IAN LAVERY MP warns that decades of neoliberal policies have left former industrial communities behind — but a renewed Labour commitment to working people could change the political landscape
Soul and socialism
The left has had a shifting attitude towards religion, where identity, activism and alienation play their roles – but the atheist left might look to allies among the faithful for solidarity, writes MIKE COWLEY
FIGHTING THE SYSTEM: Trade unionist Jimmy Reid warned of the capitalist ‘rat race’
PAOLO SANTALUCIA reports on how an Italian region defies US pressure to end a Cuban doctors programme
HENRY FOWLER outlines the GFTU’s new 2026-27 education programme and argues that investing in trade union education is essential to building worker power, developing leaders and strengthening collective action
We need a government that invests in saving lives not destroying them, argues SOPHIE BOLT
More expensive by weight than gold, saffron is surprisingly simple to grow. MAT COWARD explains
The public inquiry is the result of more than a decade of determined campaigning. Now, those who fought for justice want the full story of government involvement and police conduct to be told, says KATE FLANNERY
The Durham Miners’ Gala is a celebration of working-class culture, but also a call to action — to rebuild workers’ collective strength, says KIM JOHNSON MP
THE Marxist left’s relationship to religious belief is a complicated one. Our materialism precludes the superstitions of faith while a militant anti-clericalism informs our politics.
The active role of the church in some of history’s worst atrocities is well documented. In May, the Free Church of Scotland refused to apologise for receiving millions of pounds from slavery.
Social reformer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass demanded it “send back the money” when he toured Scotland in 1846.
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The recent speech by Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel is an affirmation of Amilcar Cabral’s revolutionary principle, writes ISAAC SANEY