IAN LAVERY MP warns that decades of neoliberal policies have left former industrial communities behind — but a renewed Labour commitment to working people could change the political landscape
Keeping solidarity alive with the Virtual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival
NIGEL COSTLEY explains how this year’s virtual festival continues to shine a light on the power of unions
PAOLO SANTALUCIA reports on how an Italian region defies US pressure to end a Cuban doctors programme
HENRY FOWLER outlines the GFTU’s new 2026-27 education programme and argues that investing in trade union education is essential to building worker power, developing leaders and strengthening collective action
We need a government that invests in saving lives not destroying them, argues SOPHIE BOLT
More expensive by weight than gold, saffron is surprisingly simple to grow. MAT COWARD explains
The public inquiry is the result of more than a decade of determined campaigning. Now, those who fought for justice want the full story of government involvement and police conduct to be told, says KATE FLANNERY
The Durham Miners’ Gala is a celebration of working-class culture, but also a call to action — to rebuild workers’ collective strength, says KIM JOHNSON MP
WHEN the six poor Tolpuddle farm workers met to form a trade union in 1834, little did they know how their story of injustice would continue to resonate with modern-day workers around the world.
The tough lives of James Brine, James Hammett, George Loveless, George’s brother James Loveless, George’s brother in-law Thomas Standfield, and Thomas’s son John Standfield were all too common for the average agricultural worker. Rooted in grim poverty and deep inequality, they deserved much better.
So when they organised to prevent further pay cuts, they knew the landowner would resist.
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