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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It won’t be long before the axe falls on the poor – again
When the immediate crisis has faded the Tories will be putting the cost onto the shoulders of everyone below them, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
Birmingham City Council staff prepare the first food parcels to be distributed to the city’s vulnerable population and (left) Chancellor Rishi Sunak
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
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
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
WHO will pay for the coronavirus crisis? Already there is pressure that the lowest paid should get even less money to pay for all the emergency funding: the pressure is coming from mainstream corporate and business-oriented Establishment figures.
We haven’t seen a big mobilisation by the political right demanding the poor shoulder the burden, but we surely will.
You might think the coronavirus crisis shows up all the bad things about austerity Britain — the underfunded public services, the danger of zero-hours employment and private rentals.
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It is rather strange that Labour continues to give prestigious roles to inappropriate, controversy-mired businessmen who are also major Tory donors. What could Labour possibly be hoping to get out of it, asks SOLOMON HUGHES
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