Poverty

Knife crime and youth violence: poverty, powerlessness and a way ahead

A commission has found that austerity has played a central role in creating the conditions for the spike in knife crime around the country, reports Kiri Tunks
12 reasons to protest on Saturday for a General Election Now

The Tories have fashioned a Britain of destitution and booming social injustice. We need to mobilise to force a general election, writes William Hendy
France's streets flooded with protest three days before Christmas

The Yellow Vests outwitted Macron's repressive state forces to stage a surprise mobilisation in Paris and storm towns and roundabouts across France, reports Susan Ram
Counterfire's books of the year - part one

We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months
The People's Assembly launch the Britain is Broken campaign

Austerity has failed but it continues to wreak havoc for millions of people. Shabbir Lakha reports from the launch of a new campaign to end austerity
Food banks gone, rough sleeping gone: this is what the end of austerity should look like

Austerity has fundamentally reshaped our society and continues to intensify inequality. It must be ended and those responsible must be held to account, insists Counterfire
Universal Credit: the cruellest cut

The Tory government's welfare reform programme ruins lives and must be scrapped, argues Steph Pike
We must stop Universal Credit now: it's already wrecking lives

The government has pushed the full roll-out of Universal Credit further down the road, but we must stop it altogether, argues John Rees
The Palestinians deserve better than this – weekly briefing

Any concessions on anti-imperialism will not only weaken Jeremy Corbyn but the whole of the radical left, argues Lindsey German
Why summer holidays are a time of dread and not joy for many families

We are not a poor society, and should not be failing our children like this, argues Kelly Grahan
Don’t look here, look there: the one percent, inequality and Jeremy Corbyn - weekly briefing

The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer isn’t a fact of life; it’s a set of politics that we can change, argues Lindsey German
We’ve seen the largest rise in poverty since Thatcher: resistance is a necessity

The latest figures on living standards tell us austerity’s class warfare is more dangerous than ever. Mass struggle is an urgent requirement, argues John Clarke
The rise of president ‘AMLO’: Mexico’s left turn?

The landslide triumph of anti-establishment figure Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emerged from a disastrous social and economic crisis for Mexico’s ruling order and traditional party, opening up a new era of possibility for the left, argues Sean Ledwith
Why was Marielle Franco assassinated?

The campaigner became a target after standing up for the rights of Rio’s poor communities
Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation - book review

A new collection of writing about poverty in the US shows that America is broken, but the answer is to join in the struggles on the streets, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh.
Kensington and Chelsea: a tale of two boroughs

Doctor, activist and local resident Mona Kamal describes the genesis of a tragedy
Can neuroscience change our minds?

Steven and Hilary Rose debunk the ideologically loaded claims of reductionist neuroscience in a short but clear book, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Hunger Pains: Life inside Foodbank Britain

Austerity policies targeting the benefits system have created enormous suffering, as a study of the rise of foodbanks shows, finds Ellen Graubart
I, Daniel Blake: the tragic ramifications of austerity

Tom Griffiths reviews Ken Loach's new film, which gives viewers a glimpse into the heartbreaking realities of austerity Britain
Latin America: reformism hits the rocks

As the economic downturn hits Latin America, Dan Morgan considers the impact on progressive developments and looks ahead to the role of political organisations
Cutting student bursaries only makes the NHS crisis worse

Danielle Tiplady takes a look at how the Tories' policies are destroying the NHS
Housing for need not for greed

Social housing is no longer an option for all but a handful, writes Alastair Stephens
A Diet of Austerity: the war on weight

How the working class is blamed for the world’s ills: The final extract from Elaine Graham-Leigh's new book, A Diet of Austerity: Class Food and Climate Change
A Diet of Austerity: blaming the poor

In this extract from her new book Elaine Graham-Leigh argues that food production and consumption is now a mainstream explanation for climate change - and part of shifting blame onto the poor

Poverty

Poverty

A commission has found that austerity has played a central role in creating the conditions for the spike in knife crime around the country, reports Kiri Tunks

The Tories have fashioned a Britain of destitution and booming social injustice. We need to mobilise to force a general election, writes William Hendy

The Yellow Vests outwitted Macron's repressive state forces to stage a surprise mobilisation in Paris and storm towns and roundabouts across France, reports Susan Ram

We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

Austerity has failed but it continues to wreak havoc for millions of people. Shabbir Lakha reports from the launch of a new campaign to end austerity

Austerity has fundamentally reshaped our society and continues to intensify inequality. It must be ended and those responsible must be held to account, insists Counterfire

The Tory government's welfare reform programme ruins lives and must be scrapped, argues Steph Pike

The government has pushed the full roll-out of Universal Credit further down the road, but we must stop it altogether, argues John Rees

Any concessions on anti-imperialism will not only weaken Jeremy Corbyn but the whole of the radical left, argues Lindsey German

We are not a poor society, and should not be failing our children like this, argues Kelly Grahan

The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer isn’t a fact of life; it’s a set of politics that we can change, argues Lindsey German

The latest figures on living standards tell us austerity’s class warfare is more dangerous than ever. Mass struggle is an urgent requirement, argues John Clarke

The landslide triumph of anti-establishment figure Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emerged from a disastrous social and economic crisis for Mexico’s ruling order and traditional party, opening up a new era of possibility for the left, argues Sean Ledwith

The campaigner became a target after standing up for the rights of Rio’s poor communities

A new collection of writing about poverty in the US shows that America is broken, but the answer is to join in the struggles on the streets, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh.

Doctor, activist and local resident Mona Kamal describes the genesis of a tragedy

Steven and Hilary Rose debunk the ideologically loaded claims of reductionist neuroscience in a short but clear book, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

Austerity policies targeting the benefits system have created enormous suffering, as a study of the rise of foodbanks shows, finds Ellen Graubart

Tom Griffiths reviews Ken Loach's new film, which gives viewers a glimpse into the heartbreaking realities of austerity Britain

As the economic downturn hits Latin America, Dan Morgan considers the impact on progressive developments and looks ahead to the role of political organisations

Danielle Tiplady takes a look at how the Tories' policies are destroying the NHS

Social housing is no longer an option for all but a handful, writes Alastair Stephens

How the working class is blamed for the world’s ills: The final extract from Elaine Graham-Leigh's new book, A Diet of Austerity: Class Food and Climate Change

In this extract from her new book Elaine Graham-Leigh argues that food production and consumption is now a mainstream explanation for climate change - and part of shifting blame onto the poor