Earlier this year, Labour Hub reported that the London Borough of Brent’s Labour Party was the latest to be subjected to a ‘Campaign Improvement Board’. “Instead of allowing the Party’s local branches to select their council candidates ahead of the 2026 borough elections, selections will be made by external ‘assessors’ recruited by the Party’s London Region.” That […]| Labour Hub
By Yihya Sirhan In the early morning of 24th July 2024 in Tubas, a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 23-year-old Palestinian customs police officer Abdel Nasser Sarhan began his shift as usual. CCTV footage shows him walking casually from his post, rifle slung over his shoulder, when a white van pulled up nearby. A […]| Labour Hub
Gordon Maloney looks forward to The World Transformed 2025. Keir Starmer’s first year in government has been nothing short of a disaster. Despite an enormous mandate at the last election, the past year has seen him fall to becoming one of the most unpopular political figures in the UK. Despite repeatedly trying to ingratiate himself […]| Labour Hub
Former Tribune editor and award-winning writer Taj Ali has set up an independent anti-racist reporting and monitoring organisation to document racist attacks, support victims, pressure authorities to act, and amplify the voices of smaller, more isolated Black and Asian communities across Britain. “Far too often, racism is either unreported or dismissed as anti-social behaviour,” he […]| Labour Hub
The government is consulting on “How to implement social rent convergence”. The Labour Campaign for Council Housing explains what convergence is and why we are opposed to it. Rent convergence was a policy introduced by John Prescott in 2002. Council housing and housing association rents were to be brought into alignment over ten years. As […]| Labour Hub
A new report from Compass says that proportional representation helps tame the populist right, while first past the post leads to their ideas being adopted wholesale. Mike Phipps considers the arguments. One of the most potent arguments often used against electoral reform – proportional representation in particular – is that it would allow far right […]| Labour Hub
Fourteen MPs led by Rachael Maskell MP have sent an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer MP, Angela Rayner MP, and Matthew Pennycook MP urging them to launch a fast-track and fairer dispute resolution scheme to end service charge abuse. The scheme would allow tenants and residents with disputed charges to pay their money to […]| Labour Hub
Ahead of a talk to the Socialist History Society later this month, Martin Shaw introduces some themes from his new book. As nuclear weapons rise even further up the global agenda – the Israeli-US attack on Iran’s nuclear programme is the latest reminder – it is important to revisit the history of antinuclear activism. My […]| Labour Hub
By Arise – a Festival of Left Ideas volunteers A grassroots petition standing with Diane Abbott – after the Keir Starmer-led Party machine suspended her from the Labour Party – has reached the landmark of 30,000 signatures. Expressing her solidarity with Diane, fellow MP Apsana Begum said: “As the first Black woman MP, Diane stood […]| Labour Hub
Two dozen boats left Barcelona today, Sunday 31st August, carrying hundreds of people and kilos of food towards Gaza, in the largest ever bid to break Israel’s siege and open a humanitarian aid cor…| Labour Hub
Mike Phipps considers some strategic questions facing the Corbyn-Sultana project. The announcement of a new party of the left headed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana is, as former top Corbyn advisor Andrew Fisher said recently, “potentially very significant for British politics.” Despite predictable sneering from the mainstream media, over 700,000 people have signed up […]| Labour Hub
By George Binette Some 10,000 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), employed as flight attendants by flagship carrier Air Canada and its subsidiary Air Canada Rouge, walked off the job in the early hours of Saturday 16th August. The strike action came after the breakdown the previous day of long-running negotiations on […]| Labour Hub
Rising demands for services are pushing councils towards effective bankruptcy, argues Mike Hedges. There is a widely held belief by council taxpayers that their Council Tax pays for the services provided by their local council. What has happened in recent years is that Council Tax has increased while services have reduced, and council taxpayers have […]| Labour Hub
Christopher Ford argues this is the collapse of the ‘pivot’ towards Ukraine and the consolidation of the Trump–Putin Axis. Two weeks ago, Washington signalled a hard turn against Moscow. President Trump’s public outrage at Russia’s killing of Ukrainian civilians was so intense he claimed to have ordered two US nuclear submarines closer to Russian waters —accompanied […]| Labour Hub
Campaign groups, including Fare Free London, have welcomed the House of Commons Transport Committee’s proposal for free bus travel for under-22s – and called on the committee, and the government, to consider making all public transport free for all. The call to extend zero-fares transport further is supported by Fare Free London, Fare Free Yorkshire […]| Labour Hub
Contemporary motions Momentum are supporting a number of contemporary motions for Labour Conference this year. Some motions are also supported by other campaign groups, as detailed under each one. CLPs have until 5pm on Thursday 11th September to submit motions. Many CLPs require one week’s notice to submit motions before meeting, so find out when […]| Labour Hub
Heraldo Povea Pacci posted this on Facebook on 15th August and gave us permission to translate and post it to Labour Hub. Half a century ago… One 15th August 50 years ago, I was detained by the Chilean Navy Secret Service and then taken by the DINA [Chilean secret police] to Villa Grimaldi [a notorious […]| Labour Hub
Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman welcomes a footballer exposing the truth about Gaza. Following the death of Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid UEFA tweeted sorrowfully: “Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the ‘Palestinian Pelé. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.” Fair enough, nice of them, many must have thought. Not Mo Salah […]| Labour Hub
By Liz Lawrence and Andy Kilmister Introduction We write as activists in Ukraine solidarity work and as activists within UCU (University and College Union). This experience has led us to consider what attitudes socialists and trade unionists should have to war, particularly how we support opposition to imperialist wars, critiques of the armaments industry and […]| Labour Hub
The attack on trans rights is part of a broader right wing offensive and can be resisted by unifying all the struggles against it, argues Alex Burt. Throughout the election campaign last year, prog…| Labour Hub
Last month Saqi Books published Gilbert Achcar’s new book The Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective. Labour Hub interviewed the author about the book and the politica…| Labour Hub
Mike Phipps reviews Now, the People! Revolution in the Twenty-First Century, by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, translated by David Broder, published by Verso. Jean-Luc Mélenchon began his political life as a …| Labour Hub
The ceasefire between Israel and Iran is welcome, but fragile. The big question is: will it last? Carol Turner suggests some pitfalls to watch out for. Around midnight on Monday 23rd June, Presiden…| Labour Hub
Mike Phipps reviews The Most Dangerous Man in Britain?: The Political Writings, by Tony Benn, published by Verso. There’s good reason for a new collection of Tony Benn’s selected writings, set out …| Labour Hub
By David Osland Peter Mandelson famously once proclaimed: “We are all Thatcherites now.” The former MP for Hartlepool was speaking for himself, of course. That precise choice of words, annunciated …| Labour Hub
With a Rock against Racism relaunch in the offing, Mark Perryman remembers being there the first time. In the wake of this summer’s racist riots, a ‘relaunch’ of Rock against Raci…| Labour Hub
By John McDonnell MP To understand why the riots have taken place and how to respond to them, you have to start by looking at who has been involved. Drawing on other historical examples, …| Labour Hub
