Features

The Tory Kickstart scheme is a joke. We need a real plan to beat youth unemployment

The Tories’ flagship ‘Kickstart’ scheme isn’t a subject that has received a great deal of coverage either in the monopoly media or in the labour movement since it was launched as part of the Summer Budget in 2020. This lack of coverage and awareness might be surprising given that it is being touted as the Tories silver bullet to spiralling youth unemployment resulting from the pandemic. In fact, it is really their only significant policy in terms of youth unemployment. But there is a good reason you probably haven’t heard much about it since the scheme was launched. Despite all the government spin, it has been a complete failure.

Trump hysteria ends in anti-climax

Under Biden, as before, we need the broadest possible class-conscious coalition against the capitalist machine that intends to march the US and the world into more war and poverty — singling out Trump as a ‘fascist’ aberration only hinders that task, writes Nick Wright.

Twitter @camila_turriani

Poetry Corner: The Men by Pablo Neruda

The Men by Pablo Neruda, translation by Alfred Yankauer

Pablo Neruda was a prominent Chilean Communist, as well as a Nobel prize-winning poet in both literature and peace. Neruda played key roles in two Chilean governments and experienced the outlawing of Communism in 1948 and later became a close adviser to the Socialist President Salvador Allende only to die in hospital of cancer at the time of Pinochet’s US-backed coup. Better known nowadays only for his poetry, he was a hugely popular poet in Chile at the time and remains popular throughout the world today.

Poetry Corner: Midnight by Mourid Barghouti

Yesterday it was announced that the Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti had passed away. Today we feature an extract from his poem ‘Midnight’ about the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

A ‘new Party’? The definition of insanity

The Labour Party, the parliamentary front of the labour movement, is officially under a ‘new leadership’. Since Starmer assumed leadership in April 2020, he has relentlessly sought to sweep away Corbyn’s legacy.

Leeds v Crystal Palace

A bit of a different look to a gameweek ending feature match this time as a Leeds United team on a hot streak hosted Crystal Palace at Elland Road. Leeds, who were looking to make it three wins in four, had a chance to break into the top ten if they managed to bag the three points against a Palace team that had won their last two.

Neoliberal authoritarianism in Egypt

The whiplash of authoritarianism is being ruthlessly used in Egypt. On January 6, 2021, Ahmed Khalifa, social news editor of Egypt 360 website, was arrested after publishing a series of reports on workers’ legitimate protests. He was falsely charged with joining a terrorist group and spreading fake news, and remains in detention to date. Before his arrest, Khalifa published articles about strikes at the state-owned ElDelta Company for Fertilizers and Chemical Industry.

Brady breaks records at Super Bowl LV

Tom Brady has guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a victory that has shattered multiple NFL records in the early hours of Sunday morning in the culmination of America’s biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl. With his seventh ring, Brady has racked up seven Super Bowl wins which is more than any NFL team and has solidified his position as the single greatest dynasty in American Football history.

Jewish Involvement in the French Resistance

The Jewish population under the German occupation of France suffered a unique fate, being attacked by the anti-Semitic policies of both the occupants and Vichy. In response, the Jews in France joined various resistance organisations in an effort to preserve their communities and to fight for the liberation of France from Nazism.

Weekend Premier League recap

A busy sporting weekend was carried through by nine Premier League fixtures from up and down the country. While each game has its implications and importance to fans, there was one game happening at Anfield that everyone had their eyes on as two Premier League giants clashed in a fixture that could certainly be pointed to as a turning point come the end of the season.

Tottenham v. Chelsea

Another midweek fixture came to a close at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night as a struggling Tottenham played host to a Chelsea side that is starting to show signs of rejuvenation under the new management of Thomas Tuchel.

Premier League recap

We are back in the thick of another midweek fixture list with another five games taking place overnight. Plenty of teams playing to get themselves back in winning ways from the weekend and, with the games coming thick and fast and the season being the closest we’ve seen in a while, points are more valuable than ever.

Premier League recap

The hits just keep on coming as we begin another full midweek fixture. Four games to dive into overnight with goals and incidents aplenty including a possible title contender trying to bounce back from a recent slump and a bottom of the table clash that, for the loser, ticks their doomsday clock ever closer to midnight and relegation.

Class struggle is back, but will class politics follow?

Nick Wright argues that despite the disappointing end to the Corbyn era in 2019, the labour movement is not in a weaker place in terms of militancy, membership and motivation — and this can be translated into electoral success once again.