ROGER McKENZIE argues that Africa's ultimate liberation depends on its ability to decolonise itself including the redrawing of its present national borders imposed by Europe
Error message
An error occurred while searching, try again later.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
While the US president dreams of a grotesque, neocolonial ‘Riviera of the Middle East,’ Architects for Gaza are working to restore services and rebuild communities on the exact sites of homes destroyed by Israel, writes EMMA DENT COAD
Trump’s threats to ‘take back’ the canal amid false claims of Chinese influence have sparked nationwide protests and evoked painful memories of 1964, when US troops killed 21 Panamanian student protesters, reports TAN WAH PIOW
Wherever prostitution laws are ‘liberalised,’ the result is a surge in human trafficking and abuse, writes STELLA BAILEY
Starmer’s unseemly rush to the right is part of a historical pattern when Labour is in power, argues ANDREW MURRAY, but there’s no reason why politics in general should follow this trajectory
From confronting Nato to defending Irish neutrality, Clare Daly’s principled stance embodies the often-forgotten peace tradition at the heart of IWD — we are proud to welcome her to our Belfast event, writes LYNDA WALKER
As TUC Women’s Conference prepares to debate the decriminalisation of prostitution, EMMA, who exited the sex industry more than nine years ago, reflects on how her harrowing experience changed her initial view that ‘sex work is work’
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.
More from this author
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
It’s high time for England to follow Scotland and Wales in ending the privatisation of collectively owned housing. MARTIN WICKS explains why