Farming: Support withdrawn
The government has closed a key farming support scheme without notice. On 11 March it announced that the Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme (SFI) was immediately closed to new applications.
News/Views
Shaking the NHS - what next? [print version]
In March the government began a shake-up of the NHS, abolishing NHS England (NHSE). Although that was welcomed, medical professionals and trade unions warned against repeating mistakes of the past.
Get asbestos out of schools! [print version]
On 4 April an impressive meeting was held in Hamilton House, north London, to build a campaign to remove all asbestos from schools. Appropriately, it was held during Global Asbestos Awareness Week. The aim is to press government to take corrective action urgently.
Conscription won’t help defend Britain
4 April 2025
The idea of conscription keeps returning. The ruling class wants to make the idea acceptable. The defence of Britain is a far wider matter and workers need to ask questions about that.
Blast furnaces shut down
4 April 2025
The closure of the last two steel blast furnaces in Britain happened at the end of March. This is a disastrous development for British industry and all workers given the fundamental importance of steel.
Fight for pay and funding in schools
26 February 2025
NEU members are taking part in a preliminary ballot to ask if they will strike over pay and funding. The union is challenging a below inflation rise in English schools, with no increased funding.
Reject the damaging productivity myth
Too often discussion about productivity in Britain is about British workers not working hard enough. But increases in productivity stem from investment, in new plant and machinery and workers’ education and skills.
Capitalism cannot be regulated – only destroyed
In the last issue we looked at the background to how regulation operates. Here, we examine not just whether Britain is being held back by too much regulation, but also whether capitalist monopolies can ever be regulated.
Costs and delays – the impacts of Grenfell
Part One of our investigation into the far-reaching consequences of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Nearly eight years after the fire, residents across Britain are still suffering in unsafe buildings and the survivors wait for justice.
Cass: a materialist approach to healthcare
The Cass Review into the care of young people questioning their gender identity represents a triumph of a materialist, evidence-based approach over zealotry and dogma.
Industry matters to British workers
Britain, its workers and industry are intimately connected. But a future for both nation and class depends on getting a grip on the undermining of industry.
Who controls the data centres?
Data centres are an interesting case – a fairly recent development, certainly at scale. They control and support large sectors of the economy.