US-based labour and social movements authors and organisers Robert Ovetz and James Tracy interview DANIEL GROSS about his new book, Unions of Our Own: Eight Building Blocks to Change Work and the World
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Prison barges are part of Britain’s imperial history
In 1848 black Chartist prisoners were kept on prison hulks — in 2023 asylum-seekers are to be kept on barges. Little changes for those the state wants to want to keep out of the way, writes KEITH FLETT
FLOATING PRISON: Around 500 migrants are to be kept on the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge
JOHN CALLOW introduces the work of Geoffrey Trease, who placed ordinary people at the centre of his historical fiction for children, creating adventurous stories to inspire the possibilities of social change
The Isle of Wight’s Victorian holiday boom drew visitors from across Europe, including the founders of scientific socialism, writes KEITH FLETT
The campaign against the Bank of England’s ongoing theft of Venezuelan gold is gaining support across the labour movement and beyond, writes MATT WILLGRESS
Unless ministers match reform with investment, the profession and the people it serves will continue to bear the cost, says KATE RAMSDEN
Claims that Nicaragua has abolished elections followed a headline that stripped Daniel Ortega’s remarks of their historical and political context. The full speech tells a different story, says BECCA RENK FOSTER
THE Daily Mail among other hard-right media outlets recently headlined government plans to move asylum-seekers from hotels to military bases — and possibly a very large barge. This story turned out to be true.
The government plans to house 500 asylum-seekers on a barge in Portland, Dorset. Now Rishi Sunak has announced plans for at least two more barges. The London Mayor Sadiq Khan has already rejected the idea of mooring a barge in the Royal Docks in east London.
The main reason why asylum-seekers are in hotels is because the government has slowed down the application process to a crawl. Most who apply are genuine and eventually accepted.
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The Isle of Wight’s Victorian holiday boom drew visitors from across Europe, including the founders of scientific socialism, writes KEITH FLETT
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Inspired by a hit TV show, KEITH FLETT takes a look at the murky history of undercover class war