Both Conservative and Labour administrations have now refused to release research showing PIP payments are vital for disabled people’s survival, exposing the ideological nature of planned welfare ‘reforms,’ writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
Why the NUM is in favour of the West Cumbria coalmine
General secretary of the NUM CHRIS KITCHEN argues that while Britain is still importing and burning coal from abroad, reopening mines and using our own reserves actually reduces the amount of carbon emissions
Western media dismisses the National People’s Congress while ignoring its extensive consultation processes, massive public participation mechanisms, and a tiered structure involving millions of deputies, explains JENNY CLEGG
Despite caring for vulnerable children and often covering classes, support staff remain undervalued, with some earning less than supermarket workers — but GMB’s campaigning offers new hope, argues DONNA SPICER
NICK WRIGHT examines how Farage’s party has attracted five distinct voter tribes with incompatible views on economics, immigration and state intervention — presenting both a challenge and opportunity for left organising
Man-made canals like Panama and Suez face unprecedented challenges from extreme weather patterns and geopolitical tensions that reveal the fragility of our global trade networks, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
As climate change makes vast mineral deposits accessible, the island’s 56,000 residents face unprecedented pressure from Trump’s territorial ambitions while struggling to maintain their traditional way of life, writes JOHN GREEN
Student Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and threatened deportation are terrifying — but the moribund Democrats are still failing to mount any meaningful resistance against the slide toward autocracy, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
ALTHOUGH the decision has sparked a new round of debate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) welcomes the decision, for the second time, to grant planning permission to open the former Haig Colliery in Cumbria.
The controversy centres on the signal that this decision sends to the rest of the world about Britain’s commitment to combatting climate change by opening up a new coalmine while advocating that other countries close theirs — and of course, the actual carbon emissions the mine might produce.
There is no shortage of experts in the field of climate change who can back up their theories with statistical data on a specific issue such as this. While some have taken a politically green position against the mine in an ideological stance against climate change, others have taken a more practical approach.
More from this author
CHRIS KITCHEN, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, reminds us that the defining industrial battle of the last century isn’t over until there is full justice for Orgreave's victims — and for miners’ pensions
As well as our industrial strength, we need to build up reserves of class pride — and events like this festival are key, writes general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers CHRIS KITCHEN
Can coal be part of the solution to tackling climate change, asks CHRIS KITCHEN, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers
Ukrainian workers need support, writes National Union of Mineworkers general secretary CHRIS KITCHEN after a visit to the country
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