Archive for November 2017
1 November 2017
Coordinated strike action against driver-only operation
The RMT has announced coordinated strikes on five different networks
1 November 2017
Socialist Students has called for Labour to put a free education amendment to the Tory budget
1 November 2017
Socialism 2017: ideas to change the world
A weekend of rallies and workshops. Come along to contribute, ask questions, or disagree!
1 November 2017
Take the wealth off the 1%! The combined wealth of the world's billionaires has now reached an eye-watering $6 trillion
1 November 2017
Tories u-turn on social housing benefit cap and borrowing to build
Strikes can end this zombie government: Theresa May's backtrack on capping housing benefit for social tenants is the latest in a catalogue of u-turns
1 November 2017
Unions must fight workplace mental health crisis
300,000 a year forced to leave work: Workers with mental health problems are leaving their jobs at a rate of 6% a year
1 November 2017
No to 'Carebnb' privatisation of hospital beds
The villains are not vulnerable people stuck in hospital beds. It's cuts and sell-offs that suck the lifeblood out of the NHS and social care
1 November 2017
Handouts for sexist charity v cuts to women's refuges. Big pharma sues NHS while doctors plead for medicine.
1 November 2017
This ad for boots in a Hong Kong shopping centre is a little on the nose
1 November 2017
PCS pay cap ballot closes soon
The civil servants' union PCS is stepping up its pay campaign by holding a consultative ballot, timed to coincide with the autumn budget
1 November 2017
North east England blacklisting conference success
Campaigners discussed the fight against bosses and even some union officials who break the law to prevent trade unionists from being hired
1 November 2017
Teachers, students and parents demand an end to the schools funding crisis
Over 1,000 teachers, staff, parents and students put the question to MPs on 24 October: "What are you going to do to end the school funding crisis?"
1 November 2017
The "club no-one wants to be part of" - march by families of those killed in police custody
It was heartbreaking to take part in the annual march of Unite Families and Friends Campaign, made up of those affected by deaths in custody
1 November 2017
Derby: expenses for councillors, cuts for everyone else
The publication of allowances and expenses of Derby city councillors for 2016-17 should cause more than a few raised eyebrows
1 November 2017
Health campaign groups come together in Barnsley to protest closures and downgrades in the NHS
The decision to demonstrate was taken due to the impending closure of the Mount Vernon hospital by the end of this year
1 November 2017
Anger over plan to build housing on Yorkshire flood plain
One resident at a recent meeting in Todmorden shouted out at Tory MP Craig Whittaker: "We know who you are Whittaker - a friend to the builders!"
1 November 2017
Skipton show proves draw of socialist art
How did we manage to attract nearly 100 people and local press coverage to a political arts event, the 'Bad Art' Skipton exhibition?
1 November 2017
Do you have something to say? Letters to the Socialist's editors. "He's our neighbour"; Gunpowder plot drama.
3 November 2017
Orgreave campaigners' Halloween 'Death of Justice' march
Chants of "by Amber Rudd and Theresa May, justice was killed a year to the day!" reverberated around the streets of Sheffield on Halloween night
3 November 2017
Obituary: Derek Robinson, car workers' leader, 1927-2017
Derek Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, has died aged 90
7 November 2017
'Paradise' for billionaires - austerity for us
Fight for socialism! The Paradise Papers have reignited working class anger at massive inequality under capitalism
8 November 2017
Mixed-fleet workers show strikes get results
The heroic Heathrow and Manchester airport mixed-fleet cabin crew have a settlement
8 November 2017
Top privatisation companies don't even pay taxes on the profits they leech out of public services
8 November 2017
Ireland: rail workers demand share of 'recovery'
Rail workers in the Irish Republic walked out on 7 November for 24 hours, the second stoppage in their demand for a 3.75% pay rise
8 November 2017
Ireland: dangerous ideas for the ruling class
The Socialist Party in Ireland hosted its second 'Dangerous Ideas' event on 3 and 4 November in Dublin
8 November 2017
Walk out against tuition fees on Budget Day!
Socialist Students is preparing for walkouts
8 November 2017
Pay cap decisively rejected by PCS union members
Members of civil servants' union PCS have delivered a stinging rejection of Tory pay restraint, and shown they are willing to take action against it
8 November 2017
US: Minneapolis Socialist chimes with voters
Ginger's slogan of "not for sale" has drawn in many volunteers and donors from Minneapolis
8 November 2017
8 November 2017
Westminster sexual harassment scandal
Rotten establishment must go: Revelations could still trigger the collapse of this weak Tory government - and as we predicted, they affect all the major parties
8 November 2017
Bosses say 217 years to close pay gap - workers' struggle can close it now!
This is the first time figures have shown the situation is going backwards
8 November 2017
16 and 17-year-olds will remember the Tories blocked their democratic rights
8 November 2017
Child poverty set to hit 5.2m - unions and Corbyn must act now
Welfare cuts are set to make child poverty soar over the next five years to 5.2 million kids
8 November 2017
Jo Brand silences Ian Hislop's sniggering sexism; Trump's Twitter shutdown; Trump Jr's 'socialist' Halloween
8 November 2017
Unite union sector conferences: coordinate action over pay
Unite should join the PCS union in calling for the Trade Union Congress to coordinate strike ballots
8 November 2017
Picturehouse strike: "evil corporations are evil"
The dispute has now lasted over a year
8 November 2017
Arriva bus drivers and engineers in Runcorn were out in force for their fourth one-day strike
8 November 2017
Spain: Madrid rally celebrates October revolution
250 workers and youth attended a vibrant rally to celebrate the centenary of the October Russian revolution in Madrid
8 November 2017
Sweden: 'Revolution2017' success
Revolution2017 took place in Stockholm on 4 November and was a great celebration of the Russian revolution linking up to today's class struggles
8 November 2017
Health campaign discusses strategy to save NHS
Over 400 health campaigners and trade unionists attended Health Campaigns Together's conference on 4 November - more than double its last conference
8 November 2017
Chatsworth neuro-rehab ward still open - unions join the campaign
In July, Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust announced this Mansfield Community Hospital ward would close in early November. It didn't!
8 November 2017
Housing campaigners ask Corbyn to instruct Labour council regeneration ballots
Losing your home or child's play space is something that can't wait until an election - more importantly, it is within Labour councils' power to stop
8 November 2017
Thousands march in London for Palestine
This year marks a century since imperialism's 'Balfour Declaration', 50 years since Israel's 1967 war on Palestine, and the tenth year of the blockade of Gaza
8 November 2017
Opposition to new academy school being built on Leeds playing fields
Leeds council should not just accept the diktats of the Tory government
8 November 2017
Sheffield trees campaigner sentenced to prison
Sheffield trees campaigner Calvin Payne was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for one year, for peaceful protest
8 November 2017
Brum meeting celebrates centenary of 1917
50 attended the Birmingham Socialist Party public meeting to mark the centenary of the Russian revolution
8 November 2017
Welsh update of Chekhov an engrossing tale of 1980s class conflict
Theatre - The Cherry Orchard: Part of 'R17', a series of arts events in Wales to mark the centenary of the Russian revolution, this adaptation is worthy of the connection
8 November 2017
Obituary: Paul Randall, 1959-2017
Paul Randall was a former sheet metal worker and founding member of our Huddersfield branch in the 1980s
8 November 2017
Do you have something to say? Even if you oppose the ideas defended by Militant, surely trying to erase it from history is not quality journalism
9 November 2017
Fight to keep guards on trains continues despite setback Aslef deal
Drivers at GTR Southern have finally voted to accept a deal which was recommended by the Aslef union leadership, which allows trains to run without a guard
9 November 2017
So Serco - the private company making big profits from low pay of cleaners and porters in Barts NHS Trust - is exposed in the Paradise Papers
9 November 2017
Highest ever ticket sales for Socialism event
This will be the biggest Socialism event yet
10 November 2017
Huge support for strikes of bus drivers and train guards
Public transport across Merseyside was nearly shut down
10 November 2017
Strikers picket the South Western Railway network
Pickets stretched from London to Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight
10 November 2017
Europe in crisis, revolutionary winds in Catalonia
An underlying social and political crisis grips many European countries
10 November 2017
US: Historic vote for Ginger Jentzen campaign in Minneapolis
On 7 November, the election campaign of Socialist Alternative member Ginger Jentzen for Minneapolis City Council achieved a historic vote
13 November 2017
Mears workers have begun more action, joining others fighting back
14 November 2017
Socialism 2017: Organising to fight back
Over 1,000 workers, young people, campaigners, activists, trade unionists, students and international guests gathered in London on 11 & 12 November
15 November 2017
Why I joined the Socialist Party: "I started to question whether there was a better way"
As far back as I can remember I have struggled to come to terms with the staggering and blatant inequality in the world, writes Adam Lines, Exeter Socialist Party.
15 November 2017
Comprehensive account of bloody conflict
TV review: The Vietnam War: The US's role in endless wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Rising tensions between the US, Russia and China. Watching Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's monumental ten-part documentary on the Vietnam
15 November 2017
USA: Historic vote for Ginger Jentzen campaign in Minneapolis
Calvin Priest and Bryan Koulouris from Socialist Alternative (Socialist Party co-thinkers in the USA) report on the second place finish for socialist Ginger Jentzen in the Minneapolis election
15 November 2017
Tories on the brink - kick them out!
Division, scandal and crisis: these are the most striking features of Theresa May's government today
15 November 2017
We're freezing: reverse cuts to boiler replacement schemes!
Nationalise the energy firms: The market has failed and will go on failing to provide the basics of food, heat and shelter to millions
15 November 2017
No more excuses: fit sprinklers now!
Bill the government, not the residents: Jeremy Corbyn is absolutely right to demand that the Tories allocate £1 billion to fit sprinklers
15 November 2017
Is cuts-making Preston 'beating Tory austerity'?
Fight for no-cuts budgets: Labour-controlled Preston Council has received press coverage as "beating Tory austerity" (Mirror), "where workers are in control of wealth" (Guardian) and "Jeremy Corbyn's model town" (Economist)
15 November 2017
4,800 young people hurt after officers 'restrain' them
End assaults on inmates: Thousands of young people have been harmed while being 'restrained' by officers in secure facilities
15 November 2017
Corbyn must challenge pro-gentrification council leader or others will
Claire Kober, the Labour leader of Haringey council, has been reselected to stand as a councillor in the May 2018 elections
15 November 2017
Carlisle socialists campaign against Universal Credit
Universal Credit benefit changes will cause untold misery for thousands in Carlisle when they are fully rolled out in April next year
15 November 2017
Virgin train workers ballot for strike action
Train managers, caterers, customer service and the other non-driving grades represented by the RMT union at Virgin West Coast are in dispute with bosses over a divisive pay offer
15 November 2017
Plymouth PCS members fight relocation threat
On 6 November PCS members took strike action to prevent a relocation which would likely result in around 50 redundancies
15 November 2017
TV review: Abortion on Trial - hard-hitting look at impact of 1967 act
Abortion on Trial is a hard-hitting, personal and political look at the 1967 Abortion Act. Eight women, who had all had abortions, and one man were invited to discuss their experiences
15 November 2017
Letters to the Socialist's editors including cancer treatment privatisation, The Death of Stalin, mental health cuts and Arriva profits.
15 November 2017
March for free education! We demand a future!
Millions of young people face a future of only insecure work and a lifetime of debt.
16 November 2017
Virgin train workers vote for strike action over pay
RMT members at Virgin Trains West Coast have voted by 91% for strike action in response to a divisive pay offer
16 November 2017
Sheffield Eastern Ave Job Centre strike ends
Applauded by supporters, PCS members marched back to work at Sheffield's Eastern Avenue Job Centre ahead of its closure
21 November 2017
Zimbabwe: Mugabe gone - but his regime remains in power
Zimbabwe's autocratic president Robert Mugabe has effectively been ousted through a 'soft' military coup
22 November 2017
Do you have something to say?: Send your news, views and criticism in not more than 150 words to Socialist Postbox, PO Box 24697, London E11 1YD, phone 020 8988 8771 or email editors@socialistparty.org.uk
22 November 2017
Hammond's budget: step up the fight against austerity!
"There are no unemployed people" said the Chancellor. "I disagree" that wages are falling. The real facts are 1.42 million unemployed and a 10% fall in wages since 2007
22 November 2017
Nottingham 'Reclaim the Night' march highlights cuts
A spirited and determined 'Reclaim the Night' march, organised by and for women, wound its way through the Saturday night revelry of Nottingham city centre
22 November 2017
Councils' £1bn on commercial property
Never mind encouraging property speculators - councils have become them
22 November 2017
What does the left victory in Scottish Labour mean?
Richard Leonard's victory will be a boost to Corbyn at a UK level and a blow to the right
22 November 2017
Australia: massive yes vote for marriage equality
This shift in attitudes is in large part because of the tireless efforts of LGBT+ rights activists
22 November 2017
Billionaire president Donald Trump is desperate to get his tax cut plans through the US Senate
22 November 2017
Scotland: BiFab workers' occupation and march secures jobs and pay guarantee
Workers at the three threatened wind turbine construction yards in Fife have won a guarantee that their jobs and wages will be secured - at least until April 2018
22 November 2017
Leeds college workers protest poor pay rises
Leeds City College staff have been continually undervalued, with a dire record on pay increases in the past five years of either 1% rises or none at all
22 November 2017
Posh estate agent's housing crisis solution: make your own sandwiches
Cap rents, build council homes: For some reason I don't think making your sandwiches at home or giving up avocado toast will sort it out
22 November 2017
Property empires v avocadoes; council seats for landlords, eviction notes for us
22 November 2017
Tories refuse extra cash to health service: Hot on the heels of the news that 120,000 deaths have now been linked to Tory austerity, this glib dismissal from Hammond is offensive in the extreme
22 November 2017
Gentrification on the terraces: fans say twenty's plenty
Football ticket prices still remain prohibitive, especially for young fans, according to the BBC's annual Price of Football report
22 November 2017
Carbon dioxide hits 800,000-year high: end profit-driven pollution
The feared surge in global warming gases in 2016 has been confirmed - researchers found the highest atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in 800,000 years
22 November 2017
Lively student demonstration for free education could have been much bigger
Around 1,000 students took to the streets for free education on 15 November - but inevitably, some will question the smaller turnout compared to previous demonstrations
22 November 2017
Socialism 2017 Socialist Students meet-up
Students reported that this year has seen a new determined crop of students coming into Socialist Students committed to campaigning for Corbyn's promise of free education and an end to austerity
22 November 2017
Southampton: Corbynista success but cuts continue
The Corbynistas won an overwhelming majority at the AGM - but it will all be for nothing unless they can force the council to be anti-austerity in actions and not just words
22 November 2017
Disability cuts outrage: my story
I am a 49-year-old woman who has been managing the progressive disease multiple sclerosis for 19 years. Shame on Capita! Shame on the Tory government!
22 November 2017
Left comic's take on politics will have you in tears
Humour - Jonathan Pie: Off the Record: What Jonathan Pie does best is make basic left-wing political analysis entertaining
23 November 2017
After the budget - unions must launch pay fight
Millions of public sector workers will be vainly sifting through Hammond's budget for details of any pay rises. The reality is that most will be looking down the barrel at a full decade of Tory pay caps
24 November 2017
North West: drivers and housing workers escalate strike wave
The disputes in the north west are becoming increasingly bitter
29 November 2017
Socialist Students day of action demands free education
London: Across England and Wales students took part in the education shutdown day of action to fight for free education on 22 November coinciding with the Tories' budget
29 November 2017
Osborne evades Carlisle socialists
At short notice, Carlisle Socialist Party organised a protest on the morning of 24 November to greet the high priest of austerity himself - George Osborne, writes Robert Charlesworth, Carlisle Socialist Party.
29 November 2017
Amber warning lights flash on British economy
For workers, young people, the disabled and the unemployed, the lost decade since 2007 has been the equivalent of a Mark II Great Depression
29 November 2017
The Socialist Party salutes the marvellous campaign of Birmingham's bin workers. The scale of this victory, after 12 weeks of action, can't be underestimated
29 November 2017
Kirklees bin workers ballot for strike over schedule and bullying
On top of the additional days over Christmas, workers report managers are refusing holiday requests - and bullying, swearing at, and treating them "like children"
29 November 2017
Brighton Uni lecturers strike against job cuts
A lunchtime walkout preceded a full day of action, after a magnificent 85% vote in favour of striking against forced redundancies
29 November 2017
DWP to outsource more work to Capita
The decision to outsource new benefits claims to Capita will be disastrous
29 November 2017
PCS union says no to pay misery
Other public sector unions are considering their position, with a number proposing to hold similar consultative ballots. This is to be welcomed - and they need to get on with it
29 November 2017
Historic fall in living standards: working class people are already forced to borrow just to make ends meet
29 November 2017
Tory housing policy: build zilch, hike prices
We say: cap private rents and build council homes now: Closer inspection shows Hammond's housing initiatives don't amount to a hill of beans
29 November 2017
Uni boss's raise v our lost wages; no tax for Cadbury's and food price hikes for us; model's mansion v fines for homeless
29 November 2017
Save Glenfield Children's Heart Centre! Save our NHS!
A grassroots movement is continuing to build up against the grievous bodily harm being committed against the NHS by the Tory government
29 November 2017
'Hands around HRI' to save Huddersfield A&E
Fighting 'closure by stealth': The campaign to save Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Hands Off HRI, has called a protest on 2 December in solidarity with staff and patients
29 November 2017
Bristol libraries safe - for now - as council caves to pressure
This follows growing pressure from below in the Labour Party. The cracks are beginning to show in the council's assertion that it has no choice
29 November 2017
Tyneside to protest against A&E and walk-in cuts
Two NHS walk-in centres, and night-time A&E services at North Tyneside General Hospital, face closure
29 November 2017
Interview: Refugee Rights Campaign
Tamil asylum seekers have formed the Refugee Rights Campaign to fight for their rights
30 November 2017
New ebook: Liverpool A City That Dared To Fight
The chronicle of the Liverpool City Council 1983-87 is now available on Kindle! The council said no to Thatcher's vicious cuts, and taking a fighting stance won major improvements for working-class people
30 November 2017
Dramatic retelling of Grunwick strike
'We Are the Lions, Mr Manager' portrays the defining 1970s struggle by low-paid Asian women workers
30 November 2017
Victory: Glenfield Children's Heart Centre saved!
The proposal to end surgery at the centre has been dropped
18 Feb Bristol North Socialist Party: Question & Answers
18 Feb London NSSN meeting: Fight the anti-trade union laws, support the strikes!
18 Feb Birmingham SE Socialist Party: The history of immigration
19 Feb Hackney Socialist Party: Scottish independence - Will it happen?
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