Mark Best

The resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby amid the Church of England's abuse scandal has revealed a rot that extends way beyond one person. The Makin Report's findings of systemic cover-ups, including decades of no action against the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, expose the Church as a symbol of institutional decay and elite privilege. These findings demand more than an apology; it requires a transformative shift towards genuine accountability, led not by bishops but by the working class and survivors themselves.

“I call now, as before the election, for the politics of partnership”, Keir Starmer told the Trades Union Congress in September, “with us in government, with business, and most importantly of all with working people”.

Unite's opposition to attacks from Labour should include putting demands on its sponsored MPs to voice that opposition. Seven Labour MPs were suspended from Labour for voting against the two-child benefit cap, and six of those are Unite-sponsored MPs.

At the time of writing, over two million signatures have made their way onto a petition calling for a general election as “the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead-up to the last election.”

In its dying days, the Tory government announced plans to hit out-of-work and unwell benefit claimants to save £3 billion a year.

Like most councils in Britain, RCT Council faces a funding gap, after years of austerity under Tory and Labour governments. And councillors are proposing devastating cuts.

We're well over 100 days into Keir Starmer's rule, and we are seeing the continuation of austerity, taking from one mouth to feed another.

Editorial of Socialism Today issue 283 “It is time to study Caligula. That most notorious of Roman emperors killed what was left of the republic and centralised authority in himself.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Budget listed an extra £1.3 billion in funding for local councils. But that will not alleviate the crisis. Councils are predicted to have a shortfall of over £4 billion next year. And even that masks the scale of the funding crisis and what has been lost from council services.

Dan Townsend, Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Storm Bert has left communities across South Wales reeling.