The crew of the Freedom Flotilla boat, Handala, warned Israel to obey international law but are now in captivity, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

AS a modern-day Aesop’s Fable might put it, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has laboured mightily and brought forth a mouse. With a majority of around 156 MPs at Westminster, her Budget on Wednesday missed a golden opportunity to begin fixing Britain’s big social and economic problems.
These include 14 million people in poverty (including four million children); six million patients on hospital waiting lists; 1,290,000 people and families on housing waiting lists; and public services run down or privatised.
Led by the Tories and their right-wing press, much of the public debate before, during and after Budget day focused on Labour’s plans to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs).

In the run-up to the Communist Party congress in November ROB GRIFFITHS outlines a few ideas regarding its participation in the elections of May 2026


