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

“QATAR struggles to shift focus away from workers’ rights.”
The headline in the Financial Times earlier this month confirms PR-savvy Qatar, hyper-aware of the soft power boost hosting the 2022 football World Cup could be expected to create, is having trouble controlling the narrative.
The British media, and members of the British political elite including Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, have repeatedly drawn attention to the plight of migrant labourers who have built the stadiums in the wealthy Gulf emirate — and also the terrible situation for LGBTQI+ people living there.

New releases from Steady Habits, Jeff Tweedy, and Tom Skinner

IAN SINCLAIR welcomes a lucid critique of a technology that reproduces and enables oppression, power, and environmental devastation

Reviews of new releases by Wednesday, Suede, and Nation of Language

Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band