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Time is now for Scotland to put its stamp on history and unite against Trump-Brexia

Scotland must free itself from the new Anglo-American order.

openDemocracy.net - free thinking for the world

Time is now for Scotland to put its stamp on history and unite against Trump-Brexia

Scotland must free itself from the new Anglo-American order.

openDemocracy.net - free thinking for the world
 

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Asylum seekers are left destitute and homeless due to a lack of legal aid

One of the least reported devastations caused by government legal aid cuts has been on asylum seekers. Vulnerable people seeking refuge in the UK are left destitute and homeless when they cannot access legal support needed to challenge unlawful Home Office decisions.

UK's Official Secrets Acts overhaul provides little protection for whistleblowers

Whistleblowers who leak official information could be prosecuted and jailed regardless of the public merit of the information they revealed, or whether any damage to national interests was actually caused.

More mega-prisons won't fix a broken society

The British government is building more prisons to lock up more people in the most incarcerated country in Europe.

Canada's Corbyn?: Sid Ryan and the other North American left

An Irish born trade unionist is running from the left to become the new leader of Canada's New Democrats.

How do you keep news of dozens more A&Es closures off the front pages?

Government announcements to 'tackle health tourism’ squeezed drastic new A&E closures off the front pages yesterday – showing there’s no dead cat as useful as a foreign dead cat.

Time is now for Scotland to put its stamp on history and unite against Trump-Brexia

Scotland must free itself from the new Anglo-American order.

"The whole agitation has a nasty taste" - Nye Bevan on so-called 'health tourism'

As the government announces that NHS staff are to be issued with card readers to take payment at hospital bedsides, from anyone who can't prove their eligibility, it's worth re-reading NHS founder Nye Bevan's discussion of the 'health tourism' issue.

Scottish independence has to move with the times

The movement for independence finds itself in a very different context to 2014.

The BBC and the financial crisis: interview with Dr Mike Berry

What can we learn from how the BBC's coverage of the 2008 financial crisis and the long recession that followed?

State surveillance is a global threat to press freedom

The state should not have the power to secretly identify then persecute whistleblowers.

Management consultants scoop up on the secretive shake-up of the health service in England

These aren't the kind of consultants the NHS needs.

We (still) need to talk about immigration

We believe that a mature national conversation about immigration will show the British public to be more reasonable than the press or many politicians would have us believe.

Justice - open to all, like the Ritz hotel

The government has committed to reviewing cuts to legal aid, and, for now, the abolition of the Human Rights Act is on the back burner. However, the fight for justice and government accountability has only just begun.

New series: the environment, corporate power, democracy and the British state

Our new series will look at why Britain is failing on environmental justice... but, what should we call it?

It is the prisons, not the prisoners, that are to blame for record number of deaths

There were a record number of deaths in prison in 2016. The problem lies not with the vulnerability of prisoners or lack of staff but with the deprivation that defines prison life.

The abdication of The Commons: how Article 50 saw parliament vote against its sovereignty

Westminster voted tonight to pass responsibility to the people, ending centuries of its sovereignty just as Trump rampages through America's rules.

Just as cruel as Trump’s ban: where is the resistance to May’s policy on European residents?

As parliament votes for a Brexit plan which doesn't guaruntee the rights of EU nationals living in Britain, where are the anti-Trump protesters?

Dirty power corrupts

It's time for the Welsh government to act against filthy coal power.

Debunking the myths that underpin Britain's arms exports to Saudi Arabia

The five main arguments for the UK to keep exporting arms to Saudi Arabia all hold little water.

Rolls Royce's corruption has real victims

Britain's biggest manufacturor has apologised in court for bribing middle-men around the world. But the ruling on Rolls-Royce’s settlement – following widespread corruption allegations – fell rather short; particularly for their victims.

Do you remember what happened to David Kelly?

In this extract from his memoirs, Tom Mangold recounts the real story of what happened to his friend, the world's leading weapons inspector, Dr David Kelly.

Theresa May’s refusal to speak in Ireland’s parliament is an act of foreign policy vandalism

Turning down an invitation to become the second ever British PM to address the Dáil, while clutching Trump's hand, May displays disastrous imperial neurosis.

The NHS - Theresa May's dowry gift to Donald Trump?

Our Prime Minister is so desperate for a Brexit-salvaging marriage of convenience with Trump, she's suggested the NHS could be part of a rushed trade deal – and her vows about it being 'free at the point of use' leave too much unsaid.

Theresa May, the press and a lesson from history

If Theresa May is brave enough to stand up to the press, she will reap the rewards.

England has been resenting Europe for a very long time

England's vote to leave the EU is an echo of events long ago...

The BBC is neither independent or impartial: interview with Tom Mills

Is the BBC really impartial? Interview with scholar of the BBC, Tom Mills, on his new book.

To understand women's rights we must look at gendered laws

Following the global march for women's rights on Saturday, we must look more closely at the subtle but profound ways in which inequality is perpetuated by the law.

The failed Trident missile test is emblematic of a wider malaise

The UK Government insists that it is in favour of multilateral disarmament but this pretence has been laid bare by its vehement opposition to the forthcoming Nuclear Ban Treaty.

Trump is a unifier for the left – but what matters is who leads

Protests against Trump's presidency brought the left together around the world. But who gets to decide where this movement goes next?

You get what you pay for – landmark study exposes NHS privatisation risks

England’s NHS has relied on outsourcing cleaning but new firm evidence about increased infection risks should make it reassess.

After the Women's March on London: what now?

If just 3-4% of the 100,000 people who marched commit to further intersectional organising and activism, this could be a historic tipping point for feminist struggle in Britain.

Sturgeon should give Scotland the chance to reject May’s absurd adventurism

As Theresa May demands Scotland follows her loyally into the night, it's time for Sturgeon to call an independence referendum.

Liam Fox and the worst secret trade stitch up you've never heard of

The EU/US 'TTIP trade deal' is dead - but another deal that will do similar damage to our public services and protections is almost in place already. And the socialists are split...

A manifesto for Manchester

Andy Burnham has hit the ground running with an honest campaign around housing, although some of the ghosts of New Labour remain.

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