The ‘left’: fear and loathing of workers
16 January 2021
This useful book analyses and criticises the anti-working class attitudes of all too many in the labour movement.
British Gas: no to fire and rehire
12 January 2021
British Gas engineers were on strike for 5 days in defence of their pay and conditions. More action will follow unless the company withdraws the threat of firing and rehiring workers on worse conditions.
Brexit dividend as government consults on gene editing
10 January 2021
Taking advantage of Brexit, the government has launched a consultation on whether to change the law on genetically modified organisms to allow companies and researchers to use gene editing more freely.
Call to double medical school places
10 January 2021
The Royal College of Physicians has set out plans to double the number of medical school places, planning for Britain’s needs for the next ten years and beyond.
Barnoldswick strike yields 'landmark deal'
10 January 2021
Nine weeks of strike action at the Rolls-Royce factory in Barnoldswick have been suspended as the workforce considered what their union calls a “landmark deal” to secure the future of the site.
Society and the Sun
7 January 2021
Steve Jones’ most recent and excellent book, Here Comes the Sun, uses Karl Marx as a starting point for useful digressions on the relationship between the power behind the solar system and the political economy of our planet.
Cargo handlers strike at Heathrow
29 December 2020
Cargo workers belonging to the Unite union began a nine-day strike on Christmas Day in a dispute with employer BA over its attempts to use fire and rehire tactics to impose new deep cuts in pay and conditions.
Slashed investment threatens switch to rail freight
29 December 2020
The rail freight sector’s slow recovery during the summer from the impact of Covid-19 has prompted calls for a national programme of investment in freight infrastructure.
The choice is yours
27 December 2020
After the trade agreement with the EU, the challenge now for workers is to take responsibility for the future.
Facing up to Britain’s logistics challenge
The overwhelming reliance on road transport to keep the country functioning is a growing problem – for health, for the environment, and not least for passenger transport…
Agriculture unchained
New developments in agricultural policy give some idea of our potential future as a sovereign nation…
A nation for tourism
Visitors from abroad recognise Britain as one nation – something tour operators are well aware of…
The arts in a time of coronavirus
While a significant minority in the cultural industries cried (literally) over their imagined loss through Brexit, coronavirus succeeded in uniting the country around a cause all corners of Britain could agree on: survival…
New money for energy, new commitment
The government’s latest announcement on energy policy is full of positive signs, with a welcome wish to use government procurement to boost jobs and investment here. But workers will want more than promises…
Devolving health: it doesn’t make sense
For Britain to persist with devolved health services is a nonsense – economies of scale are being lost and during the current health crisis efforts are being dissipated. A look at Scotland indicates the scale of the problem…
The fight for a future
One battle ends, but the war goes on. With the end of British involvement in the EU comes a new beginning – the fight for real independence…
Free to protect the environment
In this original and exciting book, Ben Pontin argues that independence presents us with a real opportunity for environmental protection in Britain…
Friedrich Engels, born 1820
Born 200 years ago, Friedrich Engels played a great part in the working class movement in the 19th century, particularly in Britain…
Boost for shipbuilding
The government announced an increase in defence spending in the House of Commons on 19 November 2020
Fisheries - More powers for Navy
The Royal Navy is preparing to protect Britain’s fishing waters in the event of a no-deal Brexit by deploying four patrol ships, according to news reports.
BT staff yes to action vote
Communications Workers Union BT Group membership responded to a consultative ballot on industrial action in defence of job security and terms and conditions with a huge 97.9 per cent yes vote.
SNP ferries fiasco
Ageing ferry ships that have provided life-line services to dozens of islands around the coasts of Scotland should have been replaced in 2018...
Brexit - The chips are down
Britain is not the only country whose agriculture has been distorted by the EU...
Electric Cars - Cornish promise
In a big boost for electric vehicle battery production in Britain, mining exploration company Cornish Lithium announced significant investment...
Covid-19 - Normal Service
Hardly any libraries in the whole of Britain’s higher education system maintained their usual services through the fraught 2020 autumn term.
Now for real control
Whatever the restrictions and disruption – and these words are being written before the outcome of negotiations with the EU is clear – Britain can and must now chart its own future in the world. This is a pivotal moment.
Rolls-Royce comes back for more redundancies
4 December 2020
Aerospace workers at Barnoldswick, Lancashire, who have been striking in defence of jobs, have been further hit by further proposed job losses by employer Rolls-Royce.
HS2: Two projects in one
1 December 2020
So much of the coverage of the HS2 project has focused on passenger journey times that the true scope of the project has almost been obscured from public view.
Covid-19: Lessons from Liverpool
1 December 2020
The news that Liverpool is to enter Tier 2 when the current restrictions end this week is a challenge to the government’s default top-down, we-know-what’s-best-for-you approach to dealing with the pandemic.
Pledge to rebuild British shipbuilding
28 November 2020
The government is promising that increased defence spending will help revive British shipbuilding. People will be demanding that it does.