Spanish Republican flags on the London South Bank Last Saturday, July 15, more than 300 people, amongst them veteran members of the International Brigades, gathered in London to pay homage to all those who went to fight Franco in the 1930s.
John McDonnell decides to stand for Labour Party leadership We have long stated that there is no fundamental difference between Blair and Brown. That is why we welcome the decision of John McDonnell, Labour MP, to stand for the leadership as the candidate of the left. We also reproduce John McDonnell's full statement on his stand.
Britain: Labour, New Leader, New Direction – Socialist Candidate Needed The much vaunted ‘smooth transition’ from Blair to Brown would not imply any policy change whatsoever. Consequently, Blair’s replacement by Brown would propel Labour further along the course to losing the next election. What is required is a socialist candidate.
Britain: No To State Funding - Unions Must Reclaim Labour The new leader of the Tories has suddenly become very interested in reducing individual donations to political parties. In reality what lies behind this is an attempt to cut trade union funding to the Labour Party and replace it with public funding.
The Wind That Shakes The Barley... This latest of Ken Loach’s films is well crafted and well thought. It has been thoroughly researched and really gets under the surface of the processes and the events that helped shape the current situation on the island of Ireland.
Scottish Socialists on the verge of a split The Scottish Socialist Party is being torn apart by an internal wrangle that was sparked off back in 2004 by a dispute between its leading figure, Tommy Sheridan, and the News of the Worldnewspaper about his personal life. All genuine socialists back the SSP against attacks by the state, but questions need to be asked of why the party has reached this sorry state.
Britain: Peugeot Coventry - The Fight Continues Peugeot is planning to move production from its Coventry plant in the UK to Slovakia. There labour costs are one quarter of what they are in the UK. Capitalists have no concern for their workers. They go where they can maximise profits. The only answer is nationalisation under workers’ control.
Asbestos - The Deadly Legacy The number of people diagnosed with asbestos related diseases has been growing. This reveals the widespread use of this extremely toxic substance, which was not only used in industry but is present in many buildings today. Claims for compensation cost. That is why insurance companies have been lobbying – successfully – to get the laws changed in order to reduce payouts.
Blair Goes Nuclear Despite the almost incessant rainfall Britain is officially in a drought. There can be no doubt that climate change is contributing to changing weather patterns to adversely affect our water supply. This is a foretaste of what conditions will be like here in the not too distant future if something is not done to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment on a global scale.
Council Election Defeat: How Much Longer Can Blair Survive? Labour suffered a heavy defeat in England's local council elections, but Blair is desperately clinging on to office for now. In an attempt to cover up Labour's losses and to shore up his support Blair quickly moved to sack several high ranking ministers and promote loyal supporters. What Blair has installed is a Final Days administration. It is a bunker cabinet. Blair is finished and so is Blairism. These elections illustrate a growing class polarisation taking place in British society.
British Shop Workers Vote to Support Venezuela! In Blackpool over the May Day Bank holiday, the British shop workers’ union USDAW, representing some 330,000 workers, passed a resolution unanimously supporting the Venezuelan Revolution and affiliating to the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign.
British Perspectives 2006 “The British working class is entering a period when it requires the greatest belief in its mission and its strength. To gain this there is no need for any stimulants like religion or idealist morality. It is necessary and sufficient that the British proletariat understands the position of its country in relation to the position of the whole world, that it has become clear about the rottenness of the ruling classes and that it has thrown out of its way the careerists, quacks and those bourgeois sceptics who imagine themselves to be socialists only because they from time to time vomit in the atmosphere of rotting bourgeois society.” (Leon Trotsky, Writings on Britain, Volume...
Britain: "We have to show that Peugeot cannot walk over its workforce" The workers at the Peugeot plant in Ryton (near Coventry) risk losing their jobs and livelihood. Darrall Cozens reports on the latest situation after interviewing John Cummins, Deputy Convenor from Amicus, about the trade union plans to keep the plant open.
Hands Off Venezuela at May Day rally in London Hands Off Venezuela made a very good intervention in May Day. At the beginning of the march in Clerkenwell, a large stall was set up behind a massive HOV banner selling literature and t-shirts. The new HOV magazine was on sale throughout the demonstration.
Britain 1926 General Strike: On the Verge of Revolution Eighty years ago an earthquake shook the very foundations of British capitalism. In the greatest display of militant power in its history, the British working class moved into action in the General Strike of 1926. For 9 days, from May 3, not a wheel turned nor a light shone without the permission of the working class. In such a moment, with such power, surely it ought to have been possible to have transformed society? How can such a position have ended in defeat? (by Phil Mitchinson, originally published in May 2001)
