The Tories introduced the 50% strike ballot threshold to make industrial action harder. MATT WRACK argues that a Labour government has no justification for leaving it on the statute book
SIR Keir Starmer’s decision to dictate a Labour abstention on the “spycops” Bill in the Commons saw the biggest Labour revolt yet against his abstentions policy, including front-bench resignations.
The Bill in effect legalises illegal acts by undercover government agents — or spies, as they are known historically.
Government spies have been used for undercover and often illegal purposes since the late 18th century.
Keir Starmer's early political life suggests a very different future from the one he ultimately embraced, says KEITH FLETT
BRENT CUTLER is intrigued by the imperialist, supremacist and contradictory history of a word that is used all too easily
Inspired by a hit TV show, KEITH FLETT takes a look at the murky history of undercover class war
It’s not just the Starmer regime: the workers of Britain have always faced legal affronts on their right to assemble and dissent, and the Labour Party especially has meddled with our freedoms from its earliest days, writes KEITH FLETT


