TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
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‘Peterloo for the EU’? Really?
Socialist historian KEITH FLETT is unconvinced by film maker Mike Leigh’s assertion that the Perterloo marchers would have been anti-Brexit
DOUG NICHOLLS welcomes a turning point at this year’s Congress, where many motions call for a co-ordinated plan to revive British industry, a perspective outlined in his new book
HOPE VIRGO of campaign Dump the Scales warns MPs voting today they should be alert to the threat legalised assisted death poses to people with eating disorders
The Together Alliance is hosting two summits, North and South, to build power and plan action against the scourge of racism peddled by the right. DANIEL KEBEDE urges mass participation
The drift toward militarisation in Europe is not inevitable, left-wing and peace movements can preserve sovereignty and prevent war, says DÁIRE HUGHES MP
Whatever differences exist among international sympathisers of the Bolivarian revolution about its current trajectory, they should unite against the imperialist power that is the source of an enforced retreat, argues ROGER D HARRIS
Trade unions need to step up and force a turn in the policies of the labour movement to effectively confront the far-right threat, argues NICK WRIGHT
MIKE LEIGH has made an excellent film about Peterloo — but linking the sentiments of the crowd on that August day 200 years ago with views on Brexit needs to be done with care, if, that is, it can be done at all.
This is what Leigh tried to do in a recent Guardian article however. He wrote that “Brexit is the epitome of democracy under threat” — to which some might reasonably respond that this equally applies to Remainiacs who wont accept the democratic result of the EU referendum under any circumstances.
It does suggest perhaps that Leigh’s grasp of how to make a great film is rather greater than his knowledge of history and particularly how historical events might weigh on the present.
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