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
THIS year will see two major anniversaries in the history of the working-class struggle in Britain. Both were considered milestones of a sort, lines drawn where the lower classes could either take their allotted punishment and lump it — or organise, agitate and overcome the obstacles thrown up by governments and their paymasters.
The point to note in 2024 is not how far we have come, but how we have been passively hurtling back to the days of Victorian plutocracy. In 2024, the right to strike, protest and even vote is coming under increasing government control.
Britain’s “Freedom” ranking has fallen progressively over recent years, as the Tory government sought to distract from its manifest failures by lashing out at a host of a perceived “enemies within,” including the judiciary, “lefty” lawyers, the medical profession, football commentators, subpostmasters, those who voted to remain in the EU, trade union members, the “undeserving” poor, “crap parents,” the National Trust and the RNLI.
STEPHEN ARNELL wonders at the family resemblance between former prince Andrew and his great-uncle ‘Dickie’
The fallout from the Kneecap and Bob Vylan performances at Glastonbury raises questions about the suitability of senior BBC management for their roles, says STEPHEN ARNELL



