Opinion

Our Capitalist Society Has Always Devalued Disabled People. Coronavirus Has Made This Clear

Ellen Clifford

The last decade of austerity and welfare reform has been informed by an ideology that devalues disabled people on the basis of their perceived inability to produce profit. Covid-19 has brought that mindset out into the open, writes author and activist Ellen Clifford.

All Work, No Sex: Boris Johnson’s ‘Road Map’ for Leaving Lockdown Is Driven by Ideology Not Science

Sophie K Rosa

You can travel on packed public transport, but you can't protest police racism. You can go to work, but not to the home of a friend or family member - unless you're Dominic Cummings, of course. The government's plan for easing lockdown is as inadequate, ideological and inconsistent as Boris Johnson's overall handling of a pandemic in which he has presided over more than 50,000 deaths, writes Sophie K Rosa.

Ignore the Cries of ‘Vandalism’ – Tearing Down the Colston Statue Was Pure Justice

Aaron Bastani

Both Britain's major political parties have decried the toppling of the Colston statue as an act of vandalism and criminality. Aaron Bastani argues that what we saw in Bristol on Sunday was in fact a moment of justice - and a glimpse, perhaps, of Britain's future.

Defund, Disband and Start Again: What Exactly Is Minneapolis Planning to Do With Its Police Force?

Alex S Vitale

Minneapolis city council has pledged to disband its police force. Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, explains what this means in practice, and how the city could go further.

Pull Them All Down

Dalia Gebrial

On Sunday afternoon a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down, dragged across Bristol and dumped into the city's harbour. Dalia Gebrial argues it's only by pulling down statues of slavers and colonisers that we can create space for re-education on how Britain came to be.

Filth: Disease, Drugs or Looting – Brutal Policing is Always Framed As Protecting ‘the Public’ From Infection

Eleanor Penny

Black Lives Matter protests are being framed as a public health threat. In the long and racist history of policing, justifying state brutality with a claim to be protecting ‘the public’ from contagion - by disease, drugs, or an epidemic of looting - is nothing new, writes Eleanor Penny.

Trump’s Police Crackdown is Part of a Global Whitelash

The police riot on protestors in the US is the latest expression of a politics of white racist reaction that’s been growing across the West since the 1960s. However, the events of the last fortnight have exposed tensions the anti-racist left can exploit, argues David Wearing.

The Government is Showing Its Economic Hand – and the Left Will Need a Smart Response

James Meadway

If you're still in 'austerity autopilot', it's time to snap out of it, argues James Meadway. Johnson's government has accepted the reality of ultra-low interest rates and now intends to remake the British economy in ways that will challenge the left's comfort zones.

Global South Economies Like Zambia’s Are Being Battered by Coronavirus. We Must Write-Off Debt Now

Grace Blakeley

With coronavirus battering emerging market economies, the fate of millions of the world's poorest people hinges on a debt write-off for the global South. This must be one of the central demands of socialists internationally as the pandemic comes to an end, writes Grace Blakeley.

To Fight the Coming Storm, the Left Needs to Learn From the Anti-Austerity Movement

Michael Chessum

The next few years are likely to see the biggest crisis of capitalism, and the biggest assault on our rights and living standards, in any of our lifetimes. What can the British left learn from the anti-austerity movement about what the fightback should look like?

Inequality Is Worse Than We Were Told, and Our Tax System Has Been Covering It Up

Grace Blakeley

For a long time British voters have felt as though inequality is too high, but rightwingers have had a standard reply to the general public: you’re wrong. In fact, it was the figures that were wrong and peoples’ instincts that were right, writes Grace Blakeley.

George Floyd is Now a Household Name in Britain. Why Isn’t Jimmy Mubenga?

Aaron Bastani

The killing of George Floyd has prompted outrage worldwide - including from some unexpected parts of the British media. Aaron Bastani asks why many Brits will happily acknowledge racism across the Atlantic but ignore it here at home.

Conservative ‘Common Sense’ Lets Men Like Dominic Cummings Do What They Want

Ameya Tripathi

We must stay alert to the Conservatives' concept of ‘common sense’ - a libertarian worldview imbued with whiteness and patriarchal values, that promotes individual freedom for some, at the expense of others, writes Ameya Tripathi.

The Pandemic is Changing How It Feels to Be Free

Keir Milburn

Coronavirus is putting the right's individualistic idea of freedom under immense strain. It is this pressure, argues Keir Milburn, that offers hope for the typically right-leaning older generation to embrace a more progressive, solidaristic kind of politics.

The UK is Not Innocent – Police Racism Has a Long and Violent History Here Too

Wail Qasim

The murder of George Floyd is the latest in a long history of police racism and brutality in the US. But to gain a more fundamental understanding of why black people are dying at the hands of the police, we need to look closer to home, argues Wail Qasim.

Once Again, the Government is Using Disadvantaged Children to Pursue Harmful Policies

Chloe Tomlinson

Schools are set to reopen tomorrow, with the government arguing we must make sure “the poorest and most disadvantaged pupils don’t fall behind”. Chloe Tomlinson suggests ministers are employing a familiar strategy: crying ‘think of the children’ in order to get their own way.

Dominic Cummings has accidentally put childcare on the agenda, writes Veronica Deutsch, but within the sector not all workers are equal. High precarity is particularly common in nannying work, and, while coronavirus has highlighted the need for better support, regulation can feel like a threat to the most vulnerable.

Our Capitalist Society Has Always Devalued Disabled People. Coronavirus Has Made This Clear

Ellen Clifford

All Work, No Sex: Boris Johnson’s ‘Road Map’ for Leaving Lockdown Is Driven by Ideology Not Science

Sophie K Rosa

Ignore the Cries of ‘Vandalism’ – Tearing Down the Colston Statue Was Pure Justice

Aaron Bastani

Defund, Disband and Start Again: What Exactly Is Minneapolis Planning to Do With Its Police Force?

Alex S Vitale

Pull Them All Down

Dalia Gebrial

Filth: Disease, Drugs or Looting – Brutal Policing is Always Framed As Protecting ‘the Public’ From Infection

Eleanor Penny

Trump’s Police Crackdown is Part of a Global Whitelash

David Wearing

The Government is Showing Its Economic Hand – and the Left Will Need a Smart Response

James Meadway

Global South Economies Like Zambia’s Are Being Battered by Coronavirus. We Must Write-Off Debt Now

Grace Blakeley

To Fight the Coming Storm, the Left Needs to Learn From the Anti-Austerity Movement

Michael Chessum

Inequality Is Worse Than We Were Told, and Our Tax System Has Been Covering It Up

Grace Blakeley

George Floyd is Now a Household Name in Britain. Why Isn’t Jimmy Mubenga?

Aaron Bastani

Conservative ‘Common Sense’ Lets Men Like Dominic Cummings Do What They Want

Ameya Tripathi

The Pandemic is Changing How It Feels to Be Free

Keir Milburn

The UK is Not Innocent – Police Racism Has a Long and Violent History Here Too

Wail Qasim

Once Again, the Government is Using Disadvantaged Children to Pursue Harmful Policies

Chloe Tomlinson

Dominic Cummings is a Glorified Shitposter

Phil Jones

The ‘radical nannies’ Organising to Support Each Other Through Covid-19

Veronica Deutsch

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Opinion

Our Capitalist Society Has Always Devalued Disabled People. Coronavirus Has Made This Clear

Ellen Clifford

All Work, No Sex: Boris Johnson’s ‘Road Map’ for Leaving Lockdown Is Driven by Ideology Not Science

Sophie K Rosa

Ignore the Cries of ‘Vandalism’ – Tearing Down the Colston Statue Was Pure Justice

Aaron Bastani

Defund, Disband and Start Again: What Exactly Is Minneapolis Planning to Do With Its Police Force?

Alex S Vitale

Pull Them All Down

Dalia Gebrial

Filth: Disease, Drugs or Looting – Brutal Policing is Always Framed As Protecting ‘the Public’ From Infection

Eleanor Penny

Trump’s Police Crackdown is Part of a Global Whitelash

David Wearing

The Government is Showing Its Economic Hand – and the Left Will Need a Smart Response

James Meadway

Global South Economies Like Zambia’s Are Being Battered by Coronavirus. We Must Write-Off Debt Now

Grace Blakeley

To Fight the Coming Storm, the Left Needs to Learn From the Anti-Austerity Movement

Michael Chessum

Inequality Is Worse Than We Were Told, and Our Tax System Has Been Covering It Up

Grace Blakeley

George Floyd is Now a Household Name in Britain. Why Isn’t Jimmy Mubenga?

Aaron Bastani

Conservative ‘Common Sense’ Lets Men Like Dominic Cummings Do What They Want

Ameya Tripathi

The Pandemic is Changing How It Feels to Be Free

Keir Milburn

The UK is Not Innocent – Police Racism Has a Long and Violent History Here Too

Wail Qasim

Once Again, the Government is Using Disadvantaged Children to Pursue Harmful Policies

Chloe Tomlinson

Dominic Cummings is a Glorified Shitposter

Phil Jones

The ‘radical nannies’ Organising to Support Each Other Through Covid-19

Veronica Deutsch

Build people- powered media.

Build people-powered media.

Build
people-
powered
media.