Author Archives: Hugh Barnes

Italy’s Covid-19 crisis, with the highest death toll in Europe, fuelled by right-wing populism and a decade of austerity is painfully reminiscent of Britain’s unfolding public health catastrophe, writes Toby Abse Italy has been more severely affected by Covid-19 than any other European country – 22,170 deaths by 16 April. Even if Spain has alsoContinue reading “The Italian Job: home truths from abroad”

By Mike Davies The Alliance for Green Socialism rejoiced when Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party because we shared his vision of a better, fairer society. For five years we campaigned alongside Corbyn’s Labour to build a nationwide political movement. But a political movement is different from a political party. A politicalContinue reading “Will Labour under Keir Starmer Become a Hostile Environment for Green Socialists?”

As the coronavirus warnings grew louder, Boris Johnson’s government was distracted by Brexit triumphalism. On testing, contract tracing and equipment supply, there was a scandalous failure to prepare By Hugh Barnes The coronavirus known as Covid-19 (or Sars-CoV-2 to epidemiologists) is a new virus that attacks the respiratory tract. It resembles influenza in some waysContinue reading “How Did the Tories Get It So Wrong?”

In medieval England plagues and epidemic diseases were a common scourge. More recently, however, outbreaks like Ebola happened in far-away regions of the Global South. Now the impact of disease (as of climate change) is being felt closer to home. Suburban roads melt in heat waves, storms flood the Peak District, and fires rage inContinue reading “Editorial”

I come from the southern region of Apulia, the heel of Italy’s boot, but am now living in Milan. Since 9th March, I have been self-isolating at home. It feels strange. Two months ago I’d never even heard of the coronavirus. Then, one day, at the beginning of February, when I was still working forContinue reading “Milan Diary by Riccardo Cappelli”

By Malcolm Christie The world has changed beyond recognition in the last few weeks, at least in terms of economic activity (or lack of it). There has been a sudden halt to most of the things we do to earn a living and to transactions we carry out as part of day-to-day life. We areContinue reading “Brave New Post-Pandemic World”

Brian Elmer on how the ‘Balkanisation’ of Europe is boosting separatist movements Imagine you are looking at a globe. The rotating map shows the world’s land mass and oceans. Different colours help you to spot the political boundaries so your eye goes immediately to the largest countries in terms of geography: Russia, Canada, Australia, China,Continue reading “The Rise of Euro-Tribes”

By Liz Peck On 27th February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey would no longer stop refugees trying to cross its borders into Europe. The borders in question, with Greece and Bulgaria, have been closed since 2016. Inside wartorn Syria, meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of displaced people have fled their homes in Idlib provinceContinue reading “Syria’s refugees escape out of the firing line into a pandemic”

By Bryn Glover Forty years ago, Stephen Croall and William Rankin described the relationship between humanity and the Earth in a nutshell. The biosphere surrounding the planet is like a thin coat of paint over a football, they suggested in Ecology for Beginners. The image is typical of the way they allude to the delicacyContinue reading “A Brief History of Ecology”