The NEU kept children and teachers safe during the pandemic, yet we are disgracefully slandered by the politicians who have truly failed our children by not funding a proper education recovery programme — here’s what is needed, explains KEVIN COURTNEY
Lib Dems: building themselves up for another fall?
The original centrist party's rampant opportunism has seen it swell its parliamentary ranks - but letting ex-Tories in might be as bad for its health as the ill-judged Con-Dem alliance of 2010, warns SOLOMON HUGHES
Liberal Democrat MPs (left to right) Sir Ed Davey, Jane Dodds, Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Sam Gyimah, Angela Smith, Sarah Wollaston and Phillip Lee
The appalling bigotry and bias of London’s police force has been obvious for years – and the police leadership does not appear inclined to do anything about it, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
As Holyrood elections approach, BRIAN LEISHMAN MP argues that Labour’s time has come — to open a new chapter which puts an end to the years of managed decline
ASSAF TALGAM talks to an Israeli Communist lawmaker about the need to use every tool of democratic and non-violent struggle; how Israeli society has changed since October 7 2023; and the persecution of the left in the parliamentary arena
Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP
In the face of funding cuts, closures and a shift into women’s centres providing criminal justice-only services rather than a holistic approach, RUTH HUNT urges women to protect existing resources, volunteer and build new networks of support
WHILE Change UK crash and burn, the other centrist party, the Lib Dems, are making a recovery. But there are tensions and contradictions.
The coalition with the Conservatives gave some Lib Dems the ministerial posts they craved, but voters hated it — so the Lib Dems crashed from 57 to eight MPs. They were close to destruction as a party.
However, the Lib Dems have managed to recover a bit, largely by distancing themselves from the Tories, and using their opposition to Brexit to look like a principled, anti-Tory party. They have also grown in Parliament by recruiting ex-Tory MPs on the run from Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit and ex-Labour MPs fleeing Corbynism.
More from this author
The new angle from private firms shmoozing their way into public contracts was the much-trumpeted arrival of ‘artificial intelligence’ — and no-one seemed to have heard the numerous criticisms of this unproven miracle cure, reports SOLOMON HUGHES
It is rather strange that Labour continues to give prestigious roles to inappropriate, controversy-mired businessmen who are also major Tory donors. What could Labour possibly be hoping to get out of it, asks SOLOMON HUGHES
Keir Starmer’s hiring Tim Allan from Tory-led Strand Partners is another illustration of Labour’s corporate-influence world where party differences matter less than business connections, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
MBDA’s Alabama factory makes components for Boeing’s GBU-39 bombs used to kill civilians in Gaza. Its profits flow through Stevenage to Paris — and it is one of the British government’s favourite firms, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
