DAVID MORGAN recommends a refreshingly inspiring novel that features encounters with some tremendous women
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Good instincts, bad analysis
With respect for the authors’ intentions, JOHN GREEN demonstrates the lack of class consciousness that undermines their critique of dysfunctional Britain
OF THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE: Mayor Andy Burnham proudly shows his Manchester worker bee (symbol of Manchester) tattoo ahead of the Great Manchester Run on May 22 2022
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JAMES WALSH speaks to Chris Thorpe-Tracey - among many things, a one-time Morning Star columnist — about songs, cities, politics and prophecy
New releases from Max Richter, Julius Asal, and Jean-Michel Jarre
RON JACOBS applauds a reading of black history in the US that plots the path from autonomy to self-governance and then liberation
TOM KING relishes an enlightening history of the checkered progress of the war that humanity has waged on bacteria
ANDY HEDGECOCK is intrigued by a scholarly account of how systemic disinformation can exacerbate the perception of threat and foster hatred
Head North - A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain
Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram
Trapeze, £22
ANDY BURNHAM, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and his mate Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, became so disillusioned with Westminster politics that they decided together to pack in their MP day jobs and go for two mayoral positions in the north. They felt they would be able to do more up there in terms of helping their own people, and make a real difference.
I’ve always had respect and admiration for both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham, as two of the very few MPs who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of their constituents, have a basic decency, strong principles and a genuine humanity.
In this jointly written book, they argue strongly for a different kind of politics that would address the stark inequalities in Britain and the north-south divide.
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JOHN GREEN has doubts about the efficacy of the Freedom of Information Act, once trumpeted by Tony Blair
JOHN GREEN is enchanted by the story of women’s farm work, both now and the the 1940s, that brims with political and social insight
JOHN GREEN welcomes a remarkable study of Mozambique’s most renowned contemporary artist
Despite the primitive means the director was forced to use, this is an incredibly moving film from Gaza and you should see it, urges JOHN GREEN
