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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Brexit, martial law and class
We should all be concerned about reports that martial law could be introduced in the event of a no-deal Brexit, says SYMON HILL
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
IT’S nearly three years since the Brexit referendum. Unless you were under 18, outside the UK, or too angry to bother voting at all, you probably remember the ballot paper. And the options it listed did not include “martial law in the United Kingdom.”
It’s a sign of the state we’re now in that when the Sunday Times reported on civil servants making plans for the possible introduction of martial law, it didn’t even put it on the front page.
It quoted anonymous Whitehall sources saying that martial law had been discussed as one of several options for dealing with the breakdown of public order following a no-deal Brexit.
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