Britain: The Crowning of Gordon Brown Thanks to the sabotage of some 300-odd members of the Parliamentary Labour Party, ordinary Labour Party members and affiliates, who were expecting a leadership election, ended up with no election and a “one member, no vote†imposed candidate. The task now is to strengthen the left in preparation for future battles.
Sectarianism is no way forward for the British Left Throughout the history of the labour movement we have witnessed the development of sectarianism within a section of the left. It reflects the inability to understand that the mass of the working class moves through its traditional mass organisations. The sectarian ignores this and believes that all you have to do is declare the "new party" and then the masses will come flocking.
John McDonnell - "Don't mourn, organise" We are reproducing here a letter sent by John McDonnell to all his supporters in which he stresses the need to now build the Left of the Labour Party. The campaigning work of the recent period is not wasted. It can be the basis for strengthening the left.
Britain: Brown grabs labour leadership without election – McDonnell kept off ballot The ranks of the Labour Party and trade unions have been denied the right to vote on who they think the next leader of the party should be. This has been achieved by convincing a handful of Labour MPs not to nominate John McDonnell. But this is not the end of the story. Now is the time to redouble efforts to build up the left of the Labour Party in the coming period.
Britain: Sectarianism, the elections and the demise of the SSP While the Blairites are licking their wounds after last week's elections results, the results of the Scottish Socialist Party and Solidarity in Scotland and the Socialist Party in England should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that sectarian politics is a dead end.
Britain: Labour’s electoral setback - Time to Change Course! Last week’s elections confirmed the damage that Blairism has done to the Labour Party. Far from being the man who “wins elections” as the Blairites boasted in the past, Blair has become a liability. After ten years he has thrown away the 1997 victory. Now is the time to draw lessons from this whole experience and fight to change the leadership of the Labour Party.
British local elections – Blair more unpopular than Thatcher! Tony Blair is now more unpopular than the much-despised Margaret Thatcher, an amazing achievement, considering how hated she was. The latest polls put Labour on 29%, the lowest support for the Labour Party for 25 years! Today we will see how close these figures are to reality once the results are out.
Scotland: Labour fear a drubbing in today's Scottish Elections Support for nationalism in Scotland is an indictment of the widespread disdain towards the agenda of New Labour. And yet a recent poll revealed that while 88% of Scots want more power for the Scottish parliament, only 27% want full independence. Rather than independence, the workers of Scotland want an end to cuts, privatisation and all the other Tory policies Blair has continued to apply.
Scottish Elections 2007 Today Scotland goes to the polls. With capitalism red in tooth and claw and public services cut to the bone, people's needs are at odds with parliamentarians' actions. What developments can we expect? A grim reminder of the ultimate failure of Blairism and the policies it represents.
Britain - Victory: sacked Amicus worker wins tribunal Sacked Amicus Press Officer and deposed former editor of the Amicus Unity Gazette, Des Heemskerk, has won his tribunal case for unfair dismissal from his job in the union.
Brown's budget – tax cuts for the rich The UK's Finance Minister (and hopeful for the Labour leadership after Blair) Gordon Brown presented his last budget yesterday. The announced income tax cuts in reality are being taken back by increased tax rates for some of the poorest households while the richest income earners would benefit the most.
Europe's Airbus workers fight job cuts! Airbus workers throughout Europe have reacted with anger to the announcement on 28 February of the axing of 10,000 jobs at its plants in Europe as part of its "Power 8" plan. Following the announcement, Airbus workers responded with walk-outs and stoppages in France and Germany.
Blair’s Final Days As Blair prepares to hand over leadership of the Labour Party to Brown, opinion polls reveal how low support for Labour has fallen. We face the real prospect of a return of the Tories at the next general election. Blairism has failed abysmally and it is time to change course and adopt genuine socialist policies.
Britain: The new law on “age discrimination” and what it means for workers Recently the British government introduced a law banning discrimination on the basis of age. On this basis some older workers will be able to stay at work beyond the statutory 65. How will this affect the lives of workers under capitalism?
Private equity – a new capitalist mutation Behind the term “private equity†hides good old “asset stripping†or “corporate raiders with junk bondsâ€. It is not about making profits from making things and selling them. It’s about making money from money, buying up companies, stripping them and putting them back on the market with a mountain of debt. Or to use a simpler term, it’s capitalism.
