The Labour leadership’s narrow definition of ‘working people’ leads to distorted and unjust Budget calculations, where the unearned income of the super-wealthy doesn’t factor in at all, argues JON TRICKETT MP
“THE rising of the people across Lebanon’s towns and cities over the past three days represents a very significant change in the character of Lebanese politics.” This was the assessment of Omar El Deeb, international secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party, interviewed at the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties in Izmir at the weekend.
On Thursday tens of thousands of working people gathered in the towns and cities of Lebanon to protest against government proposals to increase the tax on fuel, to raise VAT on all goods from 11 to 13 per cent and, for the first time, to impose a tax on the use of WhatsApp, the main means of communication for the poor.
The taxes are being imposed to meet the conditions imposed by the IMF and consortiums of banks from the European Union and the Gulf states for a new $13 billion loan to the heavily indebted Lebanese government.
We cannot refuse to abolish the unjustifiable two-child benefit cap that pushes children into poverty while finding billions of pounds for defence spending — the membership and the public expect better from Labour, writes JON TRICKETT MP
Following the resignation of Nepali Prime Minister KP Oli amid mass youth-driven protests, different narratives have circulated which simplify and misrepresent the complexities and reality on the ground in Nepal at the roots of this crisis, argue VIJAY PRASHAD and ATUL CHANDRA



