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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No public ownership please, we're Labour
Labour has turned its back on nationalisation just as Johnson’s Tories are being forced to nationalise failing privately run pubic services, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
Rachel Reeves (left) and Keir Starmer have disavowed public ownership
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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KEIR STARMER suddenly announced he was abandoning nationalising energy companies on the Andrew Marr show during the Labour conference — he forced Labour to U-turn without any preparation or discussion.
This week, the Times had a long interview with Rachel Reeves where they reminded the shadow chancellor about Labour’s previous plans to nationalise rail and water. According to the Times, Reeves said, laughing, “We’re definitely not going to talk about that.” So a wider retreat from nationalisation seems to be happening — and it’s all a bit of a laugh.
Just as Labour become too timid to talk about nationalisation, fearing it will make the CBI sad, or they won’t be able to stand up to “how will you pay for it” arguments, Johnson’s Tories are busy nationalising away.
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