Background Check

Beware the union leaders’ moves against Corbyn at Labour Party conference

This year’s Labour Party conference could mark the moment that trade union leaders reveal themselves as Jeremy Corbyn’s most unreliable allies.

Councils inject £9 billion into fracking companies

A new report has uncovered how council bosses are investing workers’ money into dirty drilling. Sarah Bates looks at who’s funding the fossil fuel giants

There’s more nastiness to G4S than Birmingham prison mess

After inspectors found that inmates were living in appalling conditions in a privately?run prison, Tomáš Tengely-Evans investigates those responsible

Syriza signs up for decades more austerity as final bailout deal ends in Greece

Greece exited its final bailout agreement on Monday—the mechanism through which the European Union (EU) and the bankers have forced austerity on ordinary Greeks.

Fertility firms harvest a profit misleading women

A new study shows how the fertility industry charges inflated prices for egg freezing treatment—and manipulates success rates, reports Sarah Bates

How Britain’s cruel asylum system deprives refugees

Some 300 refugees in Glasgow were threatened with eviction last week after ‘failing’ their asylum applications. Tomáš Tengely-Evans explores the grim reality of Britain’s asylum rules

Heatwave shines a light on a system that could kill us all

Extreme weather events become increasingly likely as the planet warms. Sarah Bates argues fundamental change is needed to prevent climate change becoming catastrophic for life on earth

Not in service—years of cuts behind the crisis on the buses

The Tories have slashed funding for bus services by nearly £200 million since 2010—leaving local bus services struggling. For some bus users the impact is devastating, says Sarah Bates

Is everything going to be alt right for racist Ukip?

Alt right figureheads and racist street movements coming into Ukip could mean a revival for the struggling party, writes Tomáš Tengely-Evans

Oppose the Tories’ poisonous plan for Heathrow expansion

As the government has given the go ahead for a third runway at Heathrow airport, Sarah Bates examines the dangerous environmental and social cost

Fatbergs—a byproduct of a system addicted to waste

A combination of fat, human waste and wet wipes is blocking Britain’s sewers

Local elections can shake the Tories - but Labour councils must fight cuts

The local elections in England are a chance to punish the Tories for decimating public services. But if Labour wins, it will have to do more than manage the cuts differently, argues Nick Clark

Putin’s gamble pays off, but he’s playing Russian roulette

Former KGB spook Vladimir Putin has ruled Russia through force and fraud for the last 18 years. He will firm up his rule for another six years after the Russian presidential elections on Sunday.

What does justice mean for Grenfell campaigners?

Almost nine months on from the devastating Grenfell fire, Alistair Farrow looks at what activists are fighting for, and the challenges that they face

Don’t trust landowners to fight the fracking bosses

Fracking companies are going on the offensive and taking the National Trust to court. We need a national fight to beat them back, writes Sarah Bates

How the crisis in Syria was caused by imperialist ambition

The Syrian regime’s horrific bombing in Ghouta is the legacy of a defeated revolution and a struggle for power over the Middle East

The history of foreign aid is steeped in imperialism

Right wingers are using revelations about Oxfam in Haiti for their own ends.

Have energy companies been forced onto the frack foot?

Councils have blocked frackers’ plans and investors are losing interest. With resistance from environmental campaigners, Sarah Bates asks if this could this be a turning point in the fight

After new pay figures released - bosses, not migrants, are to blame for lower wages

Right wingers have seized on figures for agricultural wages and immigration to say that migrants lead to lower wages. Alistair Farrow looks at the reality

Tories starve mental health services for Grenfell victims

More than 11,000 people could be suffering mental health problems as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire. But the Tories aren’t giving services the funding they need