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
Organising hope: trade unions’ vital role in combating racism
JOHN CARSON looks at how trade unions can move beyond the empty flags and slogans of the employers to create real change in workplaces and communities, with reps tackling the root causes of racism and xenophobia
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
NICK WRIGHT examines how Farage’s party has attracted five distinct voter tribes with incompatible views on economics, immigration and state intervention — presenting both a challenge and opportunity for left organising
Man-made canals like Panama and Suez face unprecedented challenges from extreme weather patterns and geopolitical tensions that reveal the fragility of our global trade networks, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
As climate change makes vast mineral deposits accessible, the island’s 56,000 residents face unprecedented pressure from Trump’s territorial ambitions while struggling to maintain their traditional way of life, writes JOHN GREEN
Student Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and threatened deportation are terrifying — but the moribund Democrats are still failing to mount any meaningful resistance against the slide toward autocracy, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
LAST WEEK my good comrade, Adam Alarakhia, CWU’s Leicestershire Branch chair, was being interviewed by CWU Live and told quite a shocking story.
Amid the rioting and distress taking place across England and Northern Ireland, Adam said his son phoned him to ask if he could play outside on his bike, but Adam told him no, he couldn’t, the risk was just too much, too much for a father to allow his son to play outside in case something might happen to him — because he was black and because he was Muslim.
Our movement rightfully recoils at the scenes we have witnessed and the fear and tension that is being inflamed by far-right thugs. There have been demonstrations in over a dozen towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland.
In Rotherham and Tamworth in particular, violent thugs attempted to set fire to hotels hosting asylum-seekers — deliberately attacking and seeking harm on some of the most vulnerable people in our world.
Thankfully, we have not seen similar scenes here in Scotland so far, but it would be wrong for our movement to sleepwalk into Scottish exceptionalism.
While a recent ScotPulse poll found four in 10 people in Scotland wanted immigration reduced (compared to five in 10 in England) this was a 14-point increase on last year.
More from this author
Companies that forced staff to risk their lives during January’s extreme weather or face financial penalties have revealed the urgent need for enforceable safety standards beyond mere guidelines, argues JOHN CARSON
Throughout the Post Office Horizon scandal, affected workers were isolated and made to feel solely guilty for what they were accused of. We need more workers to join the trade union movement to see that, no matter what, they are not alone, says postal worker JOHN CARSON
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