Reform’s rise speaks to a deep crisis in Establishment parties – but relies on appealing to social and economic grievances the left should make its own, argues NICK WRIGHT
Reviving the real economy
DOUG NICHOLLS argues that the real economy is reviving as the sleeping giant of politics is waking up
This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH
A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The FBU is demanding 52 weeks of full pay for women firefighters, highlighting the unique health risks they face — and the continuing need to recruit and retain more women if policies like this are still not in place, writes SEONA HART
Israel continues to operate with impunity in what seems to be a brutal and protracted experiment, while much of the world looks on, says RAMZY BAROUD
A new report by Amnesty International pulls no punches in highlighting the Labour government’s human rights violations of those on benefits, says Dr DYLAN MURPHY
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
THE key economic indicators that trade unionists used to consider closely were the balance of trade deficit, the value of the pound, manufacturing production output, research and development (R&D) investment and unemployment levels.
Together these reflected the political health of the country to the extent that production was primary and that capital, until 1979 legally restricted in its movements, was being reinvested to regenerate the wealth-creating base.
As the country got further and further embroiled into the EU machine, with its free movement of capital, privatisation and neoliberal economics, the shift from the real economy of industrial production to the virtual reality of financial speculation also led to a shift away from discussing the most revealing economic indicators.
More from this author
DOUG NICHOLLS argues that to promote the aspirations for peace and socialism that defeated the Nazis 80 years ago we must today detach ourselves from the United States and assert the importance of national self-determination and peaceful coexistence
Similar stories
The US president’s universal tariffs mirror the disastrous Smoot-Hawley Act that triggered retaliatory measures, collapsed international trade, fuelled political extremism — and led to world war, warns Dr DYLAN MURPHY
The EU and Nato are umbilically tied – but what will the new Trump era and a reconfiguration of US interests mean for the war in Ukraine, asks VINCE MILLS
Experts warn not to overplay the risk of wage growth to inflation
Where is the political programme for a plausible project of renewing Britain through public investment, asks WILL PODMORE