From London’s holly-sellers to Engels’s flaming Christmas centrepiece, the plum pudding was more than festive fare in Victorian Britain, says KEITH FLETT
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On Workers’ Memorial Day, we stand with NHS workers
Denigration of health workers harms the NHS. Their dedication and hard work during the pandemic deserves fair reward, writes HELEN O’CONNOR
Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
From a lockdown digital project to a vital tool for class solidarity, ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER reflect on half-a-decade of struggle
After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
ON Workers’ Memorial Day it is important to reflect on and acknowledge the enormous contribution NHS workers have made during the pandemic.
So many lives have been saved by NHS staff at the expense of their own health and wellbeing and there can be little doubt the death toll would be far higher but for their efforts.
Failures at all levels during the pandemic have contributed to almost 1,000 NHS staff dying across all sections of the workforce.
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We need a massive change in direction to renew a crumbling health service — that’s why Plaid Cymru has an ambitious plan to recentre primary care by recruiting 500 additional GPs and opening six new elective care hubs across Wales, writes MABON AP GWYNFOR
With 121,000 vacancies and 44.8% of staff feeling unwell from work stress, the NHS 10-year plan will not succeed unless the government takes immediate action to retain existing staff, writes ANNETTE MANSELL-GREEN
MATT WRACK issues a clarion call for a rejuvenation of public services for the sake of our communities and our young people
