There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Don’t give up the struggle
Hope fades when change seems impossible. But we’re on a rollercoaster of change – and Labour members are needed in the fight, says North of Tyne Mayor JAMIE DRISCOLL
Supporters in the crowd as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at an event in Harrow on the General Election campaign trail, in June 2017
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
TAKE yourself back to May 2017, and a moment of hope we shared. In the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing, the memorial crowd spontaneously sang Don’t Look Back in Anger.
Theresa May’s snap election had looked a certain bet. Then the Labour manifesto was launched. Bold social democratic policies captured the imagination: public ownership of rail, mail, water and energy. Strong on workers’ rights and reversing austerity. From 20 points behind, we were closing rapidly. Then came the attack on May 22, a suicide bomber murdered 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert, 1,017 others were injured.
Political orthodoxy predicted a “rally round the flag” effect would consolidate the Tory vote and halt Labour’s progress. But Labour defied orthodoxy, and in the spirit of that Manchester crowd, said if you want a peaceful Britain, you have to work for a peaceful world. With 41 per cent of the vote, Labour came close. But not close enough.
More from this author
![Majority members out campaigning in Newcastle [Pic: Majority]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2025-07/20majority.jpg.webp?itok=9Ft2_tTD)
JAMIE DRISCOLL explains how his group, Majority, plans to empower working people to empower themselves
We’ll be developing a people’s manifesto for the 2026 local elections. We’ll network, learn, inspire and support each other and chart a future path for socialist politics, writes JAMIE DRISCOLL
Former North of Tyne mayor JAMIE DRISCOLL outlines his vision for a new progressive movement, highlighting the need for infrastructure and skills to turn popular policies into electoral success
The success we have had in our region goes to show what progressive strategies can achieve outside of the grind of the two-party race, writes North of Tyne Mayor JAMIE DRISCOLL
