Labour movement history in Britain shows workers secured reforms through collective pressure and political representation, rather than being gifted from above, writes KEITH FLETT
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Universal credit is not fit for purpose
We need a proper social security system that supports families and provides a proper safety net, writes PADDY LILLIS, calling for the Labour government to lift the cruel two-child benefit cap
A Universal Credit sign on a door of a job centre plus in east London
ROGER McKENZIE draws attention to the much-neglected oral traditions of the global South that define the identity – and therefore the liberation – of its custodians
Established as a landmark victory for the climate movement, the CCC promised to hold governments to account. Today, it is understating the danger of climate chaos and impeding the radical action needed, says IAN SINCLAIR
The real ‘humanitarian threat’ isn’t Cuba but the United States, where poverty, lack of healthcare and illiteracy abound, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
CLAUDIA WEBBE looks at how Britain’s Nato ally has upped the stakes in its effort to silence domestic dissenting voices
UNIVERSAL CREDIT remains universally discredited. It provides significant disincentives for working parents to increase their income. Universal credit was supposed to simplify and improve access to social security, make it easier for people to manage the move into work and reduce administrative costs; however with its in-built rules and cuts it entirely fails to meet these aims.
When the Conservatives introduced universal credit (UC) back in 2011, it should have been an opportunity to build on Labour’s game-changing tax credit system. By consolidating various benefit systems, UC was meant to make the benefit system easier to navigate. The system could have brought about improvements for those most in need. The Conservatives, however, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, by severely cutting funding — hitting the poorest households hardest.
Usdaw has consistently called for a fundamental overhaul of universal credit and how the government supports the incomes of working people. We need a proper social security system that supports families and provides a proper safety net. This week we bring that call to the Trades Union Congress in Brighton.
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Labour will find increases in the state pension age are unacceptable, just as cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, personal independence payments and universal credit are — it needs to change direction immediately, writes PCS general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE
In the current climate, it is vital to bust the myths and put forward the case for a humane and decent social security system that supports people, argues FRAN HEATHCOTE
Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street