Opinion

Opinion: The Biden Administration Just Broke International Law. Why Doesn’t Anyone Care?

by Aaron Bastani

By authorising airstrikes on Syria without congressional approval, Biden is mimicking Trump’s foreign policy. Leading Democrats criticised the president then, notes Aaron Bastani – so why not now?

Rishi Sunak standing on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street with his red box

Opinion: Now Isn’t the Time for a General Tax Hike – We Need to Target Those Who’ve Profited From the Pandemic

by Ann Pettifor

The left must be wary of flatly equating tax increases with post-pandemic recovery. In today’s budget, Rishi Sunak should go after the few whose wealth has increased over the past year, argues economist Ann Pettifor.

Opinion: Until He Starts Talking About Rent Caps, Keir Starmer Isn’t Serious About Championing Business

by Aaron Bastani

For all his posturing, Keir Starmer’s efforts to recast Labour as the party of business are entirely cosmetic, argues Aaron Bastani. If he really wanted to address the challenges businesses face, he’d be talking about rent caps.

Opinion: A Spanish Company is Building an Apartheid Railway in Israel – Now It Wants in on HS2

by Zakaria Odeh

Companies abetting human rights abuses shouldn't be rewarded with lucrative government contracts - they must be boycotted until they end complicity with apartheid, writes Palestinian organiser Zakaria Odeh.

Opinion: The Tories’ Levelling Up Agenda is Just Thatcherism for Towns

by Joe Duffy

A new report by a rightwing thinktank on "unleashing investment" in the north of England provides a grim insight into how the government may convert its Brexit majority into an even more sinister political settlement under the guise of concern for regional equality, writes Joe Duffy.

Gavin Williamson addresses country in covid address

Opinion: To the Free Speech Warriors of the Right, Only Some Speech Matters

by Barnaby Raine

We shouldn’t be confused by the Tories championing free speech one moment, suppressing it the next. It’s always been perfectly clear whose speech matters to them, argues Barnaby Raine.

Boris Johnson holds up a painting of a ladybird

Opinion: Long School Days Won’t Get Children up to Speed Post-Pandemic – Our Privately-Educated Overlords Should Know That

by James McAsh

There's a reason small class sizes and rich extracurricular provision are staples of private schooling, writes primary teacher James McAsh.

Opinion: Why Should the BBC Licence Fee Fund Britain’s ‘Soft Power’?

by Aaron Bastani

One of the reasons we should care about the BBC, we are told, is because the World Service allows Britain to punch above its weight on the world stage. Aaron Bastani asks: should the licence fee really be funding our country's obsessive pursuit of the illusion of global influence?

Opinion: Don’t Trust the Rightwing Press – Their ‘Green Revolution’ is Just Eco-Nationalism

by Sam Knights

Last week, the Daily Express broke with decades of denial and called for a “green revolution” to tackle the climate crisis. But the rightwing media's sudden interest in climate change isn't to be celebrated, argues Sam Knights - it's a terrifying indicator of things to come.

Opinion: Labour Only Has One Route to Power – And It Can’t Take ‘Generation Left’ for Granted

by Aaron Bastani

The answer to Labour’s problems in the polls isn’t to double down on attacking the left within the party, or admonishing the Greens or even the Lib Dems. It’s to set out an electoral offer that will appeal to ‘generation left’ in 2024 - and to do it now, argues Aaron Bastani.

Opinion: Does Labour Have a Future in Scotland?

by Rory Maclean

In the 2019 general election, Labour won just over 18% of the vote in Scotland - its lowest vote-share since its formation as a party. Ahead of its upcoming leadership election, Rory Maclean takes a look at what Scottish Labour must do to make sure it survives.

Opinion: Labour and the Tories Have Reduced Veterans to Instruments in the Culture War

by Joe Glenton

Veterans like Joe Glenton are often instrumentalised by culture war politicians. Labour's provisional new PR strategy and the death of Captain Tom have made this clearer than ever.

Opinion: Covid-19 Has Shown Humanity’s Vulnerability. It’s Time to Take Existential Risks Seriously

by Aaron Bastani

Some in the scientific community believe a future pathogen - one more deadly than Covid-19 - is the greatest immediate threat to the survival of our species. The good news is that this threat is avoidable - but only through global cooperation, argues Aaron Bastani.

Opinion: In Defence of Sex and Parties

by Sophie K Rosa

A journalist’s comments about missing parties and sex during lockdown have invited widespread scorn, including from those on the left. Which is weird, writes Sophie K Rosa, because parties are and always have been a site of political resistance.

Opinion: Give White People Something to Do

by Ash Sarkar

The politicisation of white people over the past five years has so far been confined to changing how people think, writes Ash Sarkar. Now, it’s time to change what they do.

Opinion: If Biden and the Democrats Actually Want to Get Anything Done, They Need to Transform Democracy

by Miles Kampf-Lassin

The Democratic party has been handed a mandate to usher in fundamental change, starting with quashing the Covid-19 pandemic and delivering direct aid to working people. But to succeed, they’ll need to reshape American democracy.

A billboard with the text: 'The 4 day week is coming. Go tell your boss.'

Opinion: It’s Not Enough to Defend the Five-Day Week – We Must Demand Four

by Aidan Harper

Overworked Britons breathed a sigh of relief when the Tories abandoned rumoured plans to remove the 48-hour cap on the working week. This scare should shock us out of our complacency about working hours, writes Aidan Harper, and restart the fight for a 32-hour week.

Opinion: Think the Tories Can’t Possibly Paint Britain’s Pandemic Response As a Triumph? Think Again

by Aaron Bastani

From the failures of WW2 to the horrors of empire, Britain is incapable of an honest reckoning with its history. There’s no reason to think that in a decade's time, Covid-19 won't just be another notch in a record of national self-delusion, argues Aaron Bastani.