NEU members at Woodfield School in north London are taking sustained industrial action against enforced cuts to learning support assistants’ hours and pay. MARY ADOSSIDES reports

On January 2 2014, PJ Harvey used her turn as guest editor of the Today programme to expose the realities of war, arms dealing and media complicity. The fury that followed showed how rare – and how threatening – such honesty is within Britain’s most Establishment broadcaster, says IAN SINCLAIR

As Ash Regan’s Unbuyable Bill sparks debate in Scotland, the real issue remains unaddressed: a digitalised sex industry and a neoliberal economy that repackages exploitation as empowerment while leaving women’s material conditions unchanged, argues LAUREN HARPER

The election of far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast marks a decisive shift in Chilean politics. His victory may quiet the streets for now, but the demands for dignity and social justice remain unfinished – and unlikely to stay silent for long, writes VIJAY PRASHAD

A government grant to study hep B vaccination in African newborns has sparked alarm among public health experts. MIKE STOBBE reports

From London’s holly-sellers to Engels’s flaming Christmas centrepiece, the plum pudding was more than festive fare in Victorian Britain, says KEITH FLETT

From a lockdown digital project to a vital tool for class solidarity, ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER reflect on half-a-decade of struggle

New survey findings from the BFAWU reveal a grim reality: low wages and years of government cuts have left millions unable to afford food, heating or a dignified life. A legally enforced right to food is now urgently needed, argue SARAH WOOLLEY and IAN BYRNE MP

Despite the loss of England’s traditional orchards, Britain’s most festive plant is holding its ground, says ADELE JULIER

Labour’s long-promised Act has scraped through the Lords. While the law marks a step forward, its lack of collective rights leaves workers short-changed — and sets the stage for a renewed campaign for an Employment Rights Bill #2, argues TONY BURKE

As fossil fuels have had their day, JOSIE MIZEN makes it clear that it is now the government’s responsibility to initiate the transition to alternative employment in a manner that is organised, efficient and effective

As the dollar falters and US power turns predatory, Britain and Europe must abandon transatlantic illusions and build a collectivist alternative before the system implodes, writes ALAN SIMPSON

From childhood summers in a post-industrial village to midnight picket lines in Glasgow, the promise of ‘social mobility’ rings hollow for MATT KERR

None of these Israeli officials shows the slightest interest in Trump’s ‘peace plan’ or in the Palestinian vision of statehood, warns RAMZY BAROUD

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

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

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

Trump is gambling with an entire continent, behind the rhetoric of drugs and security lies a dangerous hunt for raw materials and an illegal push for regime change, asserts MARC VANDEPITTE

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

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

Opinion polls point to electoral collapse, parliamentary rebellion and a looming leadership challenge as Starmer’s Labour haemorrhages working-class support and the far right exploits the vacuum left by a hollowed-out party, says NICK WRIGHT

The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire

CJ ATKINS argues that despite losing the election, Chile’s left remains big and organised and must unite to resist the new far-right government

Take a read of the latest Unite Hospitality Glasgow Strike Bulletin and hear from workers fighting for better pay and dignity at work

Alba party leader KENNY MacASKILL makes some suggestions on how to save our pubs and reduce irresponsible drinking

The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE

After years of austerity and denial under a new Reform UK council, a failing Send service was pushed into the spotlight by staff, unions and parents — culminating in a £1.3m funding boost and a 50% increase in front-line workers. MARTIN PORTER explains

Held at a last-minute undisclosed venue amid fear of disruption, a Women’s Rights Network event brought together authors and activists, offering a day of debate on feminism’s past, present and future. JADE MIDDLETON reports

Trade union leaderships have so far stopped short of the bold industrial action over Gaza seen in Italy and Greece. NATHAN HENNEBRY calls for a re-radicalising of the union movement and rebuilding class power as vital to turning solidarity into action

From the workhouses of the 1840s to today’s market capitalism, A Christmas Carol remains a sharp critique of charity rationed by class, says KEITH FLETT

Evidence suggests Lammy’s proposals would come at a high cost: reduced fairness, diminished trust and greater racial inequality in the criminal justice system, argue TARA LAI QUINLAN and KATHARINA KARCHER

Trump’s escalation against Venezuela is about more than oil, it is about regaining control over the ‘natural’ zone of influence of the United States at a moment where its hegemony is slipping, argues VIJAY PRASHAD

The federal government’s plans to finance the war in Ukraine with Russian assets, and a possible deployment of German troops, put the population in Germany in the highest danger, argues SEVIM DAGDELEN

PABLO MERIGUET reviews some of the neoliberal measures promised by the recently inaugurated Paz administration in Bolivia, which include budget cuts, tax breaks for the wealthiest, and audits of previous administrations

Marxist economist JULIO GAMBINA tells Bert Schouwenburg why voters backed Javier Milei despite soaring poverty, how Washington is shaping Argentina’s future, and why the unions and wider left have yet to form a force capable of halting the far-right project

As we approach the half-anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, the community gathers to remember loved ones while grappling with mixed emotions surrounding the ongoing deconstruction of the tower and the hopeful plans for a memorial, writes EMMA DENT COAD

The new plan sets out an uncompromising bid for global dominance, casting even allies as obstacles to be subdued, writes DIANE ABBOTT

The argument for a “significant expansion” of nuclear power will deliver soaring electricity prices that condemn underserved communities to unending hardship and poverty, argues LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

Historically the framework of that expulsion of Palestinians was predicated on the use of war as a pretext, as opposed to war as a response to Palestinian resistance, writes RAMZY BAROUD

SYMON HILL looks at Tommy Robinson’s bid to use Christmas to spread division and hate — and reminds us that’s the opposite of Jesus’s message

VICTORIA HOLMES salutes the brave stand being taken by Palestine Action hunger-strikers in British prisons, and explains their demands

SOLOMON HUGHES finds the government went along with a US scheme to distract from Israel’s lethal Gaza blockade with an impractical floating pier scheme – though its own officials knew it wouldn’t work

RUBEN BRETT introduces a charismatic martial artist and ‘ambassador of peace’ making waves among the youth of Taiwan

DENNIS BROE says media ownership is not only grossly concentrated in the US, Britain and France – new mergers are advancing the power of the rich to censor the news

CAMERON HARRISON and CJ ATKINS analyse the White House’s new strategy in detail

Charles Lubselski pays tribute to a lifelong communist and supporter of the Daily Worker and Morning Star

MARK JONES responds to issues raised in the recent report from Richard Hebbert on the Communist Party’s Congress debate on nuclear power

A searing scrutiny hearing has uncovered thousands of undelivered appointments, vanishing data and a system in chaos – galvanising councillors, patients and activists to demand urgent reform and an NHS dentist for all, writes SIMON BRIGNELL

Fuelled by economic abandonment and a collapsing faith in politics, Farage’s party is transforming grievance into momentum north of the border, warns COLL McCAIL

Ten days after right-wing destabilisation attempts, Mexico’s leadership has emerged strengthened, securing historic labour and wage agreements, while opposition-backed protests have crumbled under scrutiny, says DAVID RABY

MAT COWARD tells how 18th-century scholar and revolutionary democrat Joseph Ritson turned a medieval outlaw into England’s people’s hero — soon to be gracing panto halls around the nation

Amid the festive lights, Scotland faces a stark holiday truth: only real investment in public services and the workers who sustain them can lift communities out of poverty, argues LILIAN MACER

A vast US war fleet deployed in the south Caribbean — ostensibly to fight drug-trafficking but widely seen as a push for violent regime change — has sparked international condemnation and bipartisan resistance in the US itself. FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ reports

The Communist Party of Britain’s Congress last month debated a resolution on ending opposition to all nuclear power in light of technological advances and the climate crisis. RICHARD HEBBERT explains why

Behind the cute names of Scotland’s road gritters lies a workforce underpaid and overlooked – a fitting reflection of a Budget that protected profits, bungled its rollout and offered hardly a glimmer of hope, writes MATT KERR

Your Party launched to packed halls and high expectations, but power struggles and sectarianism marred the inaugural conference. If it is to address the challenges of today, YP must rebuild from the grassroots, listen to workers and choose unity over purity, argues MARK SERWOTKA

ANSELM ELDERGILL recalls the misjudgments, mishaps and moments of farce that shaped his years in legal practice

In the final part of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY explains how in 2018, after years spent rebuilding the PCS into a leading force against austerity, a damaging rupture emerged from within the union’s own left wing

Commiserations if you failed this year, MAT COWARD offers six points which, if followed religiously, will ensure you succeed next year

Labour, like the Tories, sees rising mental ill health simply as a spending problem — but it reflects a diseased society, argues DR DAVID MATTHEWS

PRABHAT PATNAIK looks at how the development of capitalism from the start divided the world into unequal segments

While Trump negotiates peace with Moscow, Kiev and Brussels continue to pour fuel on the fire. Nato is preparing a big strike – and calling it defence, argues SEVIM DAGDELEN

RUBEN BRETT of Liberation explains why the narratives we hear about the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation are deeply misleading

RICHARD BURGON MP argues the left must build on recent victories and urgently unite around a bold cost-of-living programme

As Palestine Action prisoners go weeks without food, alleging dangerous neglect and detention without trial, campaigners warn that a near-total media blackout is hiding a crisis that could turn fatal – and fuel a growing wave of public anger. ELIZABETH SHORT reports

As the new party emerges from its founding conference with a bold socialist identity, its future hinges on whether it can provide the organisational clarity needed to turn class sentiment into class power, argues NICK WRIGHT

Barred from returning home, a group of Greek Brigaders came to Britain and founded the League for Democracy in Greece – a movement that carried the flame of anti-fascist resistance from the 1930s through the cold war and beyond. ALI BASSAM ZAHID tells the story

Decisions about mandatory testing for prostate cancer have proved controversial. Can too much knowledge be a bad thing?

Your Party can become an antidote to Reform UK – but only by rooting itself in communities up and down the country, says CLAUDIA WEBBE

Far-right forces are rising across Latin America and the Caribbean, armed with a common agenda of anti-communism, the culture war, and neoliberal economics, writes VIJAY PRASHAD

Washington and its Western allies decry human rights abuses while arming and shielding Israel, turning contradiction into policy, argues RAMZY BAROUD

A teaching delegation to Cuba offered IAN DUCKETT a powerful glimpse into a schooling system defined by care, creativity and the legacy of the island’s remarkable 1961 literacy campaign

Looking back to Engels’s reflections on the ILP’s emergence in the 1890s offers a revealing lens on the forces shaping a new working-class politics in 2025, says KEITH FLETT

Claiming to be under arrest, president Embalo has left the country while his opponents remain in custody after a military coup a day ahead of the announcement of the final results, argues PAVAN KULKARNI

The daughter of a legendary blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter has spoken out against the reactionary move, says MIKE SCHNEIDER

As the Trump administration escalates military pressure on Venezuela, a growing number of Caribbean governments are lining up behind Washington’s show of force, writes ROGER McKENZIE

DIANE ABBOTT warns that Shabana Mahmood’s draconian asylum proposals fuel racist scapegoating and risk demoralising Labour’s base – potentially paving the way for Farage to No 10

The UN has shamefully empowered the occupation of Gaza rather than ending it – we must redouble our efforts to build the movement required to establish a true peace, argues BEN JAMAL

In part V of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY argues that to confront capitalism’s escalating crises, unions must reorient toward class politics and help build a united, explicitly socialist alternative capable of representing the working class and its material needs

Morning Star political reporter Andrew Murray speaks to ZARAH SULTANA on the mass party of the left holding its inaugural conference this weekend

ROZ FOYER explains the significance and tradition of today’s St Andrew’s Day March and Rally

With ‘Your Party’ holding its founding conference in Liverpool this weekend, JEREMY CORBYN speaks to Morning Star editor Ben Chacko about its potential, its priorities — and a few of its controversies too

JAMIE DRISCOLL’s group, Majority, with an inclusive approach and supportive training, aims to sidestep many of the problems afflicting Britain’s progressive movement

On International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, HUGH LANNING warns that the US-led “Comprehensive Plan” entrenches decades of Western complicity in Israel’s domination and denial of Palestinian land and rights

FRAN HEATHCOTE believes that while the the Chancellor outlined some positive steps, the government does not appreciate the scale of the cost-of-living crisis affecting working-class people, whose lives are blighted by endemic low pay

The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is pouring €11.5bn into the Kiev swamp, blocking Trump’s peace plan, and pushing Nato right up to Russia’s borders – no matter if it costs hundreds of thousands of lives, warns SEVIM DAGDELEN

The unifying victory of Irish progressive forces in the presidential campaign should be a salutary lesson to the left in this country, argues MARY GRIFFITHS CLARKE

Martin Taylor, the hedge-fund multimillionaire who has poured millions into pushing Labour rightwards, helped finance Lucy Powell’s supposedly dissenting campaign — suggesting her victory was not the ‘soft-left’ rebellion some have claimed, says SOLOMON HUGHES

MAT COWARD tells the story of the eccentric founder of a short-lived but striking experiment in ‘vital democracy,’ who became best known for giving away his estate to the nation

Groups are urging the US government to secure the 16-year old’s release as his mental and physical health decline dramatically after nine months inside Ofer prison, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

A November 15 protest in Mexico – driven by a right-wing social-media operation – has been miscast as a mass uprising against President Sheinbaum. In reality, the march was small, elite-backed and part of a wider attempt to sow unrest, argues DAVID RABY

Despite new European arrests, the evidence presented so far fails to explain the sabotage of the undersea pipelines – and veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh’s allegations of US responsibility cannot be easily dismissed, writes ROGER McKENZIE

As President Javier Milei is set to unveil a radical rollback of Argentina’s labour laws, unions warn of an unprecedented assault on workers’ rights, says BERT SCHOUWENBURG

On a recent NEU delegation, STEVE HANDFORD’s eyes were opened to the educational achievements of the socialist island and the need for Britain to take a leaf out of its book

As figures from Tucker Carlson to Nigel Farage flirt with neofascist rhetoric and mainstream leaders edge toward authoritarianism through war and repression, the conditions that once nurtured Hitlerism re-emerge — yet anti-war and anti-imperialist sentiments are also burgeoning anew, writes ANDREW MURRAY

Amid national economic decay and with a lack of coherent left-wing responses, far-right narratives on women’s safety and immigration have taken root in former Labour heartlands. The WOMEN’S LIBERATION ALLIANCE warns that only a renewed politics rooted in an understanding of class, race and sex can stem the rise of authoritarianism

With violence against women and girls reaching unprecedented levels – particularly in the north of England – Unison North West is driving a union-wide push for education, prevention and trauma-informed support, writes JOANNE MOORCROFT

As Saudi Arabia is hailed abroad for its ‘reforms,’ the reality for women inside the kingdom grows ever more repressive. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, MARYAM ALDOSSARI argues it is time to stop applauding the illusion – and start listening to the women the state works hardest to silence

With Petro, Colombia has been making huge strides towards peace — but is all that at risk with the elections next year? MARK ROWE reports back after joining a delegation to the Latin American country

DYLAN MURPHY reports that far from helping people back into work, the sanctions regime is inflicting unnecessary trauma on working-class families

Despite new legal duties and strong commitments from the TUC, employers – and the trade union movement itself – still need to take the crisis of violence against women more seriously, writes KIRI TUNKS of the FiLiA Trade Union Women’s Network

NICK TROY lauds the young staff at a hotel chain and cinema giant who are ready to take on the bosses for their rights 

There are multiple avenues for governments and corporations to ensure academia and think tanks serve their agendas, explains IAN SINCLAIR – and we need to expose that

JOHN PERRY examines the forces seeking to use the end of Xiomara Castro’s term to return Honduras to Washington’s camp, with this month’s elections at risk of interference

THE threat of further attacks upon Iran, following the bombings by Israel and the United States in June 2025, looms large in the thinking of the Iranian people. The leadership of the Islamic Republic is however corrupt, divided and in danger of paving the way for foreign intervention. Codir’s executive member Steve Bishop reports

From mass protests to plummeting poll numbers on immigration and health policy, and from devastating cuts to Medicaid and Medicare to the anti-science upheaval at federal health agencies, the president’s agenda is radicalising voters against him, argues JOHN LISTER

Whether in recycling or energy policy, a deeper crisis in long-term thinking is apparent in Scotland. With the new Budget looming, MATT KERR wonders if we can move beyond shallow, headline-grabbing measures

Ahead of elections next year, Scottish Labour is seeking to jump-start its political fortunes – but without bringing wealth and wealth production under democratic control, the party’s future looks in doubt, says VINCE MILLS

MAT COWARD advocates cultivating blackberries, a growing in popularity crop for gardens and allotments

In part IV of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY tells how austerity minister Francis Maude’s attempt to destroy the PCS Civil Service union totally backfired

Building is the solution for much of our housing crisis – and will also help to address poverty, ill health, and even anti-social behaviour and alienation, writes KENNY MacASKILL

JOHN CALLOW examines what went wrong for the Czech communist party in the recent parliamentary elections, where it failed to meet the threshold to return deputies and some now talk of the party abandoning its commitment to socialism

CONOR BOLLINS looks at the sinister moves to entice young people towards military and arms industry careers

The Morning Star here publishes a statement from the Egyptian Communist Party condemning the UN security council resolution on Gaza

From a “basket of deplorables” to “imbecilic morons,” US officials have ramped up their ad hominem rhetoric towards their own citizens, writes Linda Pentz Gunter

Austerity in a red tie is still austerity, warns RAMONA McCARTNEY of the People’s Assembly – rally with us to demand different choices

Inspired by a hit TV show, KEITH FLETT takes a look at the murky history of undercover class war