The Fairplay Committee
Mitch Mitchell recounts the legacy of the Fairplay Committee, a group aiming to improve the conditions of black workers in the music industry.
Alan Freed: Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll
Alan Freed, one of the earliest promoters of rock ‘n’ roll, was hated by the US establishment for helping to break segregation in the music industry.
Government shuts door on child refugees
Amid the coronavirus chaos, the UK government is quietly shutting the door on child refugees.
Refugees and Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has made life even harder for refugees and people on the move, explains Mitch Mitchell of Refugee Lifeboat.
Mods and Rockers: the 1960s youth cult
Following his earlier A brief history of the Teddy Boys, Mitch Mitchell recalls the rivalries, real and manufactured, between the Mods and Rockers.
Music of the people: Country & Western
Mitch Mitchell (‘the Fenland Kid’) is back with another people’s music playlist. This time he’s here with a brief history of Country and Western.
What a way to make a living | Minicabbing since 1979
In the latest instalment of our What a way to make a living series, Mitch Mitchell reports on his experiences driving minicabs over the decades
Music of the people: The Blues
Mitch Mitchell is back with another people’s music playlist. This time he’s here with a brief history of The Blues
Music of the people: Skiffle
Mitch Mitchell is back with another people’s music playlist. This time he’s introducing Skiffle.
Music of the people: Doo Wop
Mitch Mitchell introduces a new series of playlists of ‘music of the people’. He starts this week with Doo Wop.
Four myths about migration and why they are nonsense
In recent years, especially since the referendum, electoral politics, as well as discussions in the media, have been predicated on increasingly open hostility to migrants and refugees. Mitch Mitchell recounts four of the most popular anti-migration myths and why they are wrong.
Homelessness: Rachmanism returns
As homelessness figures have risen yet again, Mitch Mitchell looks at the history of housing in the UK the post-war period.
Knife crime and the myth of the friendly copper
Mitch Mitchell argues that putting more police on the streets will not solve the problem of knife crime and will lead to more targeting of BAME youth.
A brief history of the Teddy Boys
The post war youth subculture that became the subject of a moral panic.
In Remembrance of ‘Alternative Comedy’
Jeremy Hardy was part of a left-wing generation who transformed British comedy and will be sadly missed.
Calais stories
Mitch Mitchell is a regular visitor to Calais a part of his work with Refugee Lifeboat.
Refugees – remember them?
Mitch Mitchell writes on Refugee Lifeboat, a new organisation that aims to marry humanitarian aid for refugees with an uncompromising political stand against state racism
A photo report on the Football Lads Alliance
Mitch Mitchell writes on Saturday’s march of the self-described “anti-extremism” group the Football Lads Alliance. Photos by Steve Eason.
#McStrike: Lively pickets and London rally mark first UK McDonald’s strike
Mitch Mitchell reports from the Cambridge picket lines and London rally of McDonald’s workers taking strike action for the first time.
15 October could be a dark day for refugees in Calais
It has been strongly rumoured that the threatened closure and demolition of the refugee camp in Calais, often referred to as “The Jungle” will commence on 15 October at 5am.
“Squeezing a quart into a pint pot”: the current situation in Calais
After the destruction of people’s homes there was temporary reduction in the numbers of refugees living in Calais, but many are now returning. The only people who are profiting from this stalemate are the people traffickers.
Rumble in the “Jungle”
Mitch Mitchell reports on the French state’s destruction in the Calais refugee camp on February 29.
Resist the forcible eviction of Calais refugees
While conditions in ‘the Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais have long been harsh, many residents are resisting the French government’s attempts to move them to new accommodation.
Calais and the refugee crisis: building solidarity and thinking through the politics
Mitch Mitchell from London2Calais looks back at six months of activism to deliver aid to refugees trapped in northern France.
Fascist success in the French elections: what will it mean for the refugees?
There has been a growing hostility to the refugees in the Calais camps, particularly since the Paris killings. Mitch Mitchell reflects on what the electoral success of the Front National in the French regional elections will mean for the refugees.
Police intimidate, harass and attack refugees with rubber bullets at Calais camp
Mitch Mitchell was an eyewitness to police intimidation at ‘The Jungle’ in Calais last week where rubber bullets were used to attack refugees.
Two stories from Calais
On Saturday 19 September, members of the London2Calais took part in a demonstration of solidarity with the refugees at the camp in Calais, known as “The Jungle”. Here are two stories they brought back with them.
Cambridge rallies to refugee cause
Mitch Mitchell reports on a march and rally in support of refugees in Cambridge.
Convoy to Calais part 2
Mitch Mitchell continues his report from the convoy to Calais, bringing food, clothes and solidarity to the migrants camped there.