labour government’s part in this slide towards Saudi-style repression
Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his speech and press conference in the Rose Garden at 10 Downing Street, London, August 27, 2024
DR DAVID GORDON SCOTT tells the story of the North Sands Massacre, Sunderland, as part of the ongoing work of remembrance of those killed by soldiers during the 1825 Seafarers Strike and the bicentennial commemorations on Sunday August 3
MATT KERR charts his bike-riding odyssey in aid of the Royal Marsden charity and CWU Humanitarian Aid
JOHN CALLOW tells of the rise, fall and rise again of a young martyr to the early French republic, Joseph Bara, whose short life was elevated by Robespierre and, later, others for its emotional and ideological appeal
April 9 1928 – July 26 2025
OLIVER SNELLING, a south London stonecarver and yeoman stonemason, relates how he is helping bring about a new festival next month
KEIR STARMER’S authoritarian inclinations, highlighted a year ago by Peter Oborne and Richard Sanders, have become increasingly evident since his efforts to purge the left from the Labour Party.
These tendencies appear to be steering Britain toward a trajectory reminiscent of totalitarian and oppressive regimes, such as Saudi Arabia. This shift is marked by assaults on freedom of speech and journalistic freedom, both of which are essential to a functioning democracy and a healthy society.
In the first two months of a new Labour government, there appears to be a marked escalation in what was already a government war on journalists and on the right to protest, particularly relating to the environment and climate emergency and above all to Gaza.
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