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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The Grenfell Tower fire – political or unfortunate?
Kensington and Chelsea Council has turned a traumatised community into ‘beggars,’ divided and compelled to compete with each other for its dubious ‘help’ – all while congratulating itself on its own beneficence, writes EMMA DENT COAD
A piece of green ribbon hangs from a railing in Silchester Road which bears placards of all of the names of the victims of the fire.
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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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
IN THE early days after the Grenfell Tower fire, after I had been interviewed as the very new MP for Kensington numerous times and had written about it for various publications, I was accused by senior Tories in Kensington and Chelsea Council of “politicising” the fire.
The idea that this terrifying and multifatal catastrophe at the end of my road was somehow a politically neutral event, some kind of misfortune or natural disaster, not man-made, was circulated vigorously.
They said “tragedy” (sad face). The community said “atrocity” (angry face).
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It is time to stop tolerating the governing elites incompetence which makes our lives a daily misery, argues MATT KERR
As we approach the half-anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, the community gathers to remember loved ones while grappling with mixed emotions surrounding the ongoing deconstruction of the tower and the hopeful plans for a memorial, writes EMMA DENT COAD