Secret consultation documents finally released after the Morning Star’s two-year freedom of information battle show the Home Office misrepresented public opinion, claiming support for policies that most respondents actually strongly criticised as dangerous and unfair, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
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Celebrate Hugo Chavez’s legacy 25 years on
The struggle against US intervention in Venezuela continues, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
CHAVEZ PRESENTE! A life-size cardboard cutout of Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez is held by a supporter during an event marking the anniversary of the coup that overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958, in Caracas, last Monday
Our groundbreaking report reveals how private rail companies are bleeding millions from public coffers through exploitative leasing practices — but we have the solutions, writes Aslef Scottish organiser KEVIN LINDSAY
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Reform’s rise speaks to a deep crisis in Establishment parties – but relies on appealing to social and economic grievances the left should make its own, argues NICK WRIGHT
This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH
A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The FBU is demanding 52 weeks of full pay for women firefighters, highlighting the unique health risks they face — and the continuing need to recruit and retain more women if policies like this are still not in place, writes SEONA HART
TWENTY-FIVE years ago later this year Hugo Chavez won the presidential election in Venezuela and paved the way to a sustained period — marked sometimes by setbacks of course, as any struggle is — of electoral victories by leftist forces in South America against powerful local elites buttressed by the United States.
As the annual Latin America conference meets today to discuss how progressive mass movements across the region are again resisting neoliberalism and US domination in their struggles for independence and sovereignty, Venezuela’s achievements in the Chavez period in this respect stand out as an example.
The US tried unsuccessfully to oust Chavez from office continually, including through the temporarily successful coup in 2002, but just months before he died, he again defeated the US-backed candidate in yet another election victory.
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It is mayors living close to the people who understand what is needed to tackle climate change better than national politicians in their private jets and chauffeur-driven cars, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
With the 25th anniversary of his first election approaching this year, KEN LIVINGSTONE writes on the achievements and legacy of an important figure in Latin America’s history
KEN LIVINGSTONE writes on the importance of devolution – and using devolved powers for progressive ends
Wide-ranging attacks on ‘enemies within’ are reminiscent of Thatcher’s assault on the miners, GLC, and black and Irish communities in the '80s, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
