To defend Puerto Rico’s right to peace is to defend Venezuela’s right to exist, argues MICHELLE ELLNER
Covid-19 crisis creates a compelling case to cancel local authority debt
Cancellation of councils’ debts would free up desperately needed resources amid this unprecedented pandemic, says MARTIN WICKS
Despite the apocalyptic destruction RAMZY BAROUD points to Gaza’s triumph of spirit against the architecture of genocide
We are demanding action from our politicians to deliver justice, fairness and decency throughout our communities – join us, says ROZ FOYER
After NGOs and the EU, UN condemns Germany’s crackdown on Palestine Solidarity, writes LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
It’s not just the Starmer regime: the workers of Britain have always faced legal affronts on their right to assemble and dissent, and the Labour Party especially has meddled with our freedoms from its earliest days, writes KEITH FLETT
Once again Tower Hamlets is being targeted by anti-Islam campaigners, this time a revamped and radicalised version of Ukip — the far-right event is now banned by the police, but we’ll be assembling this Saturday to make sure they stay away, says JAYDEE SEAFORTH
TAKING on more debt is not the only way to create spending power. Debt cancellation, for instance the debt owed by local authorities to the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB), would provide a huge increase in spending power because they would no longer have to repay loans or interest charges.
Last year local authorities paid around £4.5 billion to the PWLB in loan repayments and interest charges.
Overall, local authorities have around £77bn in debt held with the PWLB.
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Above-inflation rent increases will push council tenants deeper into poverty while failing to address the housing crisis — and it won’t really raise any money, as council rent arrears are doubling across the country, argues MARTIN WICKS
Labour’s about to shift cost of new housing onto tenants, writes MARTIN WICKS arguing instead for cancelling the councils' HRA debt
MARTIN WICKS argues that the government’s reduced discounts for council house purchases don’t go far enough, and we need to be calling for the complete abolition of this regressive Thatcherite policy
In the first of two articles, ROBERT GRIFFITHS argues that despite a parliamentary majority, Labour’s timid Budget fails to seize a historic opportunity and lacks the ambition needed to address Britain’s deep social and economic crises