Remembering Ed Rooksby
Writer and academic Ed Rooksby passed away last week at the age of just 46. We republish one of his final in-depth interviews – and remember his contributions to socialist thought in Britain.
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Billy Anania
Billy Anania is an art critic, editor, and journalist in New York City.
To Fight Climate Change, Fight Capitalism
Commentators hail the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals as solutions to climate change – but as long as they shy away from challenging capitalism, they will never succeed.
The Rise and Fall of the French Left
France was once the heartland of socialism, but today its left is on the retreat and its far-right emboldened. The roots of this malaise lie in François Mitterrand’s turn from radical reform to neoliberal austerity in the 1980s.
We Can’t Let the Tories Get Away with Britain’s Covid Disaster
The UK government’s pandemic failings resulted in 120,000 deaths and greater economic damage than any other developed nation – but as they plan reopening, the media seems prepared to let them escape the blame.
The Council Tax Debt Crisis
An estimated 3.5 million people in the UK are in council tax arrears – more than half of them as a result of the pandemic. It’s the latest Covid economic fallout that threatens to widen inequality.
Manchester’s Fight for the City
The Court of Appeal has blocked a plan by Manchester City Council to build a 440-space car park on a site local activists are campaigning to turn into a green space – it could mark a turning point in the struggle for a city that works for all.
Public Enemy: Spain’s Persecution of Pablo Hasél
Last week, Spain imprisoned rapper Pablo Hasél for insulting the monarchy. It’s just the latest episode in a broad attack on progressive politics carried out by the country’s politicised right-wing judiciary.
The North Doesn’t Need More Thatcherism
A new report from Tory MPs and a right-wing think tank recommends deregulation to fix the North’s ills – but turning things over to the market has never solved the region’s problems.
Recovery Bonds Are Not the Answer
Labour’s recovery bonds are a retail offer masquerading as something radical – their real beneficiaries will be those with significant savings at a time when many can’t keep their heads above water.
The Holocaust on Film
A film adaptation of Jerzy Kosiński’s Holocaust book, ‘The Painted Bird,’ is a bracing but humane treatment of what ‘modern’ Europe descended into in the 1940s – and a reminder of what could happen again.
In Defence of Adam Curtis
The new series by Adam Curtis has elicited eye-rolling among many on the left – but despite its critics, ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ is the BBC filmmaker’s most radical work in years.
The 2017 Memory Hole
Centrist commentators damn the Left based on 2019’s election defeat, but the result under Corbyn in 2017 was Labour’s best in recent memory – and provides a far more replicable model today than the Tony Blair era.
Red Rover: Remembering Allan Roberts MP
To mark LGBT History Month, we remember Allan Roberts – a pioneering gay Labour MP who shrugged off media slander about his personal life to become one of the most effective socialist politicians of his generation.
How the Diaspora in Britain Is Fighting for India’s Farmers
Britain’s government is staunchly refusing to comment on India’s farmer protests and Modi’s brutal crackdown – but British Asian communities are organising and speaking out in its place.
Today’s Uber Ruling Is a Victory for Workers
In a blow to gig economy profiteers, today’s Supreme Court ruling states that Uber drivers are entitled to minimum wage and paid holidays. It’s a victory for workers – and everyone who supports decent working conditions.
Israel’s Vaccine Apartheid
While Israel rolls out Covid vaccines at world-beating speed, Palestinians are forced to wait. This is not an aberration – but the reality of parallel worlds enforced by a decades-long occupation.
The Unbearable Lightness of Keir
Keir Starmer’s decision to abandon the transformative economic policies of the Corbyn era is not just disappointing for the Left – it leaves Labour completely unprepared for the social crises we face.
Capitalism Won’t Give Us the Development We Need
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals aim to drastically reduce poverty, gender inequality and environmental degradation in the next 10 years – but without challenging capitalism, it’s all just a pipe dream.
Starmer’s Speech Failed, Even On Its Own Terms
Keir Starmer’s speech today was an opportunity to present a bold alternative to growing inequality under the Tories – it failed spectacularly.
Napier Barracks is the Embodiment of the Right’s Scare Tactics
Britain’s ‘first modern-day refugee camp’ at Napier Barracks is under investigation after a fire – but the right-wing hate campaign against migrants means that punitive detention isn’t going away anytime soon.