Water metering - whether you like it or not
16 September 2016
Residents of some of Britain’s drier areas have been waking up to find water meters being installed outside their front gates.
North East rejects 'devolution' - again
12 September 2016
The government’s plans to force councils to merge and to accept elected mayors has come off the rails in the North East of England.
New arts trade union formed
12 September 2016
The Artists’ Union of England, launched in London and Newcastle two years ago with advice based on the Scottish Artists’ Union Rule Book, has just been granted certification.
London rebuilt
6 September 2016
As London commemorates 350 years since the Great Fire of 2 September 1666, we are reminded of what a real catastrophe looks like – unlike the spurious and risible warnings of the “disaster” of Brexit.
Doctors fighting for the NHS
5 September 2016
Hospital doctors have begun a new phase of action in response to the government’s attempt to impose new contracts. Strikes planned for the autumn will take place unless the government halts the imposition and restarts meaningful talks.
What next for Brexit
The decision to leave the EU has been made, and we must grapple urgently with the more difficult task of deciding what kind of Britain we want.
Still one nation
A YouGov poll in July indicated that Britain’s decision to leave the EU has not cut Scottish support for remaining within the UK, undermining the SNP’s push for a second referendum.
Trade unions: organise for independence
The referendum result continues to highlight the urgent need for unions to take responsibility for an independent Britain.
No excuses: university pay matters
Teaching staff in Britain’s universities are ramping up their fight for pay. With the autumn term beginning, they could be joined by administrative staff.
Teachers need to target their struggle
If teacher unions are to protect and improve members’ pay and conditions of work, then tactics and strategy must be reconsidered and revamped.
Battle on the railways
The struggle for safety and jobs on Britain’s railways is intensifying as the government seeks to take on the unions.
Pensions after Brexit
The referendum campaign blunted one EU attack on pensions. Now the real pensions fight must begin.
No case for war
The Chilcot Inquiry into the 2003 Iraq war finally reported in July. The evidence itself speaks volumes…
Brexit boosts student choice
The mere fact of the vote to Leave looks set to benefit thousands of young British people looking for a place at the university of their choice.
Post Office: striking for the future [updated]
Post Office workers have voted overwhelmingly to strike against office closures, job losses and threats to their pensions.
European army plans march ahead
25 August 2016
Moves to create a European Army are accelerating – despite the assertions of the Remain campaign that the idea was purely Leave hysteria.
The Earth and the Sun
25 August 2016
In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries two men, Copernicus and Galileo, helped to cast out ancient ideas about physics and astronomy. Their work laid the foundation for modern scientific understanding.
John Lewis and the Co-op: models for worker ownership and control?
23 August 2016
Cooperatives, according to their backers. Some even think they can blunt the effect of privatisation. The reality is somewhat different.
Hinkley C set for review
The government is to review the astronomically expensive Hinkley C nuclear plant deal with France and China.
Election fraud on the rise
Election fraud is growing in Britain, says a report headed by former communities secretary and now anti-corruption czar Sir Eric Pickles published on 12 August.
Housing: billions in subsidies for landlords
Figures published in August show that over £9 billion a year is now paid in housing benefits to people living in private rented accommodation.
Wind power: planning for subsidies
Planning permission for the world’s largest wind farm has been agreed 55 miles off the Flamborough coast – but the developer wants even higher subsidies than normal.
Local government: divisions over pay
As the 2016-17 pay claim looms. Unison, GMB and Unite cannot agree what the claim should be – so Unison has decided to go solo.
Khan cooperates with extension of Internet snooping
23 August 2016
London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has reacted to reports of a rise in cases of abuse in the aftermath of the EU referendum result – with an extension of state snooping.
Air pollution killing Londoners
5 August 2016
Londoners are falling ill and dying because the capital has levels of nitrogen oxides comparable to those of Shanghai and Beijing, according to a new report published in July.
Reclaim the unions (and ditch the Labour Party)
25 July 2016
The Brexit campaign and in particular its result pose big problems not only for business and government in Britain and throughout Europe but also for the Labour Party and trade unions at home.
North Sea oil workers vote for strike over pay
14 July 2016
More than 200 Unite and RMT workers in the Wood Group working on Shell’s North Sea platforms have voted in favour of strike action over pay.
'Almighty mess' of NHS privatisation
11 July 2016
The NHS’s Primary Care Support Services were privatised in April, transferred to multinational profit-sucker Capita, along with over a thousand workers – and things have not gone well.
EU and NATO ramp up tension with Russia
11 July 2016
If any British workers doubted that the EU and NATO are two sides of the same coin, the EU–NATO leaders’ declaration of 9 July 2016 to deploy more troops and weapons on Russia’s borders should remove them.