The CPI(M)’s use of terms like ‘fascistic tendencies’ and ‘neofascism’ rather than labelling the BJP outright as fascist has sparked controversy, but as VIJAY PRASHAD explains, ‘fascism’ is a term that must be used correctly and sparingly
North Sea oil: Britain’s squandered windfall
As Starmer seeks his ‘Falklands moment’ while planning £6 billion in welfare cuts, a historical pattern repeats itself — natural resources weaponised against the working class rather than used for their benefit, writes MATT KERR
Despite using female spokespeople for its campaigns against clinic buffer zones, ADF UK’s board consists entirely of men, with 80 per cent living outside Britain and most funding from its US parent, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Ben Cowles previews his interview with Stand Up to Racism’s SABBY DHALU for the Morning Star’s new Youtube channel
For Britain, direct military aid is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the spiralling energy crisis that has fueled inflation, driven millions into fuel poverty and inflated corporate profits, reveals HELEN MERCER
Both Conservative and Labour administrations have now refused to release research showing PIP payments are vital for disabled people’s survival, exposing the ideological nature of planned welfare ‘reforms,’ writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
Western media dismisses the National People’s Congress while ignoring its extensive consultation processes, massive public participation mechanisms, and a tiered structure involving millions of deputies, explains JENNY CLEGG
Despite caring for vulnerable children and often covering classes, support staff remain undervalued, with some earning less than supermarket workers — but GMB’s campaigning offers new hope, argues DONNA SPICER
I’M NOT sure about luck. An island of coal, surrounded by fish, and flush with the ill-gotten gains of slavery, the British state stole a march — along with a great deal more — from the world to industrialise early and forge the rules of the great game still being played out to this day.
The discovery of North Sea oil and gas in the 1960s was heralded as being every bit as significant. The oil price “crisis” of the early seventies made it even more economical to extract, the privately owned oil majors piled in and Britain’s political class of all stripes appeared to understand the need for the state to at least have some sort of stake — if not for ideological reasons, for reasons of national security.
It should now be plain to see that the gold rush ended in the way every one before it did, with the rich richer, and the poorest left wandering the land scavenging for something to cash in at the scrappy. Great machines, monstrous rigs that made millionaires and billionaires towed in to join the queue for the gas axe.
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