Preferable to Starmer he may be, but there is scant sign of a sharp political break in Burnham’s policies so far — while left challenges aren’t making much of a running either, finds ANDREW MURRAY. How can socialism be put back on the map?
Latest editorial
Fixing social security in the aftermath of Covid-19: why the UC £20 uplift is not enough
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the flaws and inadequacies of the benefit system and its unacceptably low payment rates, writes ANITA BELLOWS
CHARLEY ALLAN reports from Clacton on Farage’s fears his by-election stunt has backfired
JEREMY CORBYN says we should never forget the horrific reality of nuclear weapons, or cease our efforts to rid the planet of them entirely
The new TUC Cymru general secretary speaks to Morning Star Wales reporter David Nicholson about her trade union background and ambitions for the movement
Internationalism is deeply embedded in socialist theory and practice. Examination illuminates its complexity asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School
The Claudia Sheinbaum government is no pushover and is holding firm despite US abuses of the relationship, says DAVID RABY
As we approach the grim anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, SIMON BARROW sounds the alarm over the dangerous and murderous direction our government is heading
WHILE ministers have hailed Universal Credit (UC) as a success for not buckling under the unprecedented number of claimants made redundant, to make this work the DWP had to introduce a series of measures stripping UC of some of its core components such as conditionality and injecting more flexibility and generosity into the system.
This implicitly acknowledged that benefits are too low, too complex to claim and are not received in a timely manner: the UC £20 uplift, suspending the Minimum Income Floor, increasing the Local Housing Allowance Rate, expediting payments etc.
This uplift has been described as a lifeline by claimants, DPOs, charities and other organisations, but while the government is now considering withdrawing it, it has also been shown to be widely insufficient to cover the living costs borne by claimants.
According to the Resolution Foundation, of the more than three million additional claimants since last March, 31 per cent had either taken out new loans or seen their existing debts increase and 61 per cent cent expected to struggle or to fall behind on their bills in the coming three months — around double the national average.
Similar stories
DYLAN MURPHY reports that far from helping people back into work, the sanctions regime is inflicting unnecessary trauma on working-class families
Labour will find increases in the state pension age are unacceptable, just as cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, personal independence payments and universal credit are — it needs to change direction immediately, writes PCS general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE
A new report from the Citizens Advice destroys the government narrative about disabled people ‘choosing’ not to work, showing the £3,000 annual cuts will create a two-tiered system based on claim dates rather than needs, writes DYLAN MURPHY
Artists should not be consigned to a life of precarious working – they deserve dignity and proper workers’ rights, argues ZITA HOLBOURNE