Britain

"Where there is discord may we bring harmony..." said Margaret Thatcher  30 years ago this May when she was elected as British Prime Minister in 1979. Some politicians are remembered for their achievements, in Aneurin Bevan's case the founding of the NHS; others like Tony Blair will be remembered as warmongers and traitors to the ideals of the Labour movement. Meanwhile John Major will be remembered, if at all, for his ineffectual personality and his blandness. But very few will have been hated by working people with such intensity as Margaret Thatcher.

General Motors, the largest car manufacturer in the United States of America, which employs nearly a quarter of a million people world wide, has filed for bankruptcy. This has initiated the largest industrial insolvency the world has ever seen with debts of £105 billion! The firm, which owns Vauxhall and its European sister Opel, employs 5,500 workers here in the UK. The future of the British employees have entered into uncertainty with sale of the European arm of General Motors to a consortium led by Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna, backed by Russian investment bank Sberbank.

On the day that the Pakistani army continued to be bogged down in a ferocious battle against the Taliban inside its own borders and yet another British soldier was killed in Afghanistan, the one hundred and fifty third since 2001, it is evident that the British military is engaged in a war it cannot win. Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth has outlined desperate measures which entail a wholesale reform of the Territorial Army. Gone forever will be the image of a glorified Dad’s Army as the TA is to be integrated with the rest of the army and better prepared for wars abroad.

Britain is experiencing a deep crisis – not only in terms of a collapsing economy – but a political and social crisis affecting its very foundations. The daily revelations in the Daily Telegraph of the misappropriation of public funds and outright corruption amongst MPs of all major parties have caused public outrage at a time of mass redundancies, repossessions and pay cuts. These astounding events mark a sea-change in British society.

The MPs expenses scandal - based on nicked data 'obtained' by the Daily Torygraph - has become the talking point of the day. Around Britain people are furious that these same publicly paid MPs, who tell us all to cut back and grandly complain about every minor infringement of benefit claims, have taken expense claim fiddling to a level undreamt off by most of us.

Workers at Visteon, following a four-week battle, have gained a victory. After the occupation of the Visteon plants and 24 hour picketing when the company announced its liquidation, Ford/Visteon bosses were finally forced to concede to the workers' demands. Workers in Enfield and Basildon have already voted in favour of the deal, while those at Belfast will be voting soon. Rob Sewell interviewed Rob Fitch, shop steward at the Visteon plant in Basildon, who was also one of the national negotiators that secured the new deal.

An active trade unionist, member of Unite, Steve Kelly discovered that he was on the Blacklist. Here gives an account of his experiences as a trade unionist and calls for action to be taken to remove the Blacklist.

The use of blacklists by bosses all over the world is common knowledge. They share information about known trade union activists and use this to stop them getting jobs. Recently in Britain proof emerged that such a list exists. Here we reproduce an article by the British Marxists on this important question.

The leader of the attempted occupation of the Visteon plant at Basildon (component supplier to Ford) speaks to Socialist Appeal. After the ending of the occupation, the workers have maintained a twenty-four hour picket on the factory. The plant in Belfast remains occupied.

The media has been trying - not too convincingly - to claim that the brutal response of the police in London of the past few days was a necessary response to violent anti-G20 demonstrators. All those who participated in the events saw a different picture, a police force intent on provoking violence. This is clearly part of a plan to portray the peaceful protestors as "violent", in effect an attempt to criminalise ordinary people protesting. Here is an eyewitness account.

Visteon workers in Enfield and Basildon have joined with Belfast workers in occupying their plants. Management has put the firm into administration and workers were just brutally kicked off the premises without any notice. Belfast workers have been defending their occupation by staying in overnight. The workers are taking action because they have to.

While the G20 prepare to meet, a week of protest activity has also been going on, starting with last demonstration of around 35,000 people. Here we provide a brief report.

The chances of a referendum on Scottish independence appear increasingly distant following a Scottish parliamentary vote in favour of a resolution condemning moves towards one. This is a huge blow to the Scottish National Party but it has also done little for a Labour Party that has lost all sense of direction, as its leadership exposes itself as utterly unable to capitalise on the SNP’s fall from grace.