Archive for July 2015
1 July 2015
Union plans transport shutdowns
Transport union RMT prepared for London shutdowns and First Great Western railway strikes at its AGM
1 July 2015
1 July 2015
Terrorist attacks: working class people pay the price
The cold-blooded slaughter of tourists in Tunisia was carried out in the run-up to the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 terrorist bombings in London.
1 July 2015
Britain's biggest union to discuss leaving Labour
Britain's largest trade union, Unite, will discuss making major changes to political strategy at its four-yearly 'rules conference' on 6 to 10 July.
1 July 2015
Scotland ferry 'lifeline' sell-off strike
West Scotland ferry workers struck on 25 June against privatisation and cuts to jobs, pay and pensions on their "lifeline" routes.
1 July 2015
Pride: we need politics, not just a parade
Today's Pride, sponsored by Barclays, Boris Johnson, Asda etc, focuses on the commercial and personal, not the political
1 July 2015
Osborne's budget cuts will devastate low-income households
The Tory chancellor's budget of £12 billion extra welfare spending cuts will have a terrible impact on low-income households.
1 July 2015
Severely disabled funding hit by Tories
Disability rights campaigners, furious at the government's spending cuts, took their protest into the House of Commons on 24 June during Prime Minister's Questions. They were stopped from entering the chamber by police.
1 July 2015
Chancellor Osborne's savage attack on welfare benefits has been accompanied by accusing low-income families of a 'something-for-nothing' culture. But how then does the government explain the 'corporate welfare bill'?
1 July 2015
Government reneges on rail modernisation pledge
Last week transport secretary Patrick Mcloughlin announced that Network Rail's £38.5 billion modernisation plan for Britain's railways has been postponed. This underscores the government's intentions of yet more savage cuts in public spending.
1 July 2015
Victory for anti-fracking movement
Anti-fracking campaigners were celebrating after Lancashire County Council on 29 June voted down a planning application to extract shale gas - 'fracking' - at Little Plumpton, between Preston and Blackpool.
1 July 2015
Escalate strikes to fight council's 90% sell-off
On the back of their shock general election win, the Tories think they are untouchable. In one borough in south-east London, they plan to outsource more than 90% of staff.
1 July 2015
Warrington TUSC councillor slams 'undemocratic' Labour administration
The Labour administration at Warrington Council has tried to stifle democratic debate.
1 July 2015
Victory against disabled transport cuts in Derby
Derby City Labour council has scrapped plans to change the school transport arrangements for children with special needs.
1 July 2015
£9,000 tuition fees legacy - debt and slave labour
Students graduating from university this year will be the first generation that faced £9,000 a year tuition fees over their three years. The Socialist Party campaigns for all fees to be scrapped.
1 July 2015
Block Osborne's Billionaire Budget
The Tory chancellor's new spending cuts will hit young people hard. Join young activists in towns and cities across the country to protest on 8 July!
1 July 2015
Shirebrook: united campaign against danger of division
A stabbing of a man walking his dog in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, the second in a month, has increased tensions in the ex-mining town.
1 July 2015
Ten years since the London 7/7 bombings
7/7, in 2005: In rush hour traffic, suicide bombers attacked London tube trains and a bus. Now, the Tories will try to use the memory to justify proposed anti-democratic legislation
1 July 2015
How to fight the anti-union laws
Britain's anti-union laws, already among the most restrictive in Europe, are set to get even harsher. Unions must be ready to defy them - and to call a general strike in defence of any union punished for doing so
2 July 2015
Striking Greek worker speaking at Saturday's NSSN event
A striking worker from Athens who has been sacked by Vodafone is speaking in London just a day before the planned Greek referendum
2 July 2015
6 July 2015
NSSN conference calls on trade union leaders to take the necessary action
An action statement and model motion were agreed by hundreds of workplace reps who attended the National Shop Stewards Network 9th annual conference on 4th July
7 July 2015
Greece: Mighty class-based 'NO' shakes bosses' EU
Sunday's referendum saw the Greek working class give a powerful reply to the attempts of the Troika to blackmail them into accepting more austerity in order to stay in the eurozone.
8 July 2015
Hospital porters mop up in NHS pay battle triumph
After over 3 months of all-out action, 117 hospital porters in Dundee have won higher pay, more jobs, and cash for lost income
8 July 2015
TV review: Picasso - Portillo's peculiar perspective
Ian Pattison reviews Portillo on Picasso, an episode from the ITV series Perspectives.
8 July 2015
Why I joined: 'the Socialist Party has given me political confidence'
The Socialist Party has given me the political confidence to back up my activism from the past, and to now look forward to contributing to a democratic socialist revolution.
8 July 2015
Socialist Party LGBT group plans fightback against attacks and austerity
The new budget has ushered in sweeping attacks on the working class as a whole in Britain but also disproportionally affects the LGBT community.
8 July 2015
Bitter fight to save Bitterne walk-in centre continues
Bosses have now confirmed the Socialist Party's warning - and propose complete closure of Southampton's Bitterne walk-in centre.
8 July 2015
Education under attack! Reports from the front line of the fightback
Teachers take action against education cuts in Salford, Leeds, Bradford, Swansea, Sussex and Stafford.
8 July 2015
Scotland and North-West England hold TUSC conferences
Trade unionists and anti-cuts activists in Scotland and North-West England held conferences to plan work with the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).
8 July 2015
NSSN conference 2015: "We could stop austerity in its tracks"
Militant trade unionists from across the country gave inspiring accounts of strikes and struggles against austerity. Britain needs a 24-hour general strike.
8 July 2015
Janner case: more establishment child abuse cover-ups
The news that allegations of child sexual abuse committed by Lord Greville Janner are to be heard in court is to be welcomed.
8 July 2015
Migrants flee horrors created by capitalism
For the rich there are very few obstacles to migrating to Britain. It is altogether another story for the majority of those currently fleeing war, dictatorship and conflict in the Middle East and Africa.
8 July 2015
Cuts for us, handouts for rich
Wednesday 8 July will be remembered as a day of horror for millions of households across Britain. £12 billion welfare cuts will mean many families having thousands of pounds cut from their income every year.
8 July 2015
Stop hammering low-paid - £10 an hour now!
"David Cameron claims that he wants a high wage, low tax economy. If that's the case, he has a funny way of showing it," writes bakers' union BFAWU president Ian Hodson.
8 July 2015
Low-income tenants face rent hikes
The Tory government intends to slash housing benefit (HB) for low income households.
8 July 2015
The Tories intend to slash Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by almost £30 a week. ESA, which replaced incapacity benefit in 2008, is paid to disabled people or those too ill to work who have extra needs.
8 July 2015
Terrorism and classroom spying
The Tunisian massacre of tourists has led, unfortunately, to a knee-jerk reaction from the Tory government to try and stop 'the radicalisation of young Muslims'.
8 July 2015
Tube union: why we're striking
Transport workers on London Underground were preparing to shut down the capital on 8 and 9 July. Members of all tube unions - RMT, Aslef, TSSA and Unite - will strike together for the first time in years.
8 July 2015
Yorkshire firefighters demonstrate against crew cuts
Firefighters and supporters demonstrated in Easingwold, Yorkshire on 24 June against £1.3 million cuts, which will impact jobs and response times.
8 July 2015
Britain's biggest union could reconsider funding Labour after leadership elections
As we go to press, members of general union Unite are considering major political changes. Although the leadership headed off calls to leave Labour, it promised a new conference if the situation changes.
8 July 2015
Fightback essential following Osborne's hatchet budget
For the Tory ministers in their ivory towers the plight of working class people is off their radar
9 July 2015
London tube halted by strength of four unions
Tube workers in all four of their unions stopped the network
9 July 2015
YFJ plans 'occupy style' protest - 11th July
Young campaigners brand Osborne's budget a war on youth and have planned an 'occupy style' protest
9 July 2015
Four disabled activists were arrested on budget day as protesters were manhandled by police
9 July 2015
Youth Fight Austerity budget day protests
Youth Fight Austerity protested around the country on 8th July against the Tory budget
9 July 2015
Striking against detrimental changes
Swansea may be the end of the line for FGW passengers but RMT staff won't let it be the end of the line for their jobs and conditions
11 July 2015
Greece: Tsipras crosses the Rubicon
Xekinima on the march
On 13 July Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reached a deal with Eurozone leaders, securing a third bailout in return for pledging to implement huge austerity. Yet Syriza was elected on an anti-austerity platform
14 July 2015
College e-learning mustn't replace teachers
Staff and students at Salford City College have been mobilising against job losses
14 July 2015
Probation workers strike for 2 hours
On Tuesday 14th July Unison members in the probation service took two hours of strike action over pay
15 July 2015
National Gallery walkouts continue
The National Gallery will be hit by a summer of strikes if senior managers and trustees refuse to return to negotiations to avoid privatisation, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) says
15 July 2015
Socialists and the EU referendum
With the long run-up to a referendum on Britain's EU membership underway, and as Greece's stand-off with the EU institutions reaches a new stage, Clive Heemskerk looks at how socialists should approach the in-or-out EU debate
15 July 2015
NSSN calls for action against vicious new anti-union laws
The strikes on London Underground and FGW were a tremendous demonstration of what the unions can do
15 July 2015
As people live longer, more and more are likely to need care services when they get older, writes Jean Thorpe, Nottingham Socialist Party.
15 July 2015
When Iain Duncan Smith cheers the budget speech, we know it's bad news for working class people. Their headline promise of a new 'living wage' is no such thing.
15 July 2015
Osborne attacks youth... we take to the streets!
The budget saw vicious attacks on huge sections of society. But one group particularly hard hit was young people. Read reports of protests as we hit the streets to fight back.
15 July 2015
Orphan Black - refreshing take on sci-fi story
TV review: Orphan Black is brilliantly written television. It's a refreshing, intelligent, feminist take on the sci-fi genre.
15 July 2015
Record attendance at Durham Miners' Gala
A record number of around 150,000 people attended this year's Durham Miners' gala.
15 July 2015
200 march against closure of Longton Cottage Hospital
Bosses are planning to slose Longton Cottage hospital in Stoke. 200 workers and community supporters marched against the plans.
15 July 2015
Road accident highlights need to save school crossings
On the same day as Save Derbyshire School Crossing Campaigners put questions about cuts to a meeting at Derbyshire County Council, a Lollypop Lady at their local school in Chesterfield was hit by a car.
15 July 2015
The Marikana report - a whitewash
In August 2012, 34 striking miners were shot dead by South African police. Not unexpectedly, the newly released report completely exonerates the government.
15 July 2015
Biggest union clings to Labour, but considers law-busting strikes
The leadership of general union Unite won a stay of execution for the Labour link, but lost on other proposals. Conference also approved the union's right to take action outside the law, and political autonomy for Scottish members.
15 July 2015
Transport workers shut down tube and railway
Workers on London Underground and First Great Western railway caused widespread transport shutdowns to fight attacks on jobs, pay and conditions.
15 July 2015
Labour council axes union facility time
Coventry council, a Labour-controlled authority, is planning draconian cuts to facility time - union reps' time for trade union duties.
15 July 2015
Cardiff teachers strike against 'death wish' workload
Teachers at Fitzalan High School in Cardiff struck on 9 July against new timetables. The dispute could be a test case for the council's attempts to force more from workers.
15 July 2015
2005: Jean Charles de Menezes shooting
On 22 July 2005 an innocent man was brutally shot to death by police at Stockwell tube station in south London. Ten years later and his family, and the Socialist Party, are still fighting for justice.
15 July 2015
Labour's austerity 'me too-ism' continues
The Tories have lined up stinging attacks on the working class in their latest budget. But Labour leader Harriet Harman stepped forward and said 'me too' on behalf of her party.
15 July 2015
Bromley Unite members stop council tax bailiffs
On 13 July around 30 activists from the Unite trade union and local residents in Bromley, south London, stopped bailiffs evicting Paul Rooney and his 14 year-old daughter Roisin.
15 July 2015
EU revenge against Greek workers
In effect, Greece will come under the neo-colonial rule of the EU and Germany, its strongest economy. EU officials will dictate policy and expect the Greek parliament to rubber stamp draconian austerity measures.
17 July 2015
Kill the bill! Stop the new Tory anti-union laws
The gloves are well and truly off. The Tories have unveiled their Trade Union Bill, which is far more vicious than first trailed
17 July 2015
Support for Corbyn's anti-austerity message rattles Labour machine
"Jeremy Corbyn 'on course to come top' in the Labour leadership election" declared the New Statesman on 15 July, 2015
21 July 2015
22 July 2015
Demo of protest and anger at Suruc attack
In London an emergency demo took place following the shocking news of the killing of 30 SGDF activists in Turkey
23 July 2015
Lincoln: Anti-fascist rally a success
A rally against racism went ahead successfully after it was targeted by far-right supporters yesterday evening
23 July 2015
Anger at the "Labstainers" - Labour's lack of opposition to attack on welfare
The Tories launched another vile attack on the working class, with the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
23 July 2015
Determined mood to defend the unions
Trade unions gathered in Tolpuddle to celebrate the founding of the union movement
27 July 2015
Blairites' terror at popularity of left-wing ideas
A Socialist Party press release: Right wing Labour backbencher John Mann has called for the Labour leadership contest to be halted as the Labour Party is supposedly being infiltrated by 'Militant Tendency types'
28 July 2015
Corbyn's support shows anti-austerity message is popular
Panic is gripping the right-wing clique that dominates the Labour Party, at the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming the Labour leader
28 July 2015
Mirror and Metro report view of "exhausted nurse"
Jacqui Berry, a TUSC candidate in Kent in the May 2015 elections and a member of the Socialist Party, expressed her view on YouTube of the government's attacks on the NHS
28 July 2015
Media coverage of Socialist Party's statement on Corbyn
A number of national newspapers have reported (selectively, with various interpretations) on a Socialist Party press release sent out yesterday
29 July 2015
Kids go hungry in Tory Britain
Build the fightback against austerity: It's the start of the summer holidays; a time when families expect to take a deserved break and enjoy themselves
29 July 2015
Austerity measures cut social care provision
Millionaire health minister Jeremy Hunt has reneged on the Tories' election promise to cap social care costs for over 65s, writes Simon Carter.
29 July 2015
20%: Disgracefully, only 48 of Labour's 232 MPs voted against Tory welfare cuts in Osborne's latest austerity budget
29 July 2015
Wales: Stop the Bedroom Tax evictions!
A vulnerable family became the first people evicted in Wales as a result of the bedroom tax.
29 July 2015
Turkey: only workers' unity can end terrorism, division and war
On 20 July, 32 young people, members of the Socialist Federation of Youth Associations, in the South East Turkish town of Suruc, were horrifically killed by a suicide bombing most likely carried out by ISIS terrorists, writes Paula Mitchell.
29 July 2015
Turmoil in Greece will be repeated across Europe
'Sharp turns, sudden and abrupt changes in the situation' is a phrase we used in the past, but it characterises the period which Greece has entered today, and the rest of Europe will experience tomorrow
29 July 2015
The menopause: breaking the taboo
An issue for all workers and their trade unions: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance to GPs and health professionals about how to treat and support women experiencing the menopause - and it's about time too!
29 July 2015
There is a storm brewing in Castleford.The local Yorkshire landscape is dominated by industrial structures, writes Malik J Rofidi, Selby Socialist Party.
29 July 2015
National Gallery: Guest services staff at London's National Gallery are escalating their strike campaign against privatisation
29 July 2015
TUSC increases vote: Grimsby Socialist Party members are "well pleased" with Dave Mitchell's vote for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) in the Croft Baker ward by-election for North East Lincolnshire council held on 23 July
29 July 2015
Help fund the party that fights austerity!
The Socialist Party is in the news! The Blairites in the Labour Party are panicking at the growing surge behind Jeremy Corbyn's candidacy; they don't understand that it is linked to the failure of Labour
29 July 2015
Nottingham rehab unit campaign
The majority of service users, carers and staff attending a consultation meeting rejected Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust's proposal to close a rehabilitation unit, writes Cathy Meadows, Nottingham Socialist Party.
29 July 2015
Anti-austerity protests from Northumberland to the 'English Riviera'
Hexham: A 200 strong anti-austerity walk on the 18 July in Torbay, South Devon, was organised by local group Torbay3Towns
29 July 2015
All four London Underground unions are planning a new shutdown of the tube network on 5-6 August, writes John Reid, RMT executive member.
29 July 2015
'Prevent'ing terror or preventing opposition?
On the last day of term at my school, a staff training session told us how the government expects us to teach "British values'' to the kids, writes Dylan Murphy
29 July 2015
Striking homelessness workers win
After 17 weeks of all-out strike, homelessness caseworkers in Glasgow have won their central demand against the city's council
29 July 2015
Tory cuts and attacks on unions imperil workers
16 year old Cameron Minshull was killed by the lathe he worked on
31 July 2015
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