While riding the No 3 bus in Glasgow MATT KERR has ample time to dissect the moribund Scottish Labour decline into near oblivion and watch intriguing bus passenger dynamics
Finally, some common sense in the housing debate
The best wildfire service may begin with the community, argues KOMAL RAJ ARYAL
Dignity is important to all humans, argues the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School, but it does not come about automatically. In a less than perfect world, dignity can accompany suffering, but the collective dignity of working people is achieved through acting together to change the world.
The US aim to reshape the existing order in the Middle East needs to be resolutely resisted, argues PAYAM SOLHTALAB
Concessions to Washington by the post-Maduro leadership in Caracas are designed to preserve the core of the Bolivarian Revolution not betray it, argue Roger D Harris, Francisco Dominguez and Mara Paez Victor. How the solidarity movement responds is critical
ALMA EGAN suggests four days out that bring the region’s history of protest to life
EDINBURGH Council’s plan to force the owners of empty homes to sell up is the kind of common sense approach that’s missing from much of our housing debate.
Last November it was reported that Scotland has 80,000 empty homes — a seven-year high. Meanwhile, it is thought there could be as many as 200,000 Scots waiting for a council home.
A foothold in our sordid private-rented sector, therefore, is thought of by many young people as a blessing. But while it may give you a roof over your head, a room in a shared flat can arrive with unsolicited side orders of damp, broken facilities, unresponsive landlords, sky-high utility bills and exorbitant rents (especially in Edinburgh).
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CLAUDIA WEBBE argues that Burnham’s U-turn on tackling greedy landlords has let the country down
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
