In the wake of Ann Widdecombe’s murder, JOHN GREEN wonders whether the government will really get to grips with the root cause of these attacks on our MPs
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Last orders at the Leopard: the end of the pub?
The remarkable history of a Stoke pub, which played a role in the industrial revolution and the early days of the labour movement, has ended with an unremarkable fate: what will become of our traditional social spaces, asks NICK MATTHEWS
Just as the events of 1842 outside the Leopard are a story of those times, today’s story of the Leopard is a story of our times. The owners of 10 years who had tried and struggled to make it pay as a pub handed back the keys. Then the Grade II listed building was bought by property developers and its descent began.
Despite the screeching from the right-wing media, Burnham’s speech chimed with the public mood - and socialists should take advantage, says Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO
Nature as well as society works dialectically, asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School
Rising temperatures and human activity are making life far harder for these vital pollinators. ALEX DITTRICH explains
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners co-founder MIKE JACKSON talks to Matt Kerr about the enduring power of Pride, protest and trade unionism
Behind the language of military strategy is a confrontation that risks drawing the wider Middle East into war, says STEVE BISHOP
IF YOU were to write the story of the role of the pub in our history, it would run into many volumes. The pub has played a crucial role in our politics, economics and our culture. I must admit, for me this is personal, some of my most important cultural experiences have been in pubs.
As a jazz and folk fan there’s nothing more sublime than a good gig over a pint, or as satisfying after a political meeting as putting the world to rights in the pub. One of the things I’ve missed in Covid times has been those convivial connections; I miss the meetings less.
Yet not a week has gone by when there has not been news of a pub closing for good. Every time I hear that, it feels like a real blow as a community loses an important space. Last month, such a closure made our regional TV news — not in a good way.
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