The US assault on Venezuela is brazen and unlawful – yet our PM claims uncertainty. By refusing to confront Trump’s naked imperialism, Starmer abandons international law, mortgages British policy to Washington, and clears the ground for war, argues ANDREW MURRAY
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When female workers enforced Britain's first minimum wage
MAT COWARD recalls a time when imaginative employment of newsreels helped secure a memorable victory for an industrial action by the chainmakers
(L to R) Handbill for an April 11 1910 National Federation of Women Workers meeting to discuss the chainmakers' strike, with Macarthur's name, as president of the federation, prominent; Mary Macarthur addressing the crowds during the chainmakers' strike, Cradley Heath, Sandwell, West Midlands, England, 1910
[(L to R) Anonymous/Public domain - Edwin Beech/Black Country Living Museum/CC]
RAINER RUPP examines former CIA analyst Larry Johnson’s description of the US operation to kidnap Nicolas Maduro as a tactically successful but strategically disastrous move, with shades of Bush’s disastrous intervention in Iraq
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western outrage was absolute. Yet today, the tone is markedly more subdued regarding US aggression against Venezuela. The manner in which the media and politicians frame this invasion exposes a profound ideological double standard, writes MARC VANDEPITTE
STEPHEN LOW looks at the SNP plans for public services
The Employment Rights Act 2025 marks the biggest expansion of workplace protections in a generation. But with key reforms delayed and crucial details still to be decided, unions must remain vigilant to ensure this landmark law fulfils its transformative promise, says ANDY McDONALD MP
After 15 years of spending cuts and regressive redistribution, the British economy is weaker, investment is still anaemic and living standards are stalled – yet all major parties remain committed to a policy that has repeatedly failed to deliver recovery, says MICHAEL BURKE
YOU might well be tempted to set up The National Anti-Sweating League after getting stuck in a tunnel on the rush-hour Northern Line, but a century ago “sweating” had a particular meaning.
In 1899, the House of Lords committee on sweating (look, I’m sorry, but if you're going to giggle every time, we'll be here forever) defined sweatshop labour by three criteria: it was underpaid, the hours were excessive, and the working conditions were unhealthy.
The point being that they meant bad pay, long days and crap conditions that were dramatically worse than the already dreadful norm.
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TUC Midlands marks 20 years of celebrating the 1910 chainmakers’ victory with a festival that connects historical lessons to modern struggles — because working-class history should inspire action, not just nostalgia, writes STUART RICHARDS
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