SOLOMON HUGHES uncovers government documents showing hidden dinners and meetings between Labour figures and disgraced Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm, which collapsed after links to Epstein and sleazy influence operations came to light
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Labour must act swiftly to lift children out of poverty
As she returns to Westminster, REBECCA LONG BAILEY MP calls on the new government to scrap the two-child benefit cap immediately to ease families’ financial strain that she sees in Salford
STATING THE OBVIOUS: Russell Trust CEO Emma Revie (left) and Warrington Foodbank volunteer Ben Pennell pull a giant receipt from a billboard installation near Finsbury Park Tube station in London, commissioned by the Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as part of their ‘It Doesn’t Add Up Campaign’, aiming to highlight issues following the launch of the new Universal Credit, April 2023
In the second of a series of interviews with leaders of progressive parties in Wales ahead of the May 7 Senedd election David Nicholson talks to Welsh Green Party leader ANTHONY SLAUGHTER
Oil and gas prices are rising due to the illegal war against Iran, but new nuclear power plants will only make things worse as their costs also escalate, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
As women dominate public services yet face pay gaps, unsafe workloads and rising misogyny, this International Women’s Day and TUC Women’s Conference must be a rallying point, says ANDREA EGAN
As the government quietly begins reviewing the BBC’s Royal Charter, the moment should be seized to refound the corporation as a truly democratic, regionally rooted public service, writes PAUL W FLEMING
Like the president in Wag the Dog, Donald Trump faces scandal at home and turns to conflict abroad. But the conflict with Iran risks igniting a regional inferno with global consequences, warns ROGER McKENZIE
I WAS honoured and humbled to continue to have the opportunity to represent the great people of Salford, and as I busily packed my bag this week to begin a new term in Parliament, I listened, as I regularly do, to one of the rare songs that always brings a lump to my throat, a fire in my belly and gets me ready to champion the city I love.
It is a story about love, hardship and strength. A haunting melodic tribute to a city and its people, and a burning hope for their future.
The city is Salford and the song is Dirty Old Town, written by legendary Salford-born folk singer Ewan MacColl 75 years ago. It charts the confusion and loneliness of a young man walking through the nighttime streets of industrial Salford where life was hard, poverty was rife but pride was in abundance.
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With 170,000 children living in poverty in north-east England and teachers leaving in droves over 20 per cent real-terms pay cuts since 2010, all while private companies siphon off billions, it is time to unite and fight for education, writes MATT WRACK
The Gala’s core message of working-class solidarity offers renewed hope and provides the antidote to the anti-worker policies of Reform UK, argues IAN LAVERY MP
Despite progress made on the shoulders of radical women from the past, the gendered impact of austerity and the cost-of-living crisis requires bold action from Labour to address inequality, says REBECCA LONG-BAILEY MP