Craig Meighan

Identity politics is often brought up when it’s used by the left to denounce somebody with whom they disagree with. We hear countless stories of Gen Z at university campuses shutting down right-wing speakers such as Milo Yiannopoulos or Ben Shapiro because their speech is just too frightening for them to handle. Right-wingers censoring speech is something not discussed as much but has historically been, and currently remains, a major issue. Take the religious right in America, who blamed Marylin Manson for school shootings, trying to stop their kids from listening to the provocative singer for fear they become a school shooter themselves. Or recently when Donald Trump said he would like to tighten libel laws in the US. And even Theresa May, the-then home secretary, who banned Tyler, the Creator from the UK for “posing a threat to public order”. This right-wing snowflakism is embodied best by those who conflate criticism of the Israeli Government with prejudice against Jews as a p

On a windy, overcast autumn day thousands of low-paid women were out on strike in Glasgow in protest of stalled talks with the local council over the long-running issue of equal pay. The rain was spitting, the cold just seeping through my two-layers, but the atmosphere was one filled with optimism and determination. Hundreds concentrated in Glasgow Green and George Square holding banners and placards lambasting former and current council members, demanding pay and drawing attention to the work women have put into the city. It all started in 2006 when the-then Labour council brought in the Job Evaluations Scheme which was actually intended to eliminate gender pay inequality. But the scheme built in a three-year protection system for men who lost out on bonuses, softening the blow to their pay packets. Women working in predominantly female jobs such as cleaners and care assistants - Cordia, for example, whose staff look after many older residents throughout Glasgow - were deem

Last month Theresa May announced she would ban restaurants owners from taking the tips from waiters and waitresses. Restaurants such as Prezzo and Zizi have garnered widespread criticism for their role in taking a cut in the tips that their staff have earned. But with over 165,000 businesses in hospitality that employ well over one million people there have remained a plethora of companies who have avoided the sunlight that was shone onto these bigger chains, avoiding media scrutiny and publish backlash. News of restaurants taking a cut of 10% in the tips staff receive - which Zizi, for example, was found to have been doing - to some was a shocking surprise – but to others, it earned the response: “is that all?”.  Some waiting staff find this to be a meagre reduction as they claim they have had up to 100% of their tips taken from them. Most aren’t aware of their rights, the laws surrounding tipping and are too scared to speak out in fear of losing their job. While in

Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images At her party conference in Birmingham last month Prime Minister Theresa May boldly claimed ‘austerity’ is over. ‘Better days are coming,’ she said to a country reeling from cuts to public spending. In a tumultuous time where the head spin of Brexit negotiations brings new and frantic warnings of gloom and economic doom day in and day out it’s a sigh of relief for most to hear that austerity is over. Cash-strapped families who’ve seen their incomes fall over the years will be happier hearing they might not see a further reduction in their working tax credits. The cuts to welfare have been deep ones for many families in the UK as shown by the  Child Poverty Action Group and the Institute for Public Policy Research’s report that a couple with two young children, one working full-time and the other part-time on the national living wage, will lose more than £1,200 a year due to universal credit cuts. The Institute for Fiscal Studies showed t

The 1975 are back with what they do best in their new single It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) : a catchy pop-rock record with some class lyrics. The intro to the song will be a breath of fresh air to fans who found the lead guitar part in the band’s first single Give Yourself A Try obnoxiously repetitive and overly harsh. This lead part, however, (unlike the one in the first single) doesn’t continue to play throughout the entirety of the song. And, while we are on the subject, is a weird artistic choice for a band who are clearly more than capable of coming up with interesting and fun guitar parts. Take their previous songs She’s American or UGH! for example. The first verse finds a desperate character “Little Danny” in search for his next hit. He notes the effects of drug addiction, in this case, heroin: “He falls asleep during conversation,” speaks to the way drug addiction erodes health to the point where someone can’t retain consciousness when in discussion. H

The Forge is 30 years old this month  Back in the late 1980s, the Forge Shopping Centre was a phoenix rising from the ashes of what was once Scotland’s largest steelworks. At the heart of the engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate William Beardmore and Company Parkhead Forge employed over 20,000 people at its peak. But with deindustrialisation and a stint of different owners the Forge as a steelworks site closed for good in 1983. Then in 1988, the Forge Shopping Centre opened to the public. Built under the GEAR (Glasgow East Area Renewal) scheme it was intended to bring development potential to the East End under Europe’s largest urban regeneration project. At the time the Forge broke new grounds with the largest supermarket in Scotland but in recent times it has been dwarfed by the likes of Silverburn in Pollock (over 3 times the size of the Forge) and faces stiff competition from the erection of 13 newly opened stores since its inception. “It’s getting really q