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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Into the archives: Tony Benn on the true power of democracy
As Britain celebrates May Day, the Star republishes an interview with workers’ champion Tony Benn which first appeared in the paper on October 24 2003
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
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
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
“It’s going to be one hell of a struggle,” says Benn. “The national liberation struggle that we’re involved in.
“It is a struggle against international and US imperialism and international capitalism. It’s on the scale of the task which faced the Tolpuddle Martyrs. It is about the right to govern ourselves.”
By way of example, Benn asks: “How can it be, as it is under EU rules, illegal for us to elect a government that reverses privatisation?”
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