The proxy war in Ukraine is heading to a denouement with the US and Russia dividing the spoils while the European powers stand bewildered by events they have been wilfully blind to, says KEVIN OVENDEN
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
One can only imagine what would happen if 2.2 million Palestinian refugees were pushed into Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries, per Trump’s proposal, writes RAMZY BAROUD
This is the most anti-migrant government in decades, argues RAVISHAAN RAHEL MUTHIAH
VICTOR GROSSMAN reports, with a little chuckle, on how US readiness to work with Russia, not just on peace for Ukraine, has thrown a spanner into the German electoral machine
SOLOMON HUGHES probes the finances of a phoney ‘charity’ pushing the free schools and academies agenda
Freedom now for former PM Mir-Hossein Mousavi and other political prisoners
VIJAY PRASHAD examines why in 2018 Washington started to take an increasingly belligerent stance towards ‘near peer rivals’ – Russa and China – with far-reaching geopolitical effects
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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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
It’s high time for England to follow Scotland and Wales in ending the privatisation of collectively owned housing. MARTIN WICKS explains why
Local councils — some of which now need four times the normal funding — must have their debts waived by central government, argues MARTIN WICKS
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Labour’s about to shift cost of new housing onto tenants, writes MARTIN WICKS arguing instead for cancelling the councils' HRA debt
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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