ERNIE JACQUES looks at the implications of a recent appeal court ruling on the case of two jobseekers denied benefits for refusing unpaid work....
Handle with Care
The Co-operative Party is increasingly enthusiastic about co-operative councils. But it lacks a coherent philosophy and rationale for its position. We need to be cautious, argues JOHN HALSTEAD. ...
On ‘The Common Table’
BARRY WINTER argues that a recent article by Jon Cruddas and Jonathan Rutherford, two men at the heart of Labour’s policy review, is the most imaginative line of thinking for the left and the party we have seen for more than a generation. ...
Abuse is No Solution
I would like to draw your attention to a letter in the Independent on Sunday on 3 February about the Gerald Scarfe cartoon published in the Sunday Times the previous weekend....
Are Co-operative Schools the Answer?
MERVYN WILSON argues that increasingly popular co-operative schools provide a democratic, community-based alternative to Michael Gove’s attack on state education....
Make the Living Wage Compulsory
The campaign for a living wage is now supported by the TUC and the Labour Party, plus many universities, some local authorities, and some businesses and charitable organisations. It is long overdue, says ERNIE JACQUES, but to have a real impact a living wage must be compulsory....
Radical Regionalism or a Retreat to the Heartlands?
DAVID CONNOLLY is unconvinced by the central argument of Paul Salveson’s Socialism with a Northern Accent....
Is a better capitalism possible?
Will Hutton has been delivering a series of well-attended lectures on developing a ‘good capitalism’ out of the crisis of ‘bad capitalism’. BARRY WINTER summarises a lecture Hutton gave in Manchester, and comments on what Hutton is saying....
Key Questions Facing Co-op Leaders
As Cameron woos the co-op movement, JACK STREET asks if the co-op ideal is being hijacked to help privatise the state....
Turbulent Times and the Politics of Interdependence
In the 18th century the US produced a Declaration of Independence. Today we need to declare our interdependence, says BARRY WINTER, and this should be a guiding feature of the world we live in....
Kicking the dog
A real movement for social change must have real democracy, co-operation and mutuals at its heart, says EDGAR PARNELL...