Tory
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Denied work, Britain’s poor have become ‘untermensch’ By Tony Gosling
Millions of hardworking families can no longer afford a social life, shoes for their children, to go swimming or to the cinema. Not satisfied with their seventh home, brace of sports cars and servants, the rich are paying Tory politicians, press and the City to grind the faces of Britain’s poor into the dirt. Continue reading
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How to abolish a free health service, step one By David Cullen
The Tory plan to charge migrants for NHS treatment has rightly come under fire for being policy directed at an invented non-issue; because it will therefore probably cost more money than it will save; and because it will change the doctor-patient relation in an insidious way – asking doctors to police their patients. Continue reading
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Are we being served? By William Bowles
Central to us on the left is the dilemma of a seemingly indifferent working class to the changes that impact directly not only on our material well-being but on the corporatisation of our cultural lives. Some argue that it’s down to the prevailing sense of powerlessness as the gulf between those who govern and the… Continue reading
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Everything you wanted to know about the NHS crisis, but were too afraid to ask By John Lister
Since 2000 successive Westminster governments have used it as a test-bed for experiments with untried “reforms” aimed to transform it from a public health care system into a “market” – little more than a fund of taxpayers’ money to buy services from a range of public and private providers. Continue reading
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A Roster of Bigotry: UKIP, the Tories and the Far Right By Tim Holmes
When the racism and bigotry fuelling the EDL-backed UK Independence Party were finally revealed to public view, the results were never going to be pretty. So it proved last week, as the threat to the Tories prompted a huge dirt-digging operation, exposing a party bringing far-right extremism into the mainstream. Continue reading
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Going once, going twice—private firms bid for NHS By Sarah Ensor
Huge changes across the health service make a mockery of the Tory claim that the NHS is safe in their hands. New commissioning structures came into force on Monday of this week. They mean GPs can offer services from private companies instead of the NHS. Continue reading
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UK council leaders warn of social unrest By Robert Stevens
The leaders of three Labour Party-controlled city councils wrote a letter to the Observer, published December 29, warning that the scale of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat austerity agenda could lead to “the break-up of civil society”. Continue reading
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Building a New World and Tearing it Down: British Working Class Housing Since 1900 By Andrew McCormack
The right to an adequate home is well recognised as essential for participation in any human society[1] and the requirements of adequacy in contemporary industrialized societies are fairly uncontroversial. Yet, whilst thousands of new luxury houses are built for the rich every year, many in Britain remain trapped in conditions reminiscent of the Depression era.… Continue reading
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As Gaza is savaged again, understanding the BBC’s historical role is vital By John Pilger
Mark Regev, Israel’s chief propagandist, seemingly has a place reserved for him near the top of BBC news bulletins. In 2010, when I pointed this out to Fran Unsworth, now elevated to director of news, she strongly objected to the description of Regev as a propagandist, adding, “It’s not our job to go out and… Continue reading
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As Gaza is savaged again, understanding the BBC's historical role is vital By John Pilger
Mark Regev, Israel’s chief propagandist, seemingly has a place reserved for him near the top of BBC news bulletins. In 2010, when I pointed this out to Fran Unsworth, now elevated to director of news, she strongly objected to the description of Regev as a propagandist, adding, “It’s not our job to go out and… Continue reading
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Media Lens: A Private Conversation – The Leveson Inquiry, Corporate Journalism And Elite Collusion
Advertising revenue is almost the life-blood of the press. Although the figure has fallen in recent years, today it constitutes around 60 per cent of newspapers’ total income, including ‘quality’ titles like the Guardian and the Independent. Continue reading
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Media Lens: ‘People Will Die’ – The End Of The NHS. Part 1: The Corporate Assault
Every day, researcher Éoin Clarke runs a check on the number of parts of the NHS that have been ‘carved up and offered to privateers that day. The sad news is that the NHS sell off is indeed accelerating.’ Clarke has identified 81 NHS contracts worth a total of more than £2 billion that are… Continue reading
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Media Lens: ‘People Will Die’ – The End Of The NHS. Part 1: The Corporate Assault
Few political acts have exposed the sham of British ‘democracy’ like the decision to dismantle the National Health Service. In essence, the issues are simple: Continue reading
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Most Popular Books at Housmans in 2011
17 November 2011 — Housmans The following have been the bestselling titles at Housmans this year. Sales aren’t everything though, so look out for a list of Housmans staff’s favourite books from 2011, coming very soon. All the following books are available to buy online or in-store. For online purchases just click on the link Continue reading
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The BBC is, and Always Has Been, Part of the Problem By Tom Mills
The neoliberal model propagated by Murdoch has been in ascendancy since the mid-1980s, whilst the public service model associated with the BBC has been progressively eclipsed. Indeed Murdoch has consciously sought to destroy, or at least marginalise, public service broadcasting, which is anathema to his politics and an obstacle to his ambitions. Continue reading
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Damn it or fear it, the forbidden truth is an insurrection in Britain By John Pilger
On a warm spring day, strolling in south London, I heard demanding voices behind me. A police van disgorged a posse of six or more, who waved me aside. They surrounded a young black man who, like me, was ambling along. They appropriated him; they rifled his pockets, looked in his shoes, inspected his teeth.… Continue reading
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Anti-war activists rubbish Hague’s success claims By Rory MacKinnon
Tory ministers appeared delusional as the war entered its fifth month by claiming that the war effort had been a success. Continue reading
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What happened at Millbank? By Laurie Penny
A huge demonstration of students and their supporters in London last week–twice as large as organizers had hoped for–rocked British politics as the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government faced the strongest act of defiance yet against its program of austerity. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 