Gloucestershire’s phlebotomists have brought their historic strike to a close after almost a year of action, leaving a legacy of determination – and a clear lesson about the power of solidarity in the face of anti-union laws and austerity, says FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
A YOUNG and stylish woman friend of mine, and incidentally a fan of my weekly Ramblings, was telling me about what she is doing personally to reduce the effect of climate change. She has adopted a fully vegan diet and doesn’t buy any new clothes at all except for knickers.
She buys all her clothes from Charity shops like Oxfam: “Oxfam are particularly good and also have a website where you can buy quite stylish items by mail order.”
She explained why charity shop purchases are so much part of her political thinking: “The fashion industry is a disaster. Fast fashion focuses on speed and low costs in order to deliver frequent new collections inspired by catwalk looks or celebrity styles.
From summit to summit, imperialist companies and governments cut, delay or water down their commitments, warn the Communist Parties of Britain, France, Portugal and Spain and the Workers Party of Belgium in a joint statement on Cop30
The West’s dangerous pesticide dumping in Africa is threatening biodiversity, population health and food sovereignty, argues ROGER McKENZIE
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results



