From timeless Tory and DUP bigotry to breaking investigative exclusives -- here's what you were reading on our site last year.
2017 was certainly a busy year for politics and, in a crowded field, here are our most popular stories from the year:
1. Our former editor Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin slams Michael Gove’s archaic prejudices from this piece in March: ‘Michael Gove says Theresa May is a secret Catholic who can’t be trusted to deliver Brexit’.
2. Jayne Kirkham writes about shocking poverty wages in schools (from August): ‘Teaching assistants are earning the minimum wage. We need to talk about poverty pay’.
3. Niamh responds to public ignorance of the DUP’s history and policies in this take down of the Northern Ireland party from June: ‘Who are the DUP? Extreme social conservatives who blocked gay marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland’.
4. In a LFF exclusive, Josiah Mortimer uncovers the grim realities of Universal Credit faced by millions: ‘People on Universal Credit are being refused prescriptions and dental care’.
5. Mike Shaughnessy asks a question that got people in both progressive parties hot under the collar: ‘Is it time for the Green Party to affiliate to Labour?’
6. August spelled a series of humiliations for the Tories in our courts over employment law, Oscar Webb reported: ‘The government is being pummelled in the courts and it’s brilliant to watch’.
7. Keith Taylor reports on Richard Branson suing the NHS from December: ‘Virgin Care just sued the NHS for a fortune – but the Tories and Lib Dems made it possible’.
8. The right-wing press appeared to be on the back foot in September, Josiah Mortimer wrote: ‘The hard-right is about to lose its most important newspaper allies’.
9. Charlotte England slammed Yarls Wood and the immigration detention system generally in this piece in November: ‘Here’s why immigration detention it pointless as well as cruel‘.
10. Against a sea of voices in the commentariat saying the Tories would smash Labour at the polls, Sam Pallis had a different take on the election in this piece from April: ‘How Jeremy Corbyn becomes prime minister‘.
We hope you enjoyed them — and continue following us for biting, progressive news throughout 2018.
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