In the third in our series on local responses to Covid-19, ANNE-MARIE GRAHAM reports from West Yorkshire where community groups are adapting fast to meet the needs of vulnerable people....
The NHS and UK media in the time of Covid-19
Media footage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak clapping for NHS workers on 26 March has become an iconic image of Britain in the time of Covid-19. But, as HANNAH HAMAD points out, the Tories have been attacking and eroding the NHS with damaging policy reform and legislation for decades....
Coronavirus: On the Ground in Croydon
In the first of a series of despatches from ILPers and friends around the country, SEAN CREIGHTON reports from Croydon where a network of mutual aid groups, willing individuals and the local authority are working hard to support the community....
Coronavirus: Stumbling into Crisis
Unprepared, indecisive and out of step with much of the world, the British government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is a result of its flawed ideology, argues DAVID CONNOLLY. We can only hope the crisis creates new space for a radically different politics....
The (Neoliberal) State We’re In
With the general election less than two weeks away, BARRY WINTER provides a snapshot of the appalling state of our society after 10 years of Conservative cuts. It’s time for change....
Debating the Future of Public Ownership
“Public ownership used to be out in the wilderness; now it’s all the rage,” claims the publicity for an event organised by the Independent Working Class Education Network to debate the future shape of the public sector....
Corbyn Promises Public Ownership with Democratic Control
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has promised to put “21st century public ownership” at the heart of a radically new economy if his party wins power at the next general election....
NHS in Crisis: Day of Protest
Health Campaigns Together and The People’s Assembly have called a Day of Protest on Saturday 3 February in response to the worsening crisis in the National Health Service. ...
‘Common Sense’ and Benefit Sanctions
In an extensive discussion paper, Unite Community member GERRY LAVERY considers how Antonio Gramsci’s ideas could help challenge popular attitudes towards benefit claimants and the fight to end government sanctions. Here, he provides a brief introduction....
Unbalanced Britain: Education and Inequality
MELISSA BENN examines the continuing inequalities in our education system, and the failures of recent governments to close the gaps. What could Labour do to promote an alternative vision? Despite endless policy initiatives, exhaustive reforms and official obeisance to the questionable aim of ‘social mobility’, our education system still has yawning gaps in outcomes between...
Re-balancing Education: The Democratic Deficit
VICKY SEDDON attended the ILP’s Unbalanced Britain conference on education last month. Here, she argues that any future progressive reforms must include changes to our structures of democracy and control. The ILP hosted a very interesting discussion on 4 March in Sheffield. Melissa Benn was informative, strategic and focussed; Julie Thorpe was interesting and thought-provoking...
Unbalanced Britain: Education, Inequality & Labour’s Response
Labour and co-operative responses to the crisis in the education system is the subject of the ILP’s next Unbalanced Britain meeting in Sheffield on Saturday 4 March. With speakers Melissa Benn and Julie Thorpe, the seminar will examine how changes to the education system have increased inequality and widened the gap between the privileged few...