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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Politics is still an angry, shouty male-dominated arena
Overly aggressive MPs who belittle women not only undermine democracy, they are ridiculous, says EMMA DENT COAD
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
IN ANY other pub in London, I would expect to walk in unnoticed and buy myself a drink, sit in a corner and ruminate in peace.
However on the rare occasion, on a late voting night in Parliament, if I wish to have a quiet drink alone in the MPs’ bar, you would think I’d walked into the gents’ toilet by mistake. The world stops. You hear crickets. They stare and snicker. It is unbelievably rude. And of course deliberate.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the House of Commons, the age-old custom of barracking is a daily trial. It is calculated to intimidate and belittle.
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ROS SITWELL reports from the Morning Star conference on ‘Race, Sex and Class Liberation’ last weekend