Opinion

It has been more than three and a half years since Operation Protective Edge saw a one month bombardment that killed thousands of Palestinians and destroyed life-sustaining infrastructure across Gaza. However, for many affected the reconstruction has yet to truly begin. A recent report from the Brookings Institution shows that many Gazans who lost homes are still living in shelters and other forms of temporary accommodation. A 2017 report from the World Bank found that only one third of all...

Following a week when the Conservatives were publicly outed for institutional racism and systematic poverty peddling the cartoon doing the rounds on social media depicted crowds of people gawping at the royal family's latest arrival as a homeless baby goes unnoticed on the street. With the political arena reaching fever pitch over the upcoming months it comes as a poignant reminder of how the big issues are easily buried in Britain, and for every piece of doomsday legislation that lies...

The skeletons of Britain’s past reared their ugly head this week following a series of race-related smears that smack of our dark colonial history. It was a cruelly timed twist of fate that saw Commonwealth leaders meet at the same time as the Windrush fiasco played out, but as British politicians back-pedalled over immigration policies reminiscent of Nazi Germany the dominions gathered to once again pledge their allegiance to an outdated regime in spite of all its shortcomings. Prince Charles,...

Are Arsenal fans the worst in the Premier League? Robert Owen questions if the fickle and expectant fans ruined Arsene Wenger's legacy. Whether you played Sunday league, or you've graced the top echelons of football, you will know that positivity and confidence is a precursor to success. It may well be a virtuous circle, but at the top level, having the fans behind you can be the difference between winning and losing. The extra spring in a player’s step. The...

  This week the Undercover Policing Inquiry finally releases the cover name used by the most notorious of the police spies that infiltrated anti-racist organisations during the explosion of anger sparked by the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and at the time of the subsequent Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. This officer, referred to as N81 and part of the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) operated under the name of 'Dave Hagan.' Movement for Justice (MFJ) was one of the organisations he was sent to...

  Last night a general debate on anti-Semitism took place in the House of Commons. A debate which really ought not be necessary in 2018. Anti-semitism should have been consigned to the dustbin of history a long time ago. But sadly, it was necessary. Anti-Semitism is a problem across British society. According to data from Campaign Against Anti-Semitism 2016 saw the highest number of anti-Semitic crimes ever recorded, a 45% increase since 2014. Much of today’s debate focused on anti-Semitism...

As Western leaders clash heads with Russia over the escalating Middle Eastern crisis the conversation dominating public discourse once again seems to revolve around everyone but the Syrian people. This morning our national newspapers ran with a series of bloodthirsty headlines stating the recent strike by the US, UK and France on Damascus and Homs a success, with the Daily Mail, The Sun, The Star and The Express all leading with triumphant declarations of military prowess. Only the Sunday Times made a...

Few people would deem a tough stance against racism to be a political own goal, but when your career is propped up by hard-line right-wingers that is precisely what it seems to be. At least, that is how Jacob Rees-Mogg might feel after he was lambasted for posting a Times column written by his father criticising Enoch Powell's infamous Rivers of Blood speech. Powell's Birmingham speech made predictions of societal collapse on the back of open immigration policies, even going...

  To read some of the coverage of the limited air and missile strikes against Syrian military targets on Friday April 13 2018 one might have deduced that this was Iraq War II the sequel. On the one hand May and Trump were busy congratulating themselves on their “tough” military response to the Syrian regime’s murderous use of chemical weapons against civilian targets in Douma. On the other, elements of a Stalinized Left who are reluctant to recognise the threat...