The annual commemoration of anti-fascist volunteers who fought fascism in Spain now includes a key contribution from Italian comrades
Latest editorial
Remembering Dave Wetzel (1942-2024)
A champion of public transport and land value taxation, whose legacy lives on
MUSICAL PROTEST: A £50m cheque on the side of a bus is delivered by the Greater London Council to the Department of Transport HQ, as part of a protest at a disputed payment for the running of London’s buses and Tube trains. Dave Wetzel (front) was helped with the delivery by Terry Lightfoot (centre) and his band, 1985
The Islamic Republic’s suddenly weakened regional position exposes the nation to grave threats from US imperialism
DONG XUE explains why US tariffs hold no significant threat to China
ANSELM ELDERGILL asks whether artificial intelligence may decide legal cases in the future, in place of human judges, and how AI could reshape the legal landscape
Like pieces on a chess board, centrist parties lose ground as they accommodate rather than challenge far-right agendas — socialists must play things better, warns MATT KERR
Yanis Varoufakis and Jeremy Corbyn laid out a roadmap for peace, justice and equality as they celebrated the legacy of inspirational socialist Tony Benn, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
The NEU’s annual conference promises heated debate, with motions on international politics, curriculum reform and union amalgamation likely to provoke strong reactions and challenge the status quo, writes Education for Tomorrow editor ROBERT POOLE
DAVE WETZEL had a profound impact on my school life, he got me and many other schoolkids on the Tube during Ken Livingstone’s Labour administration under the Greater London Council’s Fares Fair Initiative. And he later persuaded me of the advantages of land value taxation when l was serving at the London Assembly.
Dave Wetzel was born in 1942 and educated at Southall Technical College, Ealing College and the Henry George School of Social Sciences. After working as bus conductor and official in the 1960s, Wetzel became political organiser of the London Co-operative Society between 1974 and 1981.
He was the Labour Party councillor for Hammersmith North (1981-86) at the Greater London Authority and chair of the transport committee between 1981-86, and was transport chief under Livingstone involved in the Fares Fair initiative.
More from this author
On the 75th anniversary of the Indian subcontinent’s independence and partition, MURAD QURESHI looks at how important decision-making was left to the largely incompetent Louis Mountbatten
What does the history of the formation of the Bangladeshi state tell us about the 1947 two-state theory of partition in the Indian subcontinent, asks MURAD QURESHI
Donald Trump’s interference in the British general election is as unwarranted as it is undemocratic, writes MURAD QURESHI
Boris Johnsn's fickle and opportunist ways were on full show during his tenure as London Mayor, remembers MURAD QURESHI
