Blog – Thurrock Labour Left

The bin strikes…and why it concerns us all

With the cost of living soaring and house prices spiralling in Thurrock, workers cannot afford a pay cut. Trevor Osborne argues we all have a stake in the bin strike…

Thurrock bin workers set to take on rubbish employers

Thurrock refuse workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action with a 90.7% yes vote in the industrial action ballot with a 73.5% turnout. The Unite the Union members are…

Essex Arise: Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt

The Peasants Revolt of 1381-82 was the very first time a large section of English people fought for the idea that 'all men are equal.' Trevor Osborne acknowledges the huge…

Reform or Revolution?

Mick Hall argues that in a period of serious crisis, the debate between reform and revolution becomes even more important. The Guardian has a header today - "Labour Needs a…

Little Thurrock Marshes exposes the dysfunction of planning in Thurrock

A cross-party, pro-developer alliance on the Planning Committee has voted to build 161 houses on a flood plain against the advice of planning officers and legal advisors. It exposes how…

Book Review – The War on Disabled People

Punitive welfare regimes and the removal of support for disabled people under successive Labour and Conservative governments have resulted in a situation described by the UN as a 'human catastrophe'.…

Starmer’s Daily Mail article sparks consternation

The Daily Mail has a long history of attacking the Labour Party, trade unions and oppressed minority groups. Mick Hall argues that it is a viciously reactionary rag that should…

Drug Legalisation? Time for a real debate

Mick Hall makes the case that addiction, trafficking and incarceration cause enormous harm. How much longer should Britain wait for a rational, evidence-based approach to drugs? In 1971 US president…

A force to be reckoned with? Thurrock’s labour movement in the 1970s

In the early 1970s the Tory government tried to unleash war on the working class. Workers in Thurrock defied anti-union laws, took unofficial action and struck to support other workers.…

Spy cops public inquiry: does Starmer have questions to answer?

Mick Hall examines the long-delayed investigation into abuses by 'spy cops'. Public inquiries are the way the ruling classes kick troublesome issues into the long grass until the heat has…

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