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

Waltham Forest TUC May Day

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

Usdaw ADM 2019: Profits for bosses, job cuts for workers - Usdaw union must fight back!

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

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

Fracking mess

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

France Telecom: Privatisation in the dock following suicides allegedly caused by the bosses

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.

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

The Socialist Inbox

Letters to the Socialist's editors including the Notre Dame disaster and civil disobedience.

1 May 2019

Wirral Tories raise spectre of Militant - but Liverpool's 1983-87 council shows way to fight cuts

"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

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.

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

Them & Us

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

The Socialist Inbox

Do you have something to say? Letters to the Socialist's editors. EDF rip-off, pay day penury, Rouse, Ye Women!

8 May 2019

Newham gas workers to strike

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

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

Them & Us

It's one world for the super-rich, and another one for the rest of us.

15 May 2019

Stop press: 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 beats Labour council cuts

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

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

Palestinian solidarity demo

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

The Socialist Inbox

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!

Abiodun, a leading member of Democratic Socialist Movement in Nigeria, has been detained