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
Transforming the economy for the many
Ahead of Arise this weekend, MATT WILLGRESS writes on why we need to deepen understanding of socialist economics and popularise Labour’s alternative
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 long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
IN A keynote speech this week Jeremy Corbyn summed up how Britain’s economy has developed in recent decades by saying: “While the finance sector has continued to grow, a decade after the bankers’ crash the super-rich have grown still richer.
“For too long, many of our communities have lost out in the global economy free-for-all. The few have succeeded, but at the expense of the many.”
As an alternative to this, he outlined a serious and radical vision of an economic alternative alongside numerous specific policy pledges, in a speech which was widely lauded in the labour movement as giving real leadership at this vital time.
Similar stories
CLIVE HASWELL introduces the latest edition of Cardiff’s left-wing conference, which will take a broad and non-sectarian approach to who the left should vote for, welcoming approaches from all major progressive parties that hope to transform the world
Here are the voices of DANIEL KEBEDE, FRAN HEATHCOTE, HOLLY TURNER and LEANNE MOHAMAD explaining why they will be taking part in the People’s Assembly No More Austerity demo next weekend
Trump’s return when we already see a world at war, breathtaking inequality and climate catastrophe confirms Engles’ famous dichotomy, writes MATT WILLGRESS
SOLOMON HUGHES examines how Labour has gone from blaming Tory deregulation for our economic woes to betting the nation's future on more of it