Preferable to Starmer he may be, but there is scant sign of a sharp political break in Burnham’s policies so far — while left challenges aren’t making much of a running either, finds ANDREW MURRAY. How can socialism be put back on the map?
A GREAT deal has been written about the unprecedented number of strikes which have taken place across sectors of the economy since we moved out of the pandemic.
It was in March 2020, just before lockdown, that the broadcaster, author and DJ (all-round polymath) Stuart Maconie wrote in his book The Nanny State Made Me about just how many services we rely on and the need for them to be properly invested in.
Millions of those workers who were the backbone of the country during the pandemic and beyond would have rightfully thought they would not be forced to use their industrial muscle to gain better pay. How wrong they were, and strike action has been taken in record numbers.
Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS
The election offers a critical chance to shape the future of pay, care and community provision in Wales, says Unison’s JESS TURNER
Cuts are sweeping campuses as cash-strapped universities slash staff and politicians fail to act on a growing funding emergency. VINCE MILLS reports
Roger McKenzie talks to general secretary of Unison CHRISTINA McANEA about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on members, the local government funding emergency and the threat of Reform UK



