ANDREW MURRAY wonders what the great communist foe of Oswald Mosley would make of today’s far-right surge, warning that while the triumph of Farage and ‘Robinson’ is far from inevitable, placing any faith in Starmer in an anti-fascist front is a fool’s errand
Crap politics: from the rivers to the sea
When it comes to the water industry, we need to put the interests of society before those of speculators. ALAN SIMPSON has some ideas about how to bring about the change we need
POLLUTION: A tanker pumps out excess sewage from the Lightlands Lane sewage pumping station in Cookham, Berskhire which flooded after recent heavy rainfall
LOTTE COLLETT welcomes the arrival of a new party for the left, a vehicle for councils to finally fight for progressive policies on housing, green spaces and public facilities, rather than administering cuts and misery from central government
KEVAN NELSON reports back from a delegation to the epic celebrations for the anniversary of Vietnam’s 1945 revolution, where British communists found a thriving, prosperous socialist country, brimming with ambition and well-earned national pride
Our economic system is broken – and unless we break with the government’s obsession with short-termist private profit, things are destined to get worse, warns Mercedes Villalba
Following the resignation of Nepali Prime Minister KP Oli amid mass youth-driven protests, different narratives have circulated which simplify and misrepresent the complexities and reality on the ground in Nepal at the roots of this crisis, argue VIJAY PRASHAD and ATUL CHANDRA
The US is desperate to stop Honduras’s process of social and democratic change, writes TIM YOUNG
THE headlines about illegal sewage disposals have been stark enough. They make the nation’s map look like a bad case of chicken pox. Now the owners of Thames Water have defaulted on the debts they owe. The situation spirals from bad to worse.
• Water companies have dumped four million hours’ worth of sewage into Britain’s rivers during the last year;
• This is a 129 per cent increase on the previous year;
• Fish in the Portsmouth estuary now test positive for cocaine, anti-depressants and the contraceptive pill;
• In the 35 years before privatisation the UK built almost 100 reservoirs, in the 35 years since then none have been built, and
• Post-Brexit, the UK has opted for lower water standards than the rest of the EU.
The water industry claims sewage dumping is down to more torrential downpours and more vigorous national monitoring of “sewage spills” by the Environment Agency. But pause and think about this for a moment.
Similar stories
Customers will bear brunt of sky-high interest rates though increased bills, campaigners warn
Labour's Clive Lewis, trade unionists and campaigners demand public ownership of water after Ofwat announces £86 hike in bills from April
Chair and founder of River Action CHARLES WATSON argues that the government’s new water industry commission risks prioritising economic concerns over addressing Britain’s devastating pollution crisis