Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
We were pilloried for meeting Sinn Fein — but peace was the result
25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, KEN LIVINGSTONE writes about his unique, long-running role in the peace process that saw him vilified, then eventually vindicated — and salutes a future united Ireland
THE RIGHT CALL: Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams with Ken Livingstone and Labour councillors at County Hall, London on July 28 1983
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
BACK in March this year, I met up in Camden Town with Francie Molloy. Today Molloy is the Sinn Fein MP for Mid Ulster, but when I first met him he was a councillor in Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Since the mid-1980s, Molloy has been a regular visitor to London and it was good to have a catch-up after so long.
During the course of our conversation, Molloy suggested that the initial conversations between Sinn Fein and the left of the Labour Party in the early 1980s could be considered the beginning of the Irish peace process.
Now, I will leave it to historians to judge that one. But I can say that I am proud of the role that I did play, alongside others on the British left, to encourage dialogue and peace between our two islands. Twenty-five years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement it is evident that talking was the right thing to do.
More from this author
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
