Glenn Greenwald writing in the Guardian earlier this week argued that upon their demise public figures are due a frank, rather than a respectful assessment. The ‘death etiquette’ which means we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, should not apply to public figures. The demand for ‘respectful silence’ is politically irresponsible. During Margaret Thatcher’s time...
The Tories’ Poisoned Apple, mark 2
Just like the YTS and the New Deal, the government’s mandatory work programme will cost billions and fail to work, argues ERNIE JACQUES. ...
Poverty Knocks
ERNIE JACQUES looks at the implications of a recent appeal court ruling on the case of two jobseekers denied benefits for refusing unpaid work....
Academies and Lies
The tale of a north London primary school which resisted Michael Gove’s forced academy programme has been captured in a powerful new documentary. MATTHEW BROWN reports. In September 2011, pupils and teachers returned to Downhills Primary in Haringey, north London, for the start of a new school year full of hope and optimism about...
Unfair benefit changes causing poverty and anxiety
Britons are living in fear of deepening poverty as a result of the government’s attack on the benefits system, a new poll reveals today (Monday 11 February)....
The Goose and the Commons
The law locks up the man or woman / Who steals the goose from off the common / But leaves the greater villain loose / Who steals the common from off the goose…...
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....
‘Plebs’ on the march
The self-declared ‘plebs’ were out in force on Saturday at the TUC’s march against austerity in London, while thousands more were on the streets of Glasgow and Belfast to voice their anger at the coalition government. ‘Plebs Unite’ read one placard. ‘Proud Loud Educated Broke’ said another. ‘I’d rather be a pleb than a toff’...
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....
Present prospects, future hope
“We meet on a weekend of elections,” said ILP chair David Connolly as ILPers and friends gathered in Scarborough on 5/6 May for the organisation’s annual weekend school of political debate and discussion....
Writing the Con: Housing and the Big Society
A big society can't be a good society unless it's underpinned by decent housing, according to Labour MP Karen Buck. MATTHEW BROWN reports on the launch of two new Chartist pamphlets....
Housing and the Big Society
The ILP is supporting a public meeting in London to launch two new pamphlets from Chartist, the magazine for democratic socialism, on housing and the Big Society....