Archive for May 2019
1 May 2019
Swansea anti-far right protest
A rally by far-right For Britain leader Anne Marie Waters, an openly racist islamophobe and political ally of Tommy Robinson, was held in Swansea on 27 April
1 May 2019
On 28 April Waltham Forest Trade Union Council hosted two important events in Abbotts Park in Leyton, east London
1 May 2019
Leicester: No-cuts budget only way forward
With just five days until polling day, Leicester Socialist Party hosted a public meeting to spell out our plan to fight all austerity cuts if elected to the city council.
1 May 2019
Worcester: Fightback against library cuts
The third instalment in the campaign to see off the cuts to services at St John's library, Worcester, took place on 20 April when 30 protesters gathered outside the library itself.
1 May 2019
Union action needed to fight Tory Derbyshire Council cuts
Derbyshire's local government unions must respond with boldness and determination in the face of the Tory-controlled county council's latest round of austerity.
1 May 2019
Communication workers oppose second EU vote, and back new socialist 'Clause IV' for Labour
Postal and telecom workers have voted to campaign against attempts to remain in the neoliberal EU at the 2019 conference of the Communication Workers Union (CWU). Delegates also called for the Labour Party to re-commit to public ownership in its constitution.
1 May 2019
300 NHS nurse suicides in seven years - fully fund our health service now!
The NHS crisis has reached horrifying new levels. Over 300 NHS nurses have died by suicide in seven years. In 2014, one nurse a week took their own lives.
1 May 2019
Port Talbot steelworks rocked by an explosion - nationalise the plant to save jobs and lives!
In the early hours of 26 April, Port Talbot in south Wales was rocked by a large explosion that residents report sounded like a bomb which could be heard miles away.
1 May 2019
Build a universal safety net - abolish Universal Credit!
Thousands of Universal Credit claimants are not getting the money they are entitled to - and desperately need - without even knowing.
1 May 2019
Universal Credit disaster behind foodbank rise
Universal Credit is being blamed for the record rise in the use of foodbanks as families required them to provide 14 million meals in the last 12 months.
1 May 2019
The government's fracking tsar, ex-Labour MP Natascha Engel, has quit six months into the job.
1 May 2019
India General election shows crying need for independent socialist alternative
The huge exercise of India's 2019 general election is under way across its 29 states and seven Union territories.
1 May 2019
Scandinavian Airlines walkout disrupts Nordic air travel
Hundreds of flights in Norway, Sweden and Denmark have been cancelled as 1,400 pilots for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) began strike action on 26 April.
1 May 2019
EU elections: Countering Farage's right-wing Brexit Party
Ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage has launched the Brexit Party to fill the vacuum in British politics for a political party with a definite position to leave the EU amid the Tory meltdown over Brexit and Ukip's implosion.
1 May 2019
Knife crime - a product of capitalist misery
Several recent tragic deaths of teenagers in 'knife crime' incidents have raised concerns about the level of violence affecting young people in England and Wales.
1 May 2019
Letters to the Socialist's editors including the Notre Dame disaster and civil disobedience.
1 May 2019
Valentine victory: School strike beats council cuts
Teachers and support staff at Valentine Primary School are celebrating an important victory
1 May 2019
Build student unions and walkouts to fight climate change and Trump!
Trump plans to once again visit Britain - on 3-5 June.
1 May 2019
Local elections 2019: Time to stand up and fight the cuts!
Across England, 91% of schools are facing funding cuts. Education is being damaged by Tory austerity. Labour councils could prevent these cuts in their areas by allowing schools to run legal licensed deficits. Instead, Labour councils continue to enforce Tory cuts.
1 May 2019
Wirral Tories raise spectre of Militant
"Don't let them do to Wirral what Derek Hatton and Militant did to Liverpool last time" was the warning of the Wirral Conservative Group's outrageous and desperate front page advertising wrap, printed for the Wirral Globe on 20 March.
1 May 2019
As delegates arrive in Blackpool for the annual conference of Usdaw, the retail and distribution union, many shop workers are facing job losses and worse pay and conditions as the retail crisis deepens.
1 May 2019
France Telecom: Privatisation in the dock
As chief executive officer of the recently privatised France Telecom (now Orange), Didier Lombard was a 'master of the universe'. And on a salary of €500,000 to boot.
2 May 2019
The significance of the anti-poll tax movement
Following an article in the Guardian by Matthew Taylor titled 'Extinction Rebellion protesters to stand in European elections', Coventry Socialist Party member Dave Nellist responded with a letter to the Guardian
2 May 2019
Doncaster NHS pay win shows: strikes can get results!
We can save the NHS: Catering staff at Doncaster Royal Infirmary have won their strike!
8 May 2019
Labour launches homelessness campaign
An enthusiastic crowd attended the launch meeting of the new Labour Homelessness Campaign. Left opinion columnist Owen Jones expressed anger that people sleep on the streets in Britain, one of the richest
8 May 2019
Alternative housing awards shames bosses
Dressed in tuxedos, managers in social housing organisations arrived at the swanky Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane London on 1 May for a social housing 'awards' ceremony, no tenants invited!
8 May 2019
Climate change: We need socialist change
Young people and workers need to build for mass action against Trump - and capitalism - this summer
8 May 2019
Local elections: Tory meltdown but Labour loses ground
Editorial of the Socialist: Corbyn must lead fight against council cuts and promote bold socialist policies
8 May 2019
England council elections: socialist anti-cuts message chimes with voters
Most importantly, where we were able, we offered a clear no-cuts alternative to the endless austerity of the vast majority of councillors
8 May 2019
Bolsover elections: Labour's cuts councillors punished by voters
Socialist Party offers fighting alternative: On 2 May Labour lost 14 councillors and control of the council
8 May 2019
Leicester elections: "We planted a marker for the future"
"We'll use cash reserves to set a no-cuts budget" was the Leicester Mercury headline when it reported our manifesto for the Leicester mayoral and city council elections
8 May 2019
Halton Brook election: support for our policies on doorstep
The Socialist Party came second behind Labour in Halton Brook ward - an increase on 2018 under TUSC
8 May 2019
Young and old, unite and fight!
A new House of Lords report is clearly an attack on pensioner benefits and an attempt to drive a wedge between older and younger people
8 May 2019
Water bosses plan to undermine nationalisation: no compensation for fat cats!
It is urgent that water and all utilities are fully nationalised, under democratic workers' control and management
8 May 2019
Northern Ireland: Socialist wins council seat
"I want to help rebuild the labour movement as a real alternative to the dead end of Green and Orange politics"
8 May 2019
It's one world for the bosses, and another for the rest of us. Fat cat pay; rail deregulation.
8 May 2019
Unions must back a general election and oppose bosses' EU
Unite and the CWU played a key role in defeating advocates of a 'people's vote' on the Labour NEC
8 May 2019
PCS union: listen to members, link the campaigns - we can win fight on pay
"It is important that we continue to campaign, but in doing so fully analyse and dissect what went well and what didn't"
8 May 2019
Usdaw union conference demands action on pay, jobs and the right
With almost a year since the departure of Blairite general secretary John Hannett, this year's Usdaw conference feels different
8 May 2019
UCU general secretary election: fight for a left leadership!
We in the Socialist Party would have preferred one left candidate, but it's possible to avoid the right winning - provided we use both votes to support both 'Jos'!
8 May 2019
Asda workers protest against attacks on paid breaks and bank holiday working
GMB union reps and activists from across the country came to protest outside Asda House in Leeds against the company's proposals to forcibly move what staff remain on other contracts onto 'Contract 6'
8 May 2019
Woolwich Ferry staff to strike over pay and safety
Workers who operate London's Woolwich Ferry are to strike for ten days in a dispute over pay, safety, and staffing
8 May 2019
Spanish elections - new upheavals underline need for a revolutionary socialist alternative
To celebrate the defeat of the right and proclaim a "left victory" is not enough. The right and far right have not gone away
8 May 2019
Socialist vision at Leeds May Day rally
"If we want a society that doesn't destroy our planet, then it is up to us, working-class people, to come together and fight for it"
8 May 2019
Sequel to 'A Very British Coup' - workers' struggle, not bosses' EU and media, is route to socialism
Fiction - The Friends of Harry Perkins: Chris Mullin released a sequel to his highly acclaimed novel in March
8 May 2019
'Line of Duty' - twists and turns as organised crime meets police corruption
TV: 'Line of Duty' is a work of fiction - so undercover police officers are not targeting trade unions and environmental campaigns
8 May 2019
Do you have something to say? Letters to the Socialist's editors. EDF rip-off, pay day penury, Rouse, Ye Women!
8 May 2019
The council's proposed rota could leave up to 42 weeks a year without a manager having gas knowledge to deal with emergencies
8 May 2019
Hull dinner ladies protest against loss of week's pay
I was told by one dinner lady that they face a week's loss in pay, from a four-day delay due to changes in their payment schedule
8 May 2019
Radiographers' union slams professional costs
Socialist Party delegates took part in the Society of Radiographers conference, and have set up a group for activists in the union
10 May 2019
Mitie workers striking against poverty pay
Workers employed by Mitie at Sellafield are living in poverty after working all week
15 May 2019
Birmingham home care strikers close to victory!
Just as we go to press, Birmingham Socialist Party members have learnt that the city's home care workers could be on the verge of claiming victory in their 20-month-long dispute against Birmingham Council.
15 May 2019
Newham gas workers' strike threat
Newham's Labour council had unilaterally withdrawn call-out payments from gas safety managers. But the east London borough backed down on the eve of strike action.
15 May 2019
Take the wealth off the super-rich
The top 1,000 wealthiest individuals and families in Britain are sitting on a record £771.3 billion, up £47.8 billion in a year. This astonishing fact is in this year's Sunday Times Rich List.
15 May 2019
Privatisers sue NHS - kick out the fat cats and fully nationalise our health service!
A private company is taking the NHS to court, because its contract to run Nottingham University Hospital's outpatient-treatment centre was not renewed.
15 May 2019
Workload-related mistakes by GPs on the rise - health unions need to fight back
After nearly a decade of Tory austerity and attacks on the NHS, it comes as no surprise that a Panorama investigation found that GPs are making mistakes due to workload. A majority of GPs admit seeing considerably more patients in a day than is considered safe.
15 May 2019
Knife crime tragedy linked to council cuts
In my home city of Birmingham there have been over 270 knife crimes so far this year. West Midlands Police report an 87% increase since 2013-2014.
15 May 2019
End high-stakes testing in primary schools: build the boycott ballot!
National Education Union (NEU) members in primary schools will vote in an online indicative ballot from 4 June, towards a boycott of all high-stakes 'summative' testing for 2019-20.
15 May 2019
Revolution and counter-revolution in Sudan
The overthrow of Omar al-Bashir by the Sudanese masses on 11 April is one of the most momentous events in the modern history of the country, the continent and the Middle East. It has simultaneously inspired the masses throughout Africa and instilled fear in despotic regimes in the region.
15 May 2019
Trump UK visit: Protest against the billionaire bigot
Portsmouth will not be welcoming President Trump for an official state visit on 5 June. And where the leader of the richest capitalist nation in the world is not met with hatred or despair then he is met with ridicule.
15 May 2019
Several thousand protesters including Palestinians, Muslim organisations, the Socialist Party and other left-wing groups marched through central London on 11 May to mark Nakba Day.
15 May 2019
Profit system rapidly destroying environment
On 6 May, one of the most ambitious reports into climate change ever undertaken - the United Nation's Global Assessment Report on biodiversity - was released.
15 May 2019
May 1649 - the Last Stand of the Levellers
In the latter part of the English Civil War in the mid-seventeenth century, the hopes of those who wanted the war against the king and the great landowners to bring fundamental change for the mass of ordinary people were being dashed.
15 May 2019
Letters to the Socialist's editors including Tommy Robinson, the Meadow Well riots and BT bosses.
15 May 2019
PCS union officialdom splits vote, removes Chris Baugh - but is still rejected by members
Socialist Party members in civil service union PCS are disappointed to announce that Chris Baugh did not get re-elected to the position of PCS assistant general secretary
15 May 2019
Bosses fear revolt against capitalism
"There is a real question about whether democratic capitalism is working, when it is only working for part of the population". This was the warning of capitalist economist Angus Deaton launching his review on inequality in Britain.
15 May 2019
Honda bosses confirm closure: Unite must signal it will fight
Car workers in Swindon are reeling from the confirmation that the Honda plant will close
15 May 2019
United on need for fightback - now keep pressure on for action
The annual delegate meeting of retail and distribution union Usdaw turned a corner this year
15 May 2019
Socialist policies needed to halt climate disaster
People are rightly demanding that government and councils take immediate measures to reduce CO2 emissions.
21 May 2019
Nigeria: Action needed to free Abiodun Bamigboye!
Update 22.5.19: Abiodun, a member of Democratic Socialist Movement in Nigeria, has now been released
22 May 2019
May ends in June! Boot out the Tories!
We call on Corbyn: fight for a general election on socialist policies
May’s a goner! We face a summer Tory leadership contest but we need a general election to get the Tories Out!
22 May 2019
British Steel threatened closure
The private steel producer could go under, threatening 5,000 jobs at its Scunthorpe and Teesside plants and a further 20,000 jobs in the supply chain
22 May 2019
After a week of sunshine on Tyneside it was grizzly rain on Saturday 18 May. It was tempting to just call off our regular public sale of the Socialist and go for a coffee. Fortunately we didn't... and
22 May 2019
Three members of Worcester Socialist Party branch took advantage of the article on our campaign to save a local library in the Socialist (Issue 1040), writes Ruthie McNally, Worcester Socialist Party.
22 May 2019
Pouring cold water on the Riverside estate
Barking Reach Residents Association was out conducting a survey of heating and hot water issues. As we walked into the pleasant grounds of Robert Lewis House on the Barking Riverside estate, east London,
22 May 2019
Opinion: socialists must link climate struggle to power of organised workers
I attended a meeting organised by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). It was billed as a debate between them, Friends of the Earth and Extinction Rebellion (XR), writes Wayne Scott, Socialist Party Scotland.
22 May 2019
What lies behind the US-China trade war?
The stakes have been raised in the increasingly ill-tempered and rapidly escalating trade war
22 May 2019
Sri Lanka - Ten years after the brutal end of the war
Thirty years of war in Sri Lanka came to a brutal end on 18 May 2009. In their final act of barbarity Sri Lankan government forces surrounded over 300,000 people fleeing the war, forced them into a tiny lagoon called Mullivaikal and bombarded them.
22 May 2019
Alabama legislators have passed a bill that makes it a felony for a doctor to perform or attempt to perform an abortion. They even denied an amendment allowing exemptions for cases of rape and incest.
22 May 2019
Labour's nationalisation plan: What policies are needed to avert climate catastrophe?
Jeremy Corbyn has announced a 'Green Industrial Revolution.' The plans include nationalising the gas and electricity supply - taking the National Grid into public ownership.
22 May 2019
Fantastic RMT London Underground victory
The RMT transport union has scored a fantastic victory in the fight against cuts on London Underground. Members of the Fleet maintenance branch recorded a marvellous ballot result that easily met the new anti-union thresholds and announced strike action over three days from 17-19 May.
22 May 2019
Woolwich ferry workers begin ten days of strike action
Unite the Union members employed by Briggs Marine - which has the contract to run the Woolwich Ferry on behalf of Transport for London (TfL) - have begun ten days of strike action.
22 May 2019
Short stories of workplace struggles including DWP and blood courier strikes and the NSSN conference.
22 May 2019
Day of action against cuts to special needs education
It is a measure of a society's progress as to how it treats its most vulnerable members. Applying that measure to special educational needs funding - we are heading back to the Stone Age.
22 May 2019
Worcester Tories stonewall action on climate change
Over 100 climate change activists lobbied Worcestershire County Council on 16 May to demand emergency action to save the planet.
22 May 2019
Anger and frustration at the establishment
The mood on the streets was reflected on our Socialist Party 'Defend the National Health Service' stall in Newton Abbot, Devon, on 18 May.
22 May 2019
Haringey: Socialists' stance fully vindicated
Barbara Blake was one of three right-wing Blairite Labour candidates to stand for the ward of Seven Sisters, Haringey, north London, during the 2018 council elections.
22 May 2019
Domestic abuse accommodation: Tories shift - but safety is more than a bed
The government has announced new changes to place a legal duty on local authorities to deliver 'accommodation-based services' to victims of domestic violence.
22 May 2019
Unite young members' conference
On 18-19 May myself and 60 other delegates made the journey to Eastbourne, for the national young members conference of Unite the Union. This event shone a light on the attitude of many young workers towards capitalism and building fighting trade unions.
22 May 2019
Morrisons workers reject pay offer
The 17 May could be an historic moment for Morrisons workers. It is now time for our union Usdaw, the shop workers' union, to dig deep and come out on top.
22 May 2019
The Birmingham home carers' 20-month long dispute has ended in victory
22 May 2019
Workers celebrate renationalisation
Probation workers are celebrating a famous victory: All case management in England and Wales will be renationalised from spring 2021.
23 May 2019
Warning lights flashing for Corbynism
The promise of the Corbyn insurgency that began in 2015 is in danger. The triumph of the left-wing backbench outsider in the Labour leadership election four years ago opened up the prospect of overturning Tony Blair's 1990s transmutation of the Labour Party into New Labour.
23 May 2019
4 June - Walk out against Trump! Climate criminal not welcome
The monthly climate actions have been hugely successful with tens of thousands of students walking out of British schools, colleges and universities
24 May 2019
Save steel jobs: Demand socialist nationalisation
British Steel, the UK's second biggest steel firm, has been taken into compulsory liquidation
29 May 2019
PCS conference: defeats for union officialdom and steps taken to rebuild a fighting left opposition
2019 will be seen as a defining PCS conference
29 May 2019
Tens of thousands will take to the streets of London on 4 June to protest against Trump's visit
29 May 2019
Euro-elections in Scotland and Wales
Labour punished by working class over Brexit fudge, cuts and national question
29 May 2019
India: Modi victory - Socialist fightback needed
India's general election has returned Narendra Modi's far-right, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to government
29 May 2019
Euro elections 2019 - Across Europe
Populist right and Greens make gains: As the European ruling classes feared, the Euro elections have confirmed the turmoil that exists throughout the continent
29 May 2019
Blistering UN report condemns Tory austerity - workers' action can end it
The role of pro-market policies is clearly exposed as creating "a digital and sanitised version of the 19th-century workhouse, made infamous by Charles Dickens"
29 May 2019
It's one world for the bosses and another for the rest of us. Queen backs EU; pensioners forced to work
29 May 2019
Determined nuclear workers' industrial action continues
The confidence and determination of the Mitie workers at Sellafield is rising
29 May 2019
The Green New Deal we need is socialism
A socialist Green New Deal would mean nationalising the economy's energy giants and other commanding heights
29 May 2019
Kirkby factory workers walk out over unfair dismissal
The strike has gained support from local activists and has now lasted over a week
29 May 2019
Wales train fleet workers to strike against transfer to private company
RMT transport union members in train fleet maintenance in Wales are planning to strike against a threat to their job security, pensions, pay and terms and conditions
29 May 2019
Fight the far-right - fight for socialist policies
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, attempted to hold a Euro-election rally in the Bootle Dock area on 19 May
29 May 2019
Teignmouth: hands off our community hospital!
Teignmouth took to the streets again protesting against the threatened closure of our community hospital
29 May 2019
Birmingham Pride - revitalising political struggle
Pride should be used to fight back against oppression and as a platform to promote socialist policies
29 May 2019
Why I joined the Socialist Party: "I've been speaking with some others of my generation in Gosport to discuss what is happening and what should happen"
29 May 2019
Obituary: Pauline Dunlop (1947-2019)
Pauline was a stalwart Militant-supporting Labour councillor in the 1980s struggle to defend Liverpool from Thatcherism
29 May 2019
Obituary: John Boots (1942-2019)
John first became politically active during the great anti-poll tax movement of the 1990s
29 May 2019
Victimised school student climate striker speaks out
After Friday's (24 May) climate change protest we were contacted by a school student concerned that students from her school will face sanctions for striking, writes Elaine Brunskill, secretary, Socialist Party Northern region.
29 May 2019
Tories smashed in Euros - Now get them out
Tory prime minister Theresa May is going. With ten leadership candidates announced and rising, the nasty party is tearing itself apart before our eyes
30 May 2019
Fighting to stop school meals privatisation
Barnsley Unison is campaigning to stop 220 jobs being moved into the private sector
31 May 2019
A speaker at the youth climate change protest in Newcastle, 21.6.19, photo by Elaine Brunskill
Socialist Party member Janet Gibson advertising NSSN conference at a protest of steel construction workers outside a Siemans factory in Lincoln
31 May 2019
A speaker at the youth climate change protest in Newcastle, 21.6.19, photo by Elaine Brunskill
A speaker at the youth climate change protest in Newcastle, 21.6.19, photo by Elaine Brunskill
31 May 2019
National Shop Stewards Network conference, 6.7.19, Conway Hall in London
31 May 2019
The NSSN in Brighton lobbying the TUC, 8.9.19. A report will be posted soon. photo by Mary Finch
The NSSN in Brighton lobbying the TUC, 8.9.19. A report will be posted soon. photo by Mary Finch
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