Labour MPs have decided overwhelmingly that the best candidate to take on the Tories as party leader is right wing, Remain-loving knight commander of the order of the bath sir Keir Starmer QC

True horror of housing benefits in Tory Britain

Hundreds of people are being driven into homelessness by errors in housing benefits appeals and overpayments.

Children at risk because of care crisis

The Children’s Commissioner has warned that social care is “in crisis” after new figures showed the number of children in care has reached a ten-year high.

Nearly 100,000 patients made to wait for accident and emergency departments

A record-breaking number of patients have been forced to wait for more than an hour before being admitted from ambulances into accident and emergency (A&E) departments.

No to witchhunt of Kirklees Unison reps

Four Unison union branch officers in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, remain suspended by their own union without knowing the charges against them.

More universities could join new wave of UCU action

Workers in 37 UCU union branches are reballoting for strikes. The branches voted overwhelmingly for walkouts in initial ballots, but failed to meet the Tories’ 50 percent turnout threshold for legal strikes.

Schools and councils round-up: strikes over ‘bullying,’ academies and more

Workers at St Catherine’s Catholic School for Girls in south east London resumed their strikes this week with a three-day walkout from Tuesday.

Police intimidation as workers fight for rights

Security staff at St George’s University Hospitals Trust (SGUL) in west London started 15 days of strikes on Monday—and immediately faced police action.

France at a crossroads

Richard Greeman, a Marxist writer and activist best known for his work on Victor Serge, looks at why Macron is so determined, and asks how workers can win

Deliver solidarity to Bootle post workers’ strikes

Royal Mail workers in Merseyside were set to strike for two days from Saturday of this week against a major attack on their CWU union.

Reports round-up: Australia bushfire protest, opposition to Stratford development and more

Billionaires get richer

The world’s 500 wealthiest people added £1,000 billion to their wealth last year

Otis Bolamu wins right to remain in Britain after determined campaign

Anti-racists in West Wales are celebrating after Otis Bolamu was granted the right to stay in Britain on Wednesday.

Scottish climate activists protest against system rigged for oil companies

Climate rebels in Aberdeen positioned themselves on oil firm Shell’s doorstep on Thursday to “point the finger at people who are responsible” for climate catastrophe.

5,000 disabled people get benefit payments—but only after their deaths

Some 5,000 ill and disabled benefit claimants have died before being repaid thousands of pounds owed to them due to a government error.

Royal Mail strikes could be in pipeline after union leader calls for fresh ballot

The fight for the future of Royal Mail is heating up again after a union leader announced plans for another national strike ballot.

Politicians and billionaires strike dodgy deals at Davos

Billionaire bosses, politicians and celebrities descended on Davos in Switzerland this week for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).

International

‘The poor suffer the most’—Jakarta resident speaks out on floods

As the flood waters recede—at least for now—in Jakarta, Indonesia, residents are left trying to piece their lives back together

Huge strike in India has power to challenge hard right government

Some unions say nearly a fifth of the population stayed away from work

French workers debate taking harder hitting action after ‘beautiful’ mass strike

The fourth national day of strikes and demonstrations on Thursday saw massive support against French president Emmanuel Macron’s attacks on pensions.

Government manoeuvres on pension age fail to stop protests and strikes in France

Union members are holding real debates how to take their movement forward, says Charlie Kimber

New coalition government in Spain marks a shift to the right for Podemos

A new coalition government in Spain is vowing to create “a Spain of moderation and not a Spain of tension”.

Iranians take to the streets after a week of war threats

Protests burst out in Iran last Saturday after the regime admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane.

‘Help us beat neoliberal president Macron’—French strikers appeal for solidarity

France’s trade unions are making an international appeal to sustain their strikes against president Emmanuel Macron’s assault on pensions.

Rage against sexist Trump as tens of thousands join US Women’s Marches

Up to 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Washington DC for the fourth annual US Women's March on Saturday.

Comment

Why Donald Trump can’t win in Iran

It’s clear who the losers were in the confrontation between the United States and Iran.

Features

How the rich and powerful let Australia burn

The Australian wildfires show the terrifying reality of catastrophic climate change

Engels showed how humans change the world

Gabby Thorpe is impressed by Camilla Royle’s new book on the life and work of Engels—a key contributor to Marxism

Behind the push for war with Iran

Decades of Western imperialism in the Middle East lie behind the latest crisis

Why do the royals still reign?

As scandals and splits tear chunks out of the royal family, Simon Basketter looks at what keeps them in place—and why the people who actually rule us still want them