Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The cat is finally out of the bag
Tory-in-disguise Lord Warner has confirmed what campaigners knew all along - the plan to end our NHS as a service free at the point of use
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
So now we know the latest steps being proposed to make the NHS into a full-blown private health service, just like it was before 1948.
The various steps to achieve this supreme goal of the private marketeers have been prepared right from the start with great care.
First, Tony Blair encouraged and then pressured NHS hospitals to become foundation trust hospitals, with more independence and financial self-reliance - the first nudge towards becoming self-standing suppliers within a competitive market.
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In the second part of her critique of Wes Streeting’s TenYear Plan for Health, HELEN MERCER looks at the central planks of this privatisation blueprint
Politicians who continue to welcome contracts with US companies without considering the risks and consequences of total dependency in the years to come are undermining the raison d’etre of the NHS, argues Dr JOHN PUNTIS
MATT WRACK issues a clarion call for a rejuvenation of public services for the sake of our communities and our young people
Almost half of universities face deficits, merger mania is taking hold, and massive fee hikes that will lock out working-class students are on the horizon, write RUBEN BRETT, PAUL WHITEHOUSE and DAN GRACE