Gloucestershire’s phlebotomists have brought their historic strike to a close after almost a year of action, leaving a legacy of determination – and a clear lesson about the power of solidarity in the face of anti-union laws and austerity, says FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
THERE is a queue of people waiting patiently in line: long-forgotten Labour and Conservative figures, one-time respected journalists who have gone sour, barely repentant former racists and warmongers.
On Tuesday, former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks reached the front. It was his turn to put the boot in to Jeremy Corbyn, as the crude attempt to weaken and isolate Labour’s leader continues, and Theresa May is surely pondering a snap election.
In a New Statesman interview — well, platform, really: interviewers are supposed to probe and challenge — Rabbi Sacks thundered: “The recently disclosed remarks by Corbyn are the most offensive statement made by a senior British politician since Enoch Powell’s 1968 Rivers of Blood speech.”
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was based on evidence of a pattern of violence and hatred targeting Arabs and Muslims, two communities that have a large population in Birmingham — overturning the ban was tacit acceptance of the genocidal ideology the fans espouse, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
CLAUDIA WEBBE argues that Labour gains nothing from its adoption of right-wing stances on immigration, and seems instead to be deliberately paving the way for the far right to become an established force in British politics, as it has already in Europe



