Latest editorial
With speculation growing about a Labour leadership contest in 2026, only a decisive break with the current direction – on the economy, foreign policy and migrants – can avert disaster and offer a credible alternative, writes DIANE ABBOTT
Scourge of bogus self-employment at the RAC
Why would anyone want to pay their employer to work for them? Yet that’s exactly what’s been going on at RAC Motoring Services Ltd, as a result of Britain’s increasingly casualised economy, writes BEN COWLES
Repression against left-wing, anti-imperialist and Palestine solidarity structures in Germany is increasingly aimed at undermining their economic means of existence, says LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
Decades of centre-left accommodation and deepening inequality have opened the door to a hard-right restoration — posing stark challenges for the left, argues FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ
Despite systemic racism and far-right hostility, Britain’s migrant and black communities continue to contribute, inspire, and resist. Through education, art, and intergenerational solidarity, the next generation can help shape a future rooted in justice, understanding, and hope, says ZITA HOLBOURNE
JULIA BARD looks at the persistence of anti-semitism on the political right – and its troubling emergence on parts of the left, too
From the mainstreaming of far-right ideas to Europe’s looming conflicts, 2025 has been a year of sharp warnings. The coming year demands decisive action before these crises escalate, writes ANDREW MURRAY
THE RAC Motoring Services Ltd, a subsidiary of RAC Ltd, not only benefits from Britain’s increasingly casualised labour market and gig economy but it also keeps its costs down by charging its direct sales agents hundreds of pounds a month to work for them.
Just like Deliveroo riders, Uber drivers and McDonald’s restaurant staff, the men and women who sell the RAC’s products and services are classified as self-employed and are therefore not entitled to statutory sick, maternity or holiday pay, statutory minimum wage, break times, guaranteed hours or shifts.
Instead of signing a contract, these individuals sign “an agreement” with the RAC to “act as [its] non-exclusive representative in an area defined by [their] sales manager…”
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