In these uncertain times, trade unions are a vital counterbalance to capital, says CHRIS WILSON. So why is union membership on the decline, and could the little known World Organisation of Workers point the way forward?...
Articles
Labour in Government: We Need Hope, Not Hardline Policies
MARY STRATFORD is baffled and angry at the increasingly worrying course being charted by our Labour government. We need a rethink, she says, before things become truly terrifying....
Labour in Government: Making Sense of the Energy Muddle
Labour’s net zero election promise was one of the boldest aspects of its manifesto. Eight months in, MJ DENISON takes stock of the government’s difficult dilemmas and warns against a rushed transition to clean power....
The Night the Lights Were Lit
The United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Co-operatives. DAVID J THOMPSON marks the milestone with a celebration of the movement’s unlikely birth in a small northern English town 180 years ago....
Electoral Reform: An Alternative that Avoids the PR Pitfalls
The Westminster electoral system is deeply flawed but PR is full of risks for the progressive left, says CHRIS WILSON. Could AV be the answer?...
Why We Still Need the ILP
The ILP has maintained a singular vision throughout Labour’s history, argues CHRIS WILSON. Born more than 130 years ago, its political ethos is needed now as much as ever....
A Novel Account of the Left’s Long Struggle
MATTHEW BROWN reviews two recent books on the early Labour movement – a hefty historical novel focused on the ILP; and a slim pamphlet on the 1924 government....
Faith, Politics & Belonging
CHRIS WILSON reviews a new collection of essays that aims to put Christianity at the heart of left politics, but fails to offer a coherent vision of a democratic socialist future....
Labour in Government: Workers’ Rights & Union Reform
The election of a new Labour government raises hopes that the scales between labour and capital will begin to be re-balanced. JOHN CUNNISON assesses the evidence so far....
Radicals Remembered: Sheffield History from Below
The Sheffield-based co-operative resource centre, Principle 5, has published the sixth title in its series of pamphlets unearthing forgotten writings, writers and radical groups from the South Yorkshire city and its surroundings....
Labour in Government: Health Reform & the Darzi Report
The new Labour government has already made some progress in reforming the health system but there is much more to do, says KEITH VENABLES....
Labour in Government: Lords Reform & Remaining Wrongs
The government’s Bill to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords is a welcome start on constitutional change, says CHRIS WILSON. But much more is needed for the UK to be a truly modern democracy....