We face austerity, privatisation, and toxic influence. But we are growing, and cannot be beaten
Deja vu all over again?
STEPHEN ARNELL looks to 2024, which will see 190 years since the Tolpuddle Martyrs and 200 years after the passing of the 1824 Vagrancy Act
11
In a revealing speech, Trump’s economic adviser has exposed the actual strategy behind the tariff policy: forcing other countries to provide financial support for US world hegemony, reports MARC VANDEPITTE
Activist Angie Zelter has been arrested more than a hundred times. She’s not stopping now, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Natalia Marques looks at last week's ruling that Khalil can be deported and its implications
We are not here to advocate for the arms industry or its CEOs, writes STEVE HANDFORD, and that means we must take a stand against the government’s spending on war
As Labour mimics Tory welfare cuts while ignoring crumbling schools, educators must collectively resist the government's priorities and fight for an inclusive, creative system that values all children, writes NEU president SARAH KILPATRICK
Although our sector is hearing better things from the current government, the recognition that what we do is education in its own right, rather than just childcare, is still not reflected in policy, writes LUCY COLEMAN
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.
More from this author
STEPHEN ARNELL sees parallels between the US tech billionaire and HG Wells’s literary creation
David Lynch’s classic 1980 film The Elephant Man has some cruel parallels with Britain in 2025, argues STEPHEN ARNELL
Between Musk’s bizarre British power grab and Trump’s overtly corporate agenda, modern robber barons face a growing backlash — and history shows how determined leaders can tame ultra-rich excess, writes STEPHEN ARNELL
There is no denying Thomas Cromwell's positive and progressive impact on English politics, argues STEPHEN ARNELL
