Both Conservative and Labour administrations have now refused to release research showing PIP payments are vital for disabled people’s survival, exposing the ideological nature of planned welfare ‘reforms,’ writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
You are not the only one
Throughout the Post Office Horizon scandal, affected workers were isolated and made to feel solely guilty for what they were accused of. We need more workers to join the trade union movement to see that, no matter what, they are not alone, says postal worker JOHN CARSON
Western media dismisses the National People’s Congress while ignoring its extensive consultation processes, massive public participation mechanisms, and a tiered structure involving millions of deputies, explains JENNY CLEGG
Despite caring for vulnerable children and often covering classes, support staff remain undervalued, with some earning less than supermarket workers — but GMB’s campaigning offers new hope, argues DONNA SPICER
NICK WRIGHT examines how Farage’s party has attracted five distinct voter tribes with incompatible views on economics, immigration and state intervention — presenting both a challenge and opportunity for left organising
Man-made canals like Panama and Suez face unprecedented challenges from extreme weather patterns and geopolitical tensions that reveal the fragility of our global trade networks, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
As climate change makes vast mineral deposits accessible, the island’s 56,000 residents face unprecedented pressure from Trump’s territorial ambitions while struggling to maintain their traditional way of life, writes JOHN GREEN
Student Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and threatened deportation are terrifying — but the moribund Democrats are still failing to mount any meaningful resistance against the slide toward autocracy, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
FOLLOWING the airing of the drama series, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, at the start of January, the outpouring of sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the scandal has been great to see.
From politicians, journalists, celebrities to regular folk on the street, the sheer sense and scale of the injustice has offended all. This has been particularly true in Royal Mail, where postal workers have regularly fielded questions about the situation from friends, family and customers (despite Royal Mail being split off from the Post Office and privatised in 2012/13) and have expressed their own shock and disgust to see the outrageous cases of the malicious prosecutions of many decent, ordinary, hardworking subpostmasters — part of the wider postal family.
Of course, the truth of this situation and the full extent of the lies told by the Post Office were not revealed suddenly by a successful television show — it was revealed in organised action led by Alan Bates’s group, Justice for Subpostmaster Alliance, formed in 2009, and which brought together the shared experiences of subpostmasters across the country in order to fight for fight for redress and compensation and to expose the lies and cover-up surrounding the cases.
More from this author
Companies that forced staff to risk their lives during January’s extreme weather or face financial penalties have revealed the urgent need for enforceable safety standards beyond mere guidelines, argues JOHN CARSON
JOHN CARSON looks at how trade unions can move beyond the empty flags and slogans of the employers to create real change in workplaces and communities, with reps tackling the root causes of racism and xenophobia
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Evidence from the Post Office inquiry suggests Simon Blagden – formerly of Fujitsu and now in a government quango role – had greater involvement than previously realised in the notorious IT scandal that blamed subpostmasters for crimes they did not commit, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
