Pete

In early 1944, the French Resistance staged an uprising against Nazi rule on the Glières plateau, high up in the Alps. Though defeated, it remains one of the great moments in the history of rebellion against Hitler in occupied Europe.

The late Professor Stephen Hawking, a committed Leftist, often intervened in political debates. His approach to Brexit is an excellent compass for guiding progressives through the post-referendum world.

In the 17th century, the preacher-poet John Donne wrote a short poem which has since become the reference-point of choice for those wanting to promote internationalist values, from Ernest Hemingway to the Radical Tea Towel Company.

In 1789, the abolitionist leader William Wilberforce struck upon a vital truth of global economics – the West became developed by under-developing everywhere else.

In 1935, Mussolini's fascist forces invaded Ethiopia. Sylvia Pankhurst led the international protests which followed, forging a lifelong bond in the process.

In the 1880s, the US labor movement was doing battle for a shorter, eight-hour working day. Out of this struggle came May Day – the worldwide celebration of workers' rights and resistance to the greed of the 1%.

In 1966, America's most renowned boxer refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War. The backlash led to the loss of his heavyweight boxing titles, but Ali's resistance helped fuel the anti-war movement.

In April 1932, hundreds of working people from Manchester trespassed on private land in the Peak District to protest against the lack of public access to the British countryside.

The story of the youngest ever elected female MP and her non-violent (minus 1 slap) fight for equality in Northern Ireland. There’s a woman, turning 72 today, who one Irishman recently summed up as “our ”.

In 1941, with the United States at war against Hitler in Europe, the African American civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph took the government to task for ignoring racism at home while fighting against it on the other side of the world.