After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
Latest editorial
The miners’ riot van and invulnerable snowman
From repurposing a police van as the picket express to facing kidnap charges, former miner STEWART BROWN tells northern reporter Peter Lazenby tales of defiance from Bold Colliery during the 1984-85 strike
Former miner Stewart Brown at the Lancashire Mining Museum
[Neil Terry Photography]
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
Alba party leader KENNY MacASKILL makes some suggestions on how to save our pubs and reduce irresponsible drinking
The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Opinion polls point to electoral collapse, parliamentary rebellion and a looming leadership challenge as Starmer’s Labour haemorrhages working-class support and the far right exploits the vacuum left by a hollowed-out party, says NICK WRIGHT
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
STRIKING North West miner Stewart Brown talks about his experiences during the strike of 1984-5 as if they were everyday matters — things that just happened.
But even in the annals of that year’s momentous and sometimes horrific events, they were extraordinary. Using an old police bus to transport pickets and getting arrested for kidnap were among them.
Bold colliery outside St Helen’s in Merseyside was a militant pit and its miners supported the strike — a rarity in the north west area of the NUM.
Similar stories
Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
The Morning Star sorts the good eggs from the rotten scoundrels of the year
