From London’s holly-sellers to Engels’s flaming Christmas centrepiece, the plum pudding was more than festive fare in Victorian Britain, says KEITH FLETT
Palestine solidarity: a huge movement is developing rapidly in Britain
Convener of the Stop the War Coalition LINDSEY GERMAN analyses the eruption of demos, sit-ins, walkouts and action over the attack on Gaza, and looks to the next phase
ETHNIC CLEANSING: (Left) Palestinians arrive at Rafah, the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Wednesday; (right) Palestine refugees from Galilee in October-November 1948
Pic:
[(Right) Fred Csasznik/both Public Domain]
Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
From a lockdown digital project to a vital tool for class solidarity, ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER reflect on half-a-decade of struggle
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
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
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
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
THE crisis over Gaza is shaking and reshaping politics internationally. There are huge protests across the world as Israel’s invasion and bombing of Gaza shows the world the brutality of the occupation and the apartheid state. The number of deaths of Palestinians is growing all the time, with very large numbers of them children.
The bombing of refugee camps and schools, the denial of basic amenities such as electricity and water, and the sight of bodies lying among the rubble, have all been too much for millions of people who feel they must do something to stop this aggression.
Not so our rulers. The US, British and EU governments have united to back Israel and to suggest this bombardment — which can only be described as a war crime — is simply Israel “defending itself.”
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Trump has changed his tune from the deal-making peace-bringer and is now gearing up to attack Iran. We must take to the streets to keep Britain out of this new madness and all of Israel and the US’s wars, writes LINDSEY GERMAN
CARLOS MARTINEZ condemns Europe’s failure to develop genuine autonomy from US hegemony, as leaders like Starmer and Macron cling to a declining imperial order rather than building good relations with the emerging powers
What we are seeing now in the policing of Gaza protests is a manifestation of an authoritarianism that the government intends to inflict on our country, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
This ceasefire is clearly not enough, and we must be allowed to continue our protests, argues DIANE ABBOTT