Issue 1445

A smart response?
Soaring energy prices are leading towards mass action in October, when 100,000 people intend to refuse to pay their gas and electric bills. Saskia Murphy hears from the organisers of Don’t Pay UK, as well as the experts warning of the consequences if they carry out their pledges.

Dancing in the city
Bradford will follow in Hull’s footsteps when it becomes UK City of Culture in 2025. But, asks Sarah Freeman, can the year-long arts programme really deliver long-term change for those who host it?

Truer words spoken
When American activist and musician Gil Scott-Heron played in Liverpool in 1984, his message chimed with a young Black kid from Toxteth with bleak prospects. Kelly Mattison meets Malik Al Nasir nearly four decades later to hear how a chance meeting after the show changed his life forever.

Plus
News, arts and entertainment, columnist Roger Ratcliffe on everlasting rockers, Open Heritage Days – and more.