Blog

Is Banning Left Protest the New Normal?

A few weeks before Palestine Action was proscribed in Britain, anti-fascist French organisation Jeune Garde suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Macron government. Is Europe’s extreme centre trying to eradicate left activism?

What Next for Palestine Action?

Since the government’s proscription of Palestine Action earlier this month, dozens of protestors have been arrested for expressing support for the group. Will their upcoming High Court case be a victory for genuine free speech or unbending authoritarianism?

Acid Japonisme

Visionary Japanese sci-fi author Izumi Suzuki anticipated our present malaise decades ago, in writing that combines melancholy for the failure of sixties radicalism with scepticism about a world of ubiquitous screens.

DMG 2025: Communism in the Coalfields

As socialists from all over the world prepare to attend the 139th Durham Miners’ Gala, we explore the story of the event's iconic banners, which celebrate our historic solidarity and continuing hope in the face of oppression and hatred.

DMG 2025: A New Career in a New Town

It is now several decades since the collapse of the British coal industry. But in Peterlee — a ‘left behind’ former mining town in County Durham — utopian dreams are being revived through a combination of grassroots creativity and public funding.

DMG 2025: Birthplace of the Working Class

In the first of a series of pieces leading up to Saturday’s Durham Miners’ Gala, we examine a forgotten corner of County Durham with a strong claim to be the one of the global birthplaces of the industrial proletariat.

McSweeney’s Death Rattle

In a media landscape where nuanced political breakthroughs are often credited to ‘genius Svengalis’, spin doctor Morgan McSweeney has become the crown prince of Starmerism. But now his fragile empire is crumbling.

Palestine Action’s ‘Form of Love’

As the Labour government criminalises Palestine Action under anti-terror laws, impromptu screenings of a new documentary about the group’s relentless campaign against the arms industry have spotlighted widespread public support for their cause.

We Must Defend the Hillsborough Law

The last Labour manifesto pledged to pass the Hillsborough Law, ensuring justice for the Liverpool fans who died in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, but now the government is considering a watered down replacement. We can't let that happen.