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
THERE was rightly a furore after Tory MPs (for the most part) voted not to carry through the suspension of Tory MP Owen Paterson from Parliament (Paterson himself voted against his suspension) for breaching lobbying rules — a decision which Keir Starmer correctly labelled “corruption.”
MPs have expected standards of behaviour and an independent committee found that Paterson had broken them.
Johnson’s response was not to back the committee but to have a look and see if rules could be changed to allow corrupt dealings.
Labour movement history in Britain shows workers secured reforms through collective pressure and political representation, rather than being gifted from above, writes KEITH FLETT
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
Who you ask and how you ask matter, as does why you are asking — the history of opinion polls shows they are as much about creating opinions as they are about recording them, writes socialist historian KEITH FLETT


