The election of a new Labour government raises hopes that the scales between labour and capital will begin to be re-balanced. JOHN CUNNISON assesses the evidence so far. The Starmer government’s packed programme of bills certainly gives the impression that this is an administration with a sense of purpose. But we need to look carefully...
The Case for Co-operation
The left needs an economic re-set, a more radical aspiration of empowerment, says CHRIS WILSON. Can co-operatives help put the ‘social’ back into socialism?...
A Time of Struggle: Memories of the Miners’ Strike 40 Years On
For KATH CONNOLLY, Robert Gildea’s oral history of the year-long dispute is a much-needed bottom-up record that finally highlights the experiences of those most affected – the miners, their families and their communities....
Back to the Future: Trade Unions in the 21st Century
Despite years of austerity and workplace exploitation, across the economy as a whole most workers are still not trade union members. CHRIS WILSON wonders why and suggests ways to halt the decline....
Christian Socialism: Out There & Active
CHRIS WILSON surveys today’s exponents of an old left tradition still helping to promote the importance of ethical values in driving progressive change....
A Legacy for the Future: The Case for Christian Socialism
If progressive politics is not ethical, how will it ever be attractive, asks CHRIS WILSON, for whom the Christian socialist tradition provides both inspiration and hope....
ILP Profiles: Septimus Sweetman – East London’s ‘Eclectic Believer’
Digging through family history, RAYMOND SWEETMAN uncovered the story of his great uncle – an ILP pioneer and ‘middle ranking’ socialist whose long-lost tale deserves to be told....
Labour, Northern Ireland & the Right to Stand
Northern Ireland is changing, argues GERARD GALLAGHER, and it’s time for Labour to allow the region’s growing and increasingly relevant party to field its own candidates....
Stand With Ukraine
The Ukraine Solidarity Campaign has issued a statement of labour movement solidarity to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022....
ILP@130: A Festival of Hope
Founded in Bradford on 13 January 1893, the ILP marked its 130th anniversary this month when 130 socialists, activists and community workers came together ‘to create a positive collective vision of what a society that works for everyone might look like’. MARY STRATFORD reports. ...
Tales From the Tracks
PAUL SALVESON’s latest book is a collection of short railway stories set in northern England featuring unions, strikes, ILPers … and signalbox ghosts....
Can Labour Remain the Party of Labour?
VINCE MILLS marks the 90th anniversary of the Independent Labour Party’s disaffiliation from the Labour Party in July 1932 by calling for the current Labour left to stick with the party and not add to the long list of failed attempts to build a socialist alternative....