Trade unions need to step up and force a turn in the policies of the labour movement to effectively confront the far-right threat, argues NICK WRIGHT
Latest editorial
How poverty itself shaped A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens was facing a return to the destitution that had blighted his childhood, and it was this which drove him to write the remarkable best-seller which changed the politics of Christmas forever, writes MAT COWARD
Actors rehearsing for a performance of Another Christmas Carol at the Charles Dickens Museum in London in 2016
As the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish civil war is marked, Teesside campaigners will gather to remember the local men and women who stood against fascism, explains TONY FOX
Whatever differences exist among international sympathisers of the Bolivarian revolution about its current trajectory, they should unite against the imperialist power that is the source of an enforced retreat, argues ROGER D HARRIS
Washington’s inability to subjugate Iran is an example of how it is trying to preserve a regional order that no longer exists, argues RAMZY BAROUD
US financial instability is exposing the limits of a dollar-dominated global economy — and giving the Global South a historic chance to build an alternative, says MURAD QURESHI
Deprivation is a fundamental factor in criminal behaviour that must be addressed but, KENNY MacASKILL argues, there needs to a major rethink in sentencing to tackle overcrowding
MILLIONS of people this month will be watching, reading or listening to some version of An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child. Many will return to the original text; others may prefer the Muppets’ interpretation.
In 1843, Charles Dickens (1812-70) had two worries on his mind; one personal, and the other … well, the other personal as well, in a way.
His immediate problem was that his career appeared to be on its deathbed. He’d been a successful writer since his mid-twenties and had become, in a short time, a superstar throughout the English-speaking world. This was the first time he’d experienced professional failure.
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MAT COWARD explains how in the 17th century a row over whether to kneel at communion became a battle over religion, class and royal power
Tony Benn’s constituents chose him by an overwhelming majority — but because he had inherited a peerage, parliamentary rules declared their choice invalid, writes MAT COWARD
Long before modern labour movements, England’s farmworkers fought back against their oppression – and for some, like Elizabeth Studham, the price was exile to Australia. MAT COWARD tells the story
MAT COWARD tells the story of the eccentric founder of a short-lived but striking experiment in ‘vital democracy,’ who became best known for giving away his estate to the nation