Durham is known worldwide for its 900-year-old cathedral. But there is another historic building in the north-east city that holds a special place in the hearts of local people, one being reborn as a hub of heritage and hope for the county’s stricken communities. MARY STRATFORD explains....
A new book on Durham Coalfield communities is a timely testament to working class resilience, says MARY HULL, bringing together evocative tales of ‘marras’, meetings, strikes and marches as well as banners, brass bands and allotments. ...
Our friend and comrade Barry Winter, former ILP secretary and editor, has died at the age of 80. NEIL RHODES remembers a teacher, writer and thinker who embodied the organisation’s commitment to political honesty and unwavering humanity....
As a church minister, CHRIS WILSON at least knows “the boss” is OK, although “the middle management can be a real problem”. Clergy need trade unions as much as any other workers, he says....
After a week of parliamentary rebellion and government chaos, ERNIE JACQUES assesses the outcome and impact of Labour’s ‘crazy’ welfare proposals....
The success of Sheffield Renewables has shown how attitudes to energy policy can be changed with local engagement and a co-operative business model that offers much more than profit. DAVE BERRY explains....
Sick of waiting for free markets and trickle-down economics to make us all better off, ERNIE JACQUES looks for hope in the legacy of a northern factory owner and philanthropist whose social reforms inspired the welfare state. ...
CHRIS WILSON issues a clarion call for a modern movement for change based on the best traditions of the past....
GRAHAM TAYLOR traces the birth, growth and continuing struggles of Quakerism’s ‘extreme left’ and its ethical ideas....
CHRIS WILSON takes issue with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s claim that there is no alternative to benefit cuts. A tax on wealth is not only possible, he says, but widely supported....
MARIA GOULDING reviews Samantha Harvey’s prize winning Orbital, a novel that casts a distant eye on humanity’s smash and grab impact on planet Earth, a book of rare lyrical beauty and profound sadness that may just be what we need in these turbulent times....
The prime minister’s decision to cut international development aid to pay for increased defence spending is not only short sighted, says WILLIAM BROWN, it trashes the party’s proud record....