Trust me, I’m Andy
While the UK gets ready for Andy Burnham as the seventh tenant of Downing Street since 2016, the numbers point to a political crisis.
Don’t expect catastrophes to usher in global justice
Global Justice Report maps out clear need for system change and how it can be achieved.
From loveless landslide to loveless defeat
We are living through a whole system crisis and changing Labour’s leadership won’t make a difference.
‘A victorious army disarmed and handed over to its enemies’
100 years since a General Strike shook Britain and when workers formed Councils of Action.
Frances Aviva Blane: Abstract Expressionism for our time
Frances Aviva Blane’s raw canvases have an elemental power, as she moves between painted heads, pure horror and lyrical abstraction.
On the Big March together
The biggest multi-cultural demonstration of commitment to a world free of the spectre of fascism, racism and far right politics.
No to Trump’s war on Iran
Trump’s bombs will never liberate the Iranian people. Like Netanyahu’s attacks on Iran and Lebanon, these are desperate ploys as they face elections.
Ukraine Unbroken
Five plays at London’s Arcola Theatre bring to life Ukraine’s struggle for self-determination in a master class of ensemble acting.
Zurbarán: realism to the rescue
Baroque painter Zubarán’s crucifixes and saints at the National Gallery are a haunting experience, especially for those with a Roman Catholic upbringing.
America at the precipice
Mass protests against ICE need to evolve into popular assemblies to protect communities and crowd-source a new US constitution.
Four years after Russia’s invasion: Stand by Ukraine
The Real Democracy Movement salutes the heroic struggles of the Ukrainian people in their fight against the brutal, unprovoked invasion by Russian forces four years ago.
Hungary’s bloody history
A new book about Hungary’s wartime history makes grim reading, enlivened only by the courageous actions of those who resisted antisemitism and Fascist rule.
Travellers of the World Revolution
Travellers of the World Revolution introduces us to half a dozen revolutionaries drawn to Moscow in the summer of 1920 from around the world. Their purpose? To take part in the Second World Congress of the Communist International.
Venezuela: the old world order falls apart
The abject refusal of prime minister Keir Starmer to offer even the mildest of criticism of the unprovoked attack on Venezuela by US special forces, confirms the rapid descent into international lawlessness, where might is right and anything goes.
A woman who made a difference
Heli Kaatrakoski admires Bolshevik feminist Alexandra Kollontai’s journey through Finland’s history, as she reveals how Russians viewed their neighbours in the revolutionary years.
A budget that leads straight to Farage
If Labour under Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves was actually planning to hand over political power to the populist right in the shape of Nigel Farage at the next election, it couldn’t have done a better job than deliver a budget that inspires no one and will eventually leave many worse off.
Sister power
How a multi-generational sisterhood challenged Victorian morality and shaped art, literature and ideas – a pioneering show at Watts Gallery.
From the ruins to a republic: a way forward for Palestine and Israel
A project to achieve shared citizenship, constitutional equality, and real democracy in a united, democratic, and secular state is the way forward for Palestine–Israel.
The colliding worlds of Anna Ancher
A Danish painter overturned the generally accepted truth that a woman artist must struggle to be recognised.
Discovering Anna Ancher
For artist Peter Clossick, Anna Ancher’s expressive power with light is a great discovery.
Down with Trump, down with Starmer!
The contrast could not be clearer. While Donald Trump and his pal Keir Starmer were hiding behind royal aprons at Windsor, hidden away from public gaze and fawning over a feudal institution, thousands marched openly to protest against the president’s unprecedented second state visit to the UK. They demonstrated in support of Palestinians and against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza and for Ukraine’s right to self-determination.
Reconnecting with a
First Nation’s culture
In forming continuity with her people’s past, First Nation artist Konstantina re-discovers and re-invents for today’s generations.
Theatre Picasso
Two reviews of the latest Picasso exhibition at Tate Modern:
- All the world’s a stage by art critic Corinna Lotz
- THEATRE PICASSO: view from the inside by artist Peter Clossick
House of the People marks out new pathway for democracy
A significant milestone in charting a new, democratic social and political pathway for UK communities marked the historic inaugural House of the People sitting, held over three days in London.
Brought together by the Assemble project team, 100 people from across the UK drafted priorities for a people’s charter, as a citizens-sourced democratic mandate.
A year of hard Labour
A year ago, Keir Starmer won what became known as a ‘loveless landslide’. Labour achieved a massive overall majority on an historically low turn-out of under 60% and with just a third of the vote.
A year later and the ‘loveless landslide’ has turned into loveless nightmare, culminating in the debacle in the House of Commons when Starmer had to abandon not only his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, but the main plank of a welfare ‘reform’ bill in the face of a backbench revolt.
Kicking capitalism out!
A book about politics and football. Maybe not a promising tag-line in itself, but add Karl Marx and William Morris into the mix and curiosity is aroused. This little book, Beyond the Final Whistle: Football for a Better World sees football as an inspiration, even a catalyst for change in society at large, rather than the other way round.
The Yellow Wallpaper
Inside and outside realities are porous and transitional in the powerful work of twelve women artists in Angelica Joplin’s Incubator gallery
No to the bombing of Iran! Oppose UK military support!
Israel’s bombing of Iran marks a dangerous escalation in the use of military force by the major capitalist powers through their support for Netanyahu’s ultra-nationalist, corrupt, forever-war regime.
Stop Farage by taking the Assemblies road to people’s power
Reform’s humiliation of Labour and the Tories is the clearest indication that the UK’s political system is in a state of disintegration.
Caravaggio’s destabilising moments of recognition
Bringing time to a standstill: Why Caravaggio 2025 pulls in the crowds, an interview with Barberini director Thomas Clement Salomon.
Sunday 1 June 1pm
Marble Arch
Refugee from Nazis speaks at vigil for Ukraine’s children
Joining the vigil at Liverpool Street to demand the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russian forces following their invasion was Alf Dubs, now 92, who himself arrived at the same station in September 1939 as a six-year-old refugee from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.
Photographer of class struggle
In an exclusive interview, Peter Arkell recalls turning points in his life which inspired him to become a revolutionary photographer. In one dramatic episode, he snapped a group of industrial spies who were informing on dockworkers.
We are living through a critical crisis of the system as a whole, which is why we are supporting an initiative by Assemble to create a parallel power called the House of the People. They have just publicised their plan with an action at the House of Lords, calling for people to replace unelected peers.
“This is a revolutionary institution to make the UK a proper democracy for the first time,” the call-out says. You can find out more and take part here. Assemble has set up a fundraiser.
Concerned about what’s going on? Then lend your support!
Starmer’s own project chainsaw
The Starmer government’s attacks on older people, the disabled, environmental protection and public services are inspired by Trump.
Trump’s coup is watershed moment
In a matter of weeks, “disloyal” officials from the government machine have been sacked while Trump is remaking the federal state in his image. This is a coup.
Reclaiming the Future – book review
Simon Hannah’s sharp focus is to answer the question of questions: “How can we dismantle this dystopian nightmare and build something better?”
If I Must Die
Jenny Lewis is moved by the depth and scope of martyred fellow poet Refaat Alareer’s humanity.
Taiwan: Invisible Nation
Taiwanese independence and democracy campaigners speak powerfully for their self-determination in Vanessa Hope’s gripping film.
System crisis pandemic spreading fast
A new pandemic is spreading at a rapid rate. It’s nothing to do with the flu or Covid. This virus is about political system failure.
A revolution betrayed from within
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory – Larisa Reisner’s account of the Decembrists early revolt against Russia’s Tsar.
Trump’s path to dictatorship
Dictatorship makes its appearance in all sorts of guises, even through the ballot box, as Americans are likely to find out sooner rather than later. Donald Trump’s decisive victory, courtesy of the Democrats’ lame, arrogant campaign, is the start of a dramatic, historic overturning of the country’s constitution.
You too can draw the Renaissance
The creative spark (and erotic charge) of the Renaissance remains inspirational in drawings shown at the King’s Gallery.
Frank Auerbach RIP
Two London artists share personal memories of an artist who was a powerful force in the post-war London art experience.
Starmer’s Labour as the party of capital
Labour’s first budget for 13 years is built on sand while corporate investors are set to benefit at the expense of the working class.
Our groundbreaking Assemblies event
Advocates for assemblies came together in a ground-breaking event in October 2024, organised and hosted by the Real Democracy Movement. At Assemblies: the way forward, people who have theorised, supported and organised assemblies around the UK met under the same online roof for the first time.
‘Murdered’ by the Coal Board
People remember where they where they were when they heard the news of the Aberfan disaster on the morning of 21 October 1966. A tip high above the coal-mining village near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had slid down the mountain and slammed into a row of houses and a junior school, killing 116 children and 28 adults.
Revolutionary tales from the Hotel Lux
A gripping account of an Irish woman’s life with revolutionaries and radicals in Moscow’s Hotel Lux: secret loves and amazing friendships.
A government without politics
If you require any further proof that the political system is broken, you need look no further than the performance of the Labour government since it won the July general election.
me me me!
Frances Aviva Blane’s recent work juxtaposes masterful abstractions with obsessive self-images – on show in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
Up close and personal to Vincent
Vincent Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at the National Gallery – the best show in London, I came away totally invigorated.
Take Only What You Can Carry
Celebrating Ukraine’s resistance and cultural identity, thanks to a constellation of talented people, including photographer Noel Faucett.
Riots are proof of system failure
The riots are a timebomb going off, after the lowest election turnout for nearly a century.
A testament to youth in post-war London
Roger Mayne captured the tectonic post-war shift: from playing in the ruins to teenagers coming into their own.
After a ‘loveless landslide’, Labour falls into the arms of big finance
Labour’s huge majority gives the appearance of unchallenged power when, in reality, it is built on shifting sands.
Ukraine’s art in the eye of the storm
Paintings as messengers: In the Eye of the Storm at the Royal Academy defies Putin’s attempt to erase Ukraine’s culture.
Uncertain and dangerous times ahead
Blah, blah, blah, to quote Greta Thunberg. That’s what the noise of the general election sounds like. Is anyone listening to what the mainstream party leaders are saying as we near polling day?
Searching for the universal human
Michelangelo’s late period is troublingly contemporary, say artist Peter Clossick and art critic Corinna Lotz.
Two years after Russia’s invasion – why you should stand with Ukraine
As we enter the third year of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, it’s time to restate some basic facts behind a war that has displaced more than 3.6 million internally and forced another 6.3 million to flee as refugees to other parts of Europe.
We want to show that we are humans: Palestine art in London
Palestine Museum founder Faisal Saleh and 20 artists defy the cancelling of their culture and identity with works offering a narrative of hope and beauty.
Replacing the 3 Rs with curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and courtesy
Renewal, a Fifth Plinth sculpture by Patsy Hickman, celebrating adult education at Morley College is unveiled amidst acclaim.
When miners took on the state in their fight for jobs and communities
It is 40 years since the start of the longest, most bitter and one of the most fateful strikes in British history. In the spring of 1984, miners throughout the UK challenged the Tory government of Margaret Thatcher − not for more money, but for their jobs and communities.
When a Labour council fought Tory spending cuts
Forty years ago, a number of Labour-led councils confronted the Thatcher government over spending cuts. Their resistance stands in complete contrast to councils today as they prepare to implement yet another round of brutal attacks on vital services.
Israeli forces deliberately targeting civilians in Gaza
As tens of thousands marched through London once more, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and voicing support for Palestinians, an analysis of the Israeli bombing campaign showed that the proportion of civilian deaths had reached record levels.
Social progress in Chile with or without the state?
Across the world people often try to use the powers they have been granted by the state to bring about social change. And sometimes they strive to go beyond the state to create autonomous enclaves. Take part in our joint discussion with Museum of Care on Thursday 23 November at 20:00.
Joining the Jewish contingent on the Palestinian march
Marching alongside Jewish comrades on the London protest condemning Israeli state war crimes in Gaza and calling for the liberation of Palestine.
Grenada – revolution and invasion, 40 years on Part I
“Mommy it’s my birthday, am I going to die on my birthday – they’re bombing.” That’s what Fatimah Gilliam, a Black American schoolgirl, asked her mother on 23 October 1983 as a massive force of American troops invaded the tiny island of Grenada. Today, Fatimah is a lawyer, a consultant and the author of Race Rules: What Your Black Friend Won’t Tell You. Some 40 years on she wants the invasion to be remembered “for a multitude of reasons”, and so has shared her childhood experience of these dramatic events.
Grenada – revolution and invasion, 40 years on. Part II
Forty years ago, in October 1983, the small Caribbean nation of Grenada was invaded by a massive US force, bringing to a halt a revolutionary experiment that had begun four years earlier. There are crucial lessons to learn from this tumultuous period that offer a microcosm of the problems faced by attempts to create popular democracy and transform the state from capitalist to socialist.
A war crime is a war crime
Gaza is without power, food and water. Bombs rain down, killing indiscriminately. This is more than revenge for Hamas atrocities committed during their incursion. This is Israeli state terror. It is barbaric and genocidal.
Yet this war crime in a series of war crimes against the long-suffering Palestinian people in Gaza – dubbed the world’s largest open-air prison – is, needless to say, ignored by the US and UK governments and by the EU.
Loach’s new blast against the system
Ken Loach’s new film is the third of a series that all feature a storyline that plays out against the backdrop of crumbling care services and the isolation of individuals from society.
Sorry We Missed You; I, Daniel Blake and now The Old Oak can be seen as a three-part blast at Tory Britain – the inequality, unfairness and grinding poverty that their system forces onto people.
The Canadian-American-Jewish artist’s development is marked by a feeling of restless change, with the ability to reinventing himself, whilst absorbing a wide range of interests, all with a distinct political edge and sense of vulnerability.
Tax the rich? Not on Rachel Reeves’ watch
Rachel Reeves is Keir Starmer’s Shadow Chancellor, which means she’s responsible for Labour’s policy on the economy. And she’s sticking to the first of Labour’s 5 missions which puts growth before all as the source of the income needed to do all the other good things on offer. Like reducing debt, making everyone better off, restoring the NHS and other public services.
As the parties ‘converge’, how should we use our vote?
The next General Election campaign is well under way, although the date for holding the poll is as yet undecided. Both major parties are manoeuvring for position on various issues. One consequence is “convergence”, or the coming together of key Tory and Labour policies. Which begs the question about who to vote for when the election actually takes place.
The scandal of food bank Britain
The first food bank in the UK was launched in Salisbury in 2000 by Paddy and Carol Henderson after being contacted by a desperate mother who was having to send her children to bed hungry because she couldn’t afford to provide sufficient food. Little did they suspect how their numbers would mushroom.
Time to move on from strikes as protests
Protest strikes can’t beat Tory anti-union onslaught. Starmer favours fiscal discipline, aka low pay. United action and political leadership is needed.
Climate crisis: Just Stop Capitalism
Nothing will make governments act on the climate emergency, because they do not exist to do that. They exist to enable global corporations to continue business as usual and they plan to go right on doing that.
Joe McPhee’s Sound of Joy
Four more evenings of joy with Decoy and Joe McPhee. As a potent antidote to these beleaguered times, this music can’t be bettered.
Light and shade
Four outstanding musicians: Joe McPhee on saxophone with Decoy – John Edwards on bass, Steve Noble on drums and Alexander Hawkins on organ.
Munich’s ‘waiting room’ for displaced persons
How “Displaced Persons”, the surviving remnants of persecution, asserted their autonomy in Allied-occupied Munich between 1945 and 1950
Debt crisis would hit a Starmer government from Day One
When the dust had settled after the 2010 general election and the Tory-Lib Dem coalition had taken office, an incoming Treasury minister discovered a parting note left by his Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne. It’s message was clear. “I’m afraid there is no money” it read.
No to sportswashing! Football should belong to the people
Elite sport is rapidly being captured by big money and re-purposed. Billionaires, oligarchs and corporations are now being pushed aside by oil-rich nation states who use football and other sports to disguise the repressive nature of their regimes.