The Mandelson scandal reveals a political settlement in which democratic choice is curtailed and the power of markets eclipses the will of voters – only the left can challenge this, writes JON TRICKETT MP
London’s congestion charge: tackling climate chaos needs radical solutions and courageous political leadership
This month marks 20 years since the introduction of the congestion charge — one of the achievements I am most proud of from my time as mayor of London that I knew would gain support once it had started, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
A congestion charge sign in London
Corbyn’s intervention exposes a corrupted system, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Paul Holden’s book, The Fraud, exposes a hidden war inside Labour, where claims of anti-semitism, amplified by media power and factional networks, were used to break Corbynism and recast the party. JOHN ELLISON revisits the scandals, investigations and suppressed evidence from that era
In the second of a series of articles, Storming the Heavens author JENNY CLEGG introduces the key themes of her book on the Chinese revolution
The growth of Cuba’s biotechnology sector is an example of how socialism can prioritise scientific innovation, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Paul Holden’s The Fraud reveals how a network of donors, MPs and opaque organisations quietly organised to destroy Corbyn’s leadership and manufacture a new centre of power inside Labour, writes JOHN ELLISON
Systems of power enable, excuse and normalise abuse, while survivors are ignored and women’s exploitation is repackaged as commerce and choice, warns CHARLIE WEINBERG
THE congestion charge was both a progressive tax and an environmental tax.
It was an environmental tax because it targeted one of the biggest sources of pollution — traffic. In many ways, it was an early form of a carbon tax. Although we didn’t call it that at the time, we were already very concerned about climate change and air pollution, which meant we knew we had to use pricing to discourage unnecessary driving.
The congestion charge was progressive because it was deliberately designed to primarily affect the wealthiest Londoners, who contributed the vast majority of car trips in that zone of central London.
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