Changing Your Mind is Good, Actually
Rachel Connolly
There’s something liberating about seeing your views as changeable rather than as an extension of yourself, writes Rachel Connolly.
England’s Football Team is Changing Because England is Changing
David Wearing
This year's England squad are defiantly anti-racist and pro-LGBT. The left should be encouraged, writes David Wearing: it's a sign that slowly, step by step, struggles to expand the collective 'we' are being won from the ground up.
The Cop Who Killed Dalian Atkinson is in Prison – But That Doesn’t Fix Our Justice System
Moya Lothian-McLean
Why has the conviction of the officer who killed Dalian Atkinson received such a tepid response? Because ending systemic racism will mean rethinking our very idea of justice, writes Moya Lothian-Mclean.
This Year’s England Squad Actually Gives a Shit
Jessy Parker Humphreys
There's a lot to celebrate about the England team, but their Englishness has nothing to do with it, writes Jessy Parker Humphreys. These are the most politically engaged players the country has ever seen.
Priti Patel Isn’t Shipping Refugees to Rwanda Any Time Soon
Nadia Hasan
The home secretary’s latest scheme to scare off asylum seekers? Send them 6,500 miles away. It isn’t going to happen - but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be worried.
Labour Won Batley and Spen Despite Starmer, Not Because of Him
Aaron Bastani
Kim Leadbeater prevailed through a mix of localist populism and anti-party politics. ‘Brand Keir’ had nothing to do with it, writes Aaron Bastani.
Scrapping Britain’s First Red Light District Will Be a Disaster for Sex Workers
Lydia Caradonna and Kate Hardy
Leeds city council plans to close the ‘managed zone’ in Holbeck, where sex work has been permitted since 2014. It’s a decision that puts the pearl-clutching of gentrifiers before the safety of workers, write Lydia Caradonna and Kate Hardy.
Hancock’s Resignation Shows Just How Much Johnson’s Government Can Get Away With
Samuel Earle
Boris Johnson was once described as approaching public life “as a game in which he commits sackable offences as a way of demonstrating his unsackability.” It now seems he’s instilled his entire cabinet with the same sense of fun, writes Samuel Earle.
Spy Cops Inquiry: An Undercover Officer Used Me to Rise to the Top of Our Movement
Richard Chessum
Richard Chessum was targeted by an undercover police officer while he was a student organiser in the 1970s. Piggybacking on Chessum's credibility, "Rick Gibson" became one of the first spy cops to rise to the top of a group he infiltrated and to have sexual relationships with women activists, before he was finally caught out and disappeared entirely.
Biden’s New Cold War With China Will Be Justified With Racism
David Wearing
Confrontation with China is shaping up to be a central theme of Joe Biden’s presidency. Of course, racism has structured international relations since at least the colonial era, writes David Wearing.
We Shouldn’t Ban Police From Pride. We Should Abolish Them Altogether
Shanice McBean
This year’s NYC Pride will be the first in years without a police presence. Pride in London’s refusal to follow suit has made the event look increasingly out of touch with a renewed abolitionist movement - one that demands safety from police everywhere, not just at Pride.
Extinction Isn’t the Worst That Can Happen
Kai Heron
For many leftists concerned about the climate crisis living in the Global North, the choice seems clear: it’s socialism or extinction, communism or death. But the truth is that human extinction isn’t even the worst that can happen, argues Kai Heron.
Rich States Would Rather Let Poor People Die Than Waive Coronavirus Vaccine Patents
Charlie Young
Only 0.8% of people in low-income countries have been vaccinated against Covid-19, versus 42.2% in high-income countries. Charlie Young on how our governments have created vaccine apartheid in the ruthless pursuit of Big Pharma profits.
Commuting is Unpaid Work. Bosses Should at Least Split the Cost
Will Stronge
Covid-19 has given us a chance to reconsider aspects of working life we once accepted as immutable reality. With employees spending on average 27 days a year commuting, a new report argues it’s about time bosses paid up.
Unite’s Leadership Race is About More Than Just the Labour Party
Karl Lieberman
If the right win control of Unite the Union, there will no doubt be a huge impact on the Labour party. But there’s arguably an even more important question to consider: what happens to the radical potential of workers if trade unions refuse to provide an outlet for it?
I’m a Trans Woman Suing the Japanese Government. If I Win, I’ll Be in the Country’s First Same-Sex Marriage
Elin McCready
A historic court case is seeking to force Japan to live up to the Olympic values it’s planning to cash in on this summer.
The Tories’ Covid-19 Strategy Pits Young and Old Against Each Other
Ameya Tripathi
The government is using its widely condemned 'focused protection' strategy to stir up a culture of fear between generations in a cynical and dangerous bid to retain political power, writes Ameya Tripathi.
Don’t Believe the Bigots – Trans Rights Aren’t a Threat to Women
Ash Sarkar
The overrepresentation of trans-hostile voices in the media means we’re denied a realistic view of the issues facing trans and non-binary people, writes Ash Sarkar.