We face austerity, privatisation, and toxic influence. But we are growing, and cannot be beaten
A belt of Starmer’s crozier
VINCE MILLS is unimpressed by Sarwar’s U-turn over calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the dismal lack of democracy in Labour
Anas Sarwar
Trump’s economic adviser has exposed the actual strategy: forcing other countries to provide financial support for US world hegemony
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
THINK of Keir Starmer for a minute as a bishop. No, not a Church of England deliberative, liberal sort of bishop — more like a dogmatic Irish Catholic bishop in the early part of the 20th century.
During that period a progressive thinking politician in the south of Ireland might venture something that didn’t quite fit with the church’s thinking — like state provision of health, for example. This would almost certainly see the recalcitrant politician hooked into see the bishop who would set the straying soul back on the right path. These encounters were known “as a belt of the bishop’s crozier.” For the ungodly, a crozier is a symbolic shepherd’s staff carried by bishops.
Over the last few weeks, Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, drew a lot of praise from the left and progressive movement in Britain, including this newspaper, for criticising Starmer and calling for a ceasefire, despite Starmer’s insistence that such a call was futile and would allow Hamas to regroup.
More from this author
While VINCE MILLS laments the resignation of Neil Findlay from Scottish Labour, he explains why he won’t be joining him outside the party in the ongoing struggle for a socialist future
The EU and Nato are umbilically tied – but what will the new Trump era and a reconfiguration of US interests mean for the war in Ukraine, asks VINCE MILLS
As polls show Scottish Labour’s support crumbling and Reform rising even among independence supporters, an urgent need emerges for an alternative based on public investment paid for by radical progressive taxation, argues VINCE MILLS
Without challenging the neoliberal framework of our economy or seeking more powers for Scotland, the Scottish Labour leader’s seeming break with Westminster policy rings hollow, writes VINCE MILLS
