Issue 1588 - 04 June 2026
Not only a field of play
With the Mexico versus South Africa opening match of the 2026 World Cup just days away, Carl Collins examines the background and inherent contradictions of the beautiful game. It is not just about money, money, money
Letters
UFO commies; UFO truther; UFO relevance; YP Scotland; YP feds; YP’s St Jeremy; Cuba disgrace; One of the Neets; Lost generation; Radical centre?
Small-nation crook
Peter Murrell’s bizarre shopping habits have badly damaged the SNP. But the national question is still very much on the agenda, argues Paul Demarty. Around half of voters remain committed to separation
There is an alternative
Tony Blair accuses Labour of ‘playing with fire’ with personality politics. Instead he offers a political line that effectively amounts to banking on deregulation, the wonders of AI and tailing whoever occupies the White House. Mike Macnair thinks this is a recipe for continued decline
Our flag stays red
In terms of origins, the Green Party is unmistakably the progeny of far-right politics. Nowadays, though, it passes as leftwing. But that does not make it socialist, let alone revolutionary, argues Jack Conrad
Humans and other animals
Can carnivorous capitalism be ended through moral appeals or alternative technology, or does it require something more fundamental? Jon Hochschartner explores the relationship between the exploitation of animals and the Marxist theory of base and superstructure
Looking for an off ramp
Tump is in trouble. Congress has voted to embarrass him, Israel is determined on aggression and, far from collapsing, the Tehran regime continues to resist. Meanwhile, as Yassamine Mather reports, ordinary Iranians are suffering terrible deprivation