With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
When Labour chose austerity: the 1976 IMF crisis
Facing economic turmoil, Jim Callaghan’s government rejected Tony Benn’s alternative economic strategy in favour of cuts that paved the way for Thatcherism — and the cuts-loving Labour of the present era, writes KEITH FLETT

IN 1973 there was a military coup against a democratically elected left-wing government in Chile. It was a bloody and vicious affair (on the part of the army and its US backers) but is probably not the preferred instrument of the ruling order for regime change or, perhaps more accurately, regime changes.
Sometimes there are people who have to go or be moved to “keep the markets happy.” It happened to Tony Benn in 1975 after Labour was elected twice in 1974, February and October.
But more often it’s about policy changes. What it meant for Britain in 1976 is largely a matter of historical record and memoirs now.
More from this author
From bemoaning London’s ‘cockneys’ invading seaside towns to negotiating holiday rents, the founders of scientific socialism maintained a wry detachment from Victorian Easter customs while using the break for health and politics, writes KEITH FLETT

From bemoaning London’s ‘cockneys’ invading seaside towns to negotiating holiday rents, the founders of scientific socialism maintained a wry detachment from Victorian Easter customs while using the break for health and politics, writes KEITH FLETT

Starmer’s slash-and-burn approach to disability benefits represents a fundamental break with Labour’s founding mission to challenge the idle rich rather than punish the vulnerable poor, argues KEITH FLETT

The formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 marked the beginning of interconnected and contested strategies — parliamentary and industrial — seeking ways to advance working-class interests, writes KEITH FLETT