Archive for October 2014
1 October 2014
US led bombings will worsen divisions
The brutal bombing onslaught led by US imperialism on 'Islamic State' held parts of Iraq and Syria is pouring more fuel on the fires of civil war. Abhorrence is felt by people across the globe at reports of Islamic State killings. But the air attacks will solve nothing
1 October 2014
Pay cuts: Angry and ready to strike!
Public sector workers - including in the NHS, local government, colleges and the civil service - are due to take part in rolling strike action on 13-15 October
1 October 2014
Socialist Books flood appeal: Socialist Books, the Socialist Party's bookshop, suffered a serious blow recently. A flash downpour flooded the east London cellar where most of our recent stock is stored. Nearly half was lost, including
1 October 2014
Housing - a history of class struggle
Housing is one of the most pressing social issues in Britain. Millions are struggling to pay their rents or mortgages. Government policies have resulted in rents and house prices reaching crazy heights
1 October 2014
Bombing will not stop sectarian violence: Once again the government is banging the drums of war. Parliament has now agreed airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) which will see the return of British military intervention in Iraq
1 October 2014
More brutal cuts from the imploding Tories
The Tory party conference is a vision of a party in peril, and a leader surviving by the seat of his pants
1 October 2014
This year's pre-election Labour Party conference was an opportunity to enthuse those people to vote Labour. They failed to do so because they provide no real alternative
1 October 2014
A commitment to build new housing was trumpeted by Miliband at the Labour Party conference. As a document, agreed at Labour's recent National Policy Forum, states: "Britain is in the midst of the biggest housing crisis in a generation"
1 October 2014
Film review: Still the enemy within
The popular "Pride" film based around the 1984-85 miners' strike is not the only film on this epoch-making dispute getting its premiere this autumn
1 October 2014
York University - Student housing letting agency victory
It's an old adage that student accommodation is always bad. Apparently, living with walls covered in damp and families of slugs just goes with the territory
1 October 2014
Round up: Socialist Students at the freshers fairs
Leeds: Once again, Socialist Students has met hundreds of students wanting to join us across the three universities in Leeds
1 October 2014
Scotland is in a party joining mood
Ugh! That is the general response to the Labour and Tory conferences. The Etonites have once again taken time out (from what, expenses fiddling?) to stay in posh hotels and spell out their plans to continue our misery
1 October 2014
Warsop fire station in Nottinghamshire has been saved, writes Jon Dale and Neal Davis, Mansfield Socialist Party
1 October 2014
A day in the life of an agency worker
Insecurity and exploitation: I wake up at 5.30am, throw on the uniform I spent my last pay cheque buying, leave at 6am to arrive at the pick up at 6.30am. If I'm late I risk losing not just one shift, but all future ones
1 October 2014
What party should students vote for?
The general election may be eight months away, but the three main parties have already embarked on a mission to remake their images and shore up support
1 October 2014
Continuing Bob Crow's legacy after RMT election
Mick Cash has been elected as the new general secretary of the RMT. The election was called after the tragic early death of Bob Crow earlier in the year
1 October 2014
CWU's political fund and political voice
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is this month balloting all members on whether to retain its political fund
1 October 2014
"These people need homes - these homes need people": Twenty nine unemployed single mothers face eviction for a second time by Newham Labour council. This time from the abandoned council block the mums have occupied
1 October 2014
Doncaster Care UK workers start record strike
On 29 September a further three weeks' strike action started
1 October 2014
Hove Park will not become Gove Park after a tremendous campaign to prevent it from becoming an academy
2 October 2014
Ebola crisis: Consequence of profit before health
The US sending 3,000 troops to Liberia to build isolation hospitals, while Sierra Leone has implemented a national lock-down, underlines how serious the Ebola epidemic has become
7 October 2014
Andrew Price: Fighter, teacher, party campaigner
An inspirational figure and tenacious fighter
7 October 2014
The RMT union has confirmed 48 hours of strike action on London Underground on 14-16 October in the continuing fight against the London mayor's onslaught on jobs, working conditions, safety and the threat to services including the wholesale closure of ticket offices
8 October 2014
Vice president of the PCS, John McInally, speaks about the 13-15 October strikes
8 October 2014
South Africa: "A workers' party must emerge"
The May general election in South Africa saw the ANC returned to power for the fifth consecutive time but there is widespread speculation that President Zuma will not see out his second term
8 October 2014
Middle East: Repel IS and Western imperialism
Fight for democratic workers' defence and Kurdish self-determination: The plight of Kurds and others in Kobane in Syria, besieged by the Islamic State, fills people with horror
8 October 2014
We need ideas to change the world
And once the budget deficit was wiped out, everyone lived happily ever after. Only in a Disney film? Don't be surprised if Tory ogre George Osborne gets a cameo role as a hero in some sickly sweet Disney flick. After all, the British government has handed Disney almost £170 million to make films here
8 October 2014
Scotland: Workers need a new mass party
Labour's treacherous role in fronting the successful 'No' campaign in the independence referendum has made trade union members eager to hit Labour in the pocket
8 October 2014
Barking and Dagenham council at a crossroads
Hundreds of low paid council workers facing a £2,000 a year cut to their income protested outside Barking town hall
8 October 2014
Teachers: Pay rise? What pay rise?
As a teacher I have just been awarded the 1% pay increase which all teachers are potentially eligible to receive
8 October 2014
A national day of action is due to take place on Friday 10 October on Doncaster Care UK workers' 81st day of strike action against 35% pay cuts
8 October 2014
Exhaustion from buzzer to buzzer
You wake up in the morning after a bad night's sleep: you were worrying about work, writes A factory worker.
8 October 2014
Bedroom Tax: Still making tenants' lives hell
'The bedroom tax? Hasn't that been scrapped?' We get comments like this at our campaign stalls now. The Labour Party said it would scrap the tax and the Lib Dems said they no longer support it, writes Cathy Meadows, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Scrap the Bedroom Tax.
8 October 2014
Stop the cuts, scrap rip-off PFI privatisation schemes: The National Health Service (NHS) is mired in a deep financial crisis and in a desperate attempt to highlight this a body of health professionals have written an open letter to the government, writes An NHS worker.
8 October 2014
UK - A tax haven for the super-rich
Prime Minister David Cameron pledged at Tory party conference to make tax cuts to assist 30 million "hardworking families", writes Simon Carter.
8 October 2014
Room to rent: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Tory Mayor of London, has an interesting take on what is "affordable"
8 October 2014
Public sector: why we have to strike
The October week of action is not before time: we have all suffered under a massive onslaught of job cuts and pay cuts since this Con-Dem government of the rich for the rich came to power
8 October 2014
RMT tube workers join October action
RMT transport workers' union has called a 48 hour strike on 14-15 October as the union continues to fight against London Underground's (LU) plans to cut around 900 jobs and reduce grades and pay-rates across stations on the tube
8 October 2014
Sheffield: Green workers red with anger
Money for old rope! Trade unions suspect that the boss of the 'charity' company running Sheffield's recycling centres is taking excessive consultancy fees and expenses out of the accounts
8 October 2014
The revelations about Thatcher's speech written for Tory Conference 1984 but abandoned after the IRA Brighton bombing confirm her demented view of the world, writes Tony Mulhearn.
8 October 2014
School students organise disabled rights meeting
I was invited by students at the Jame'ah Girls Academy in Leicester to talk about disability rights and discrimination at an event called "Years of Struggle", writes Caroline Vincent, Leicester Socialist Party.
8 October 2014
Training tomorrow's trade union militants
Young workers and trade unionists marching for jobs, photo Paul Mattsson
The East Midlands region ran a successful event to help train newer Socialist Party unionists how to work effectively in their union
8 October 2014
Finance to fight for the future
A central theme of the East Midlands finance school, held on 5 October, was the need to prepare for the future
8 October 2014
Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for £10 now!
Shop window posters boldly proclaiming "A Half-Price Mr Whippy Ice Cream - Happy Hour" provided part of the backdrop to a Socialist Party stall in Weymouth
8 October 2014
Coordinated attacks on Hong Kong movement
As we go to press the official leaders of the mass movement in Hong Kong seem to have mistakenly called for the protests to end
8 October 2014
M25 maintenance workers protest
M25 maintenance workers protested on 8 October outside Balfour Beatty offices in central London against attacks on terms and conditions. Unite's Malcolm Bonett explains the situation
8 October 2014
Correction: Labour's private health links are worse!
Following our article on 'Labour: no real alternative' in last week's issue of the Socialist we received an email from the corporate communications manager of private health company Bupa
9 October 2014
The RMT has suspended the 48-hour London Underground strike planned to start on 14 October
9 October 2014
Local government strike suspended
The Unison, Unite and GMB unions have suspended strike action over pay planned for 14 October
10 October 2014
Severfields engineers strike against bonus cut
100 workers at Severfields in Bolton took their second day of rock-solid strike action
10 October 2014
Local government pay: reject offer, reinstate action!
A local government worker gives their reaction to the postponement of the 14 October strike
10 October 2014
Stop Ukip: Byelection results reveal crisis of austerity parties
The two byelections on 9 October were a disaster for the main parties. The results reflect a rejection of austerity - all that is on offer from Labour and the Con-Dems
11 October 2014
Paul Murphy wins Dublin SW byelection
Paul Murphy, AAA and Socialist Party (Ireland) has won Dublin South-West
13 October 2014
Recycling workers strike over pay and conditions
30 GMB members at Sheffield's five recycling centres took four days' strike action
13 October 2014
NHS workers in six unions went on strike this morning, the first NHS strike over pay for 30 years. The mood was buoyant and defiant. 'We need to come out again' was a recurring refrain
13 October 2014
600 St Mungo's housing workers to strike for a week
Unite members at homelessness charity St Mungo's will strike for an initial seven days
14 October 2014
Leeds rally: 50 years since Militant's launch
Packing out the room with chairs in literally every space available, 75 people from across Yorkshire came to a rally on Thursday 9th October in Leeds to celebrate 50 years since the launch of Militant in October 1964
15 October 2014
Fight for mass action to end cuts and low pay
Britain needs a pay rise: How can we get it? When the TUC first organised their 'Britain Needs a Pay Rise' demonstration on 18 October, it is hard to believe that they saw it as an integral part of a campaign of co-ordinated strike action
15 October 2014
End poverty, inequality and capitalism: "Britain needs a pay rise" is the demand of the TUC's demonstration on 18 October. The first question to ask is "Which Britain?" The bosses don't need a penny more - they are gorging themselves
15 October 2014
First NHS pay strike for 30 years
Members of RCM outside Newham hospital, East London, photo Helen Pattison
On 13 October, NHS workers in six unions - Unison, Unite, GMB, Royal College of Midwives (RCM), Ucatt and British Association of Occupational Therapists - went on strike for four hours, the first NHS pay strike for three decades
15 October 2014
PCS members again show anti-austerity determination
A PCS picket in Manchester, 15.10.14, photo Alex Davidson
Civil servants in the PCS union were out on strike in force, part of the rolling programme of strikes planned for this week
15 October 2014
Young workers say: decent jobs now
Youth Fight for Jobs supporters marching for jobs and decent pay, photo Sarah Wrack
Millions of workers are 'on the breadline'. That was the damming picture painted in a recent episode of the BBC documentary series Panorama. The programme gave us the story of Jason - a fast food worker
15 October 2014
Victorian pay: Real earnings for workers have slumped by a massive 8% between 2007 and 2014 according to the TUC, ahead of its Britain Needs A Pay Rise demo on 18 October
15 October 2014
How a mass campaign stopped the cuts
The lessons of Liverpool's socialist council 1983-87: Despite crying crocodile tears, Labour-run councils throughout Britain have implemented devastating government cuts in jobs and public services - in some cases with enthusiasm, alienating many working class Labour voters
15 October 2014
Challenging the austerity parties
Britain needs a pay rise. It also needs a new mass party that stands firmly on the side of working people and their families, argues Dave Nellist, national chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
15 October 2014
Kshama Sawant
Hundreds of thousands are striking and marching for better pay. The question of a political voice is also on minds. Ukip's Clacton victory and Labour's narrow shave in Heywood have set many workers' thoughts racing. But a brilliant Ireland byelection result shows the potential for an anti-austerity programme
15 October 2014
Workers in Waltham Forest are among some of the poorest in London. So the call for an immediate, big pay rise that rang out loud and clear from the Waltham Forest Trades Council motorcade really resonated
15 October 2014
After spending a year playing in Northampton, 35 miles outside Coventry, the recent return of Coventry City Football Club (CCFC) to Coventry's Ricoh Arena was welcomed by football fans across the country
15 October 2014
If you believed a word from London's Tory mayor Boris Johnson, you might think he was committed to building affordable housing
15 October 2014
Defence workers strike over derisory pay offer
Workers at the cash-rich Defence Support Group started a rolling programme of strike action today in a dispute over pay in the run-up to the group being sold off to the private sector next year
15 October 2014
If you have friends or relatives in the construction industry, you know exactly what the Tories mean when they boast about how they have got workers "off benefits and into work"
15 October 2014
Mark Serwotka: Building a strong, fighting union
The socialist-led Public and Commercial Services civil servants' union is due to have an election for its general secretary. Bob Severn spoke to the current general secretary, Mark Serwotka, who is standing for re-election
15 October 2014
Tories and Labour in crisis after Ukip win
72% of Ukip voters support renationalising rail - unlike Ukip! photo Paul Mattsson
Cameron and Miliband woke up on 10 October with a common sense of dread. Both their parties have been left reeling at the results of byelections in which Ukip has dealt them a hefty blow to the face
15 October 2014
We need YOU to join the Socialists!
GMB members on strike, photo S O'Neill
The trade unionist: I became involved with the Socialist Party over a period of time. It became obvious to me that the system does not work for most people
15 October 2014
We are appealing to all readers of the Socialist to make a donation to help support a workers' paper - an independent voice for the working class for 50 years since 1964
15 October 2014
This year, we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Socialist and its predecessor Militant. We are proud of our record of reporting on the struggles and views of workers ignored by the rest of the press
15 October 2014
Obama's strategy to beat IS lies in tatters
Obama and his western allies such as Cameron argue that a policy of air strikes alone could defeat the advances made by 'Islamic state' (IS) forces in Iraq and Syria
15 October 2014
Care UK workers mark 81st strike day
Doncaster Care UK strikers celebrated their 81st day of strike action on Friday 10 October with an overnight sleep-out outside the company offices followed by an indoor solidarity rally
15 October 2014
'Political awakening' continues in Scotland
One of the Generation Fightback stalls at the Hope Over Fear rally, photo GF
Over 10,000 participated in the Hope Over Fear pro-independence rally called by Tommy Sheridan in Glasgow's George Square on 12 October
15 October 2014
Ireland: Stunning byelection victory for Socialist Party
Paul Murphy (centre) celebrates his byelection victory
11 October 2014 will be a day that's remembered for years to come in Ireland. An estimated 100,000 marched in Dublin against water charges. On the same day, socialist Paul Murphy won the Dublin South West byelection
16 October 2014
Following eight hours of discussion through ACAS, Unite members at the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) have called off their planned seven days of strike action
16 October 2014
POA hospital workers join public sector strike wave
POA general secretary Steve Gillan explains why secure hospital workers are striking on 24 October
17 October 2014
20 October 2014
Sheffield green workers' unofficial walkout
The recycling workers in Sheffield who had already taken six days of strike action, upped the ante on their uncharitable 'charity' employers by staging an unofficial walk-out on Thursday 16th October, closing four of the five sites
20 October 2014
St Mungo's Broadway strikers stage 19 pickets
Over 200 striking homelessness workers gathered outside their HQ on the first day of a 7-day strike
20 October 2014
Striking radiographers received huge public support outside Southampton GH
20 October 2014
Care UK strikers lobby Miliband
Care UK workers finished the last week of their most recent 3-week strike action with a bang
20 October 2014
TUC 'Britain needs a pay rise' demo
Trade union contingents from all the major unions - and smaller ones - lined up along the Embankment for the 100,000-strong demo
20 October 2014
Kevin Maguire's mistaken comparison
I share Kevin Maguire's revulsion at South Tyneside council's threat to lop off £5,000 of the pay of nursery nurses, particularly as the fat cats continue to pile up fabulous wealth
21 October 2014
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (20 October) is probably right that Russell Brand is a "dilettante". But he challenges the status quo and stands up for those who are on its sharp end, like the young mothers in Newham
22 October 2014
Classless Ukip?: Ukip claims to represent 'all social classes'. So what is the commons voting record of Ukip's newest MP, Tory defector Douglas Carswell?
22 October 2014
International day of action for abortion rights in Ireland
On 28 October protests will take place at Irish embassies and consulates around the world, called by Irish campaign ROSA (Reproductive rights, against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity)
22 October 2014
Leicester council hits homeless hostel
Protest against the council cuts budget, Leicester, February 2014, photo S Score
Wordsworth House, a Leicester homeless hostel which I was a resident of for just over a year, has lost its council funding and the right to house council homeless clients, writes Mark Gawthorpe, Leicester Socialist Party.
22 October 2014
The unions' pay battle must continue
The local government pay dispute is hanging by a thread, also putting at risk the prospect of large-scale coordinated industrial action this side of the general election
22 October 2014
Tory triumphalism over rising employment masks the misery of millions of working class people in low pay Britain
22 October 2014
Undercover cops report - a whitewash
A massive new report on undercover policing from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary was published last week
22 October 2014
'We demand a better future for disabled people': How much is a disabled person worth? According to Tory welfare minister Lord Freud it's around £2 an hour
22 October 2014
Ebola outbreak: one face of austerity
Health workers in Liberia have been on strike demanding better protection from Ebola virus and improved pay
The World Health Organisation axed 300 of its 2,400 jobs in 2011. Cuts in governments' contributions slashed its budget by 20%. Its director-general, Margaret Chan, described "a new and enduring era of economic austerity"
22 October 2014
At less than a day's notice, around 20 activists turned out in Leytonstone, east London, to stop an eviction on 17 October
22 October 2014
The NHS has announced a six month 'temporary' closure of the Bitterne walk-in centre in Southampton
22 October 2014
The circus is in town! The decision of Rochester and Strood's Tory MP Mark Reckless to defect to Ukip and fight a by-election on 20 November has brought all the clowns of Westminster to our door
22 October 2014
Socialist Party "part of political landscape"
On 11 October seven members of Salford Socialist Party took part in a campaign stall in Eccles
22 October 2014
Local services suffer under Welsh Labour
A Cardiff Against the Cuts protest, photo Becky Davis
In an article that would be attacked by our opponents as scaremongering if written by a Socialist Party Wales member, chief reporter for Wales Online, Martin Shipton, writes: "The local government settlement announced by the Welsh Government will mark the beginning of the end of council services"
22 October 2014
Hedge fund owners will never blush
All over Britain the clamour for a living wage rise is growing. Queues form at our Socialist Party stalls when we demand £10 an hour now
22 October 2014
Private companies hold NHS to ransom
Capitalist firms eager for massive profits are targeting vital services such as health, regardless of the consequences
22 October 2014
100,000 march against cuts and for a wage rise
Around 100,000 trade unionists and supporters attended the TUC's 'Britain Needs A Pay Rise' demonstration in London on Saturday 18 October
22 October 2014
50 years of socialist ideas and workers' struggle
Anniversary of the first issue of Militant: When we started publishing Militant, the Socialist's predecessor, in October 1964, few of our political opponents expected that we would not only continue publication for 50 years, but become an important factor in subsequent battles of the labour movement
22 October 2014
Socialist change to halt climate change
Chris Baugh, deputy general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), spoke to the Socialist about the recent mass public protests over global warming which preceded the United Nations summit in New York on climate change
22 October 2014
Workers need a pay rise. Even Alan Milburn apparently agrees. As 100,000 people marched against low wages, this ex-New Labour minister come coalition-appointed 'social mobility tsar' released a damming report. Britain is becoming 'permanently divided' into haves and have-nots
23 October 2014
NASUWT members strike at Swinton High School
Teachers at Swinton High School in Salford, Greater Manchester, were on strike on 21-22 October. Members of the NASUWT teachers' union are deeply frustrated at policies imposed by the headteacher
23 October 2014
Mark Serwotka re-elected for fourth term
Mark Serwotka has been re-elected unopposed for a fourth term as general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union
24 October 2014
Firefighters today announced a significant escalation of strike action, with four days of strikes commencing on 31 October until 4 November
24 October 2014
Russell Brand speaks up for people who need a voice in a society run for the 1%. We're told there is 'no alternative' to austerity - but there is. The 'Socialism 2014' rally has speakers with incredible records of struggle and victories for the 99%
27 October 2014
St Mungo's Broadway workers discuss next action
Strikers finished seven days of action on Thursday 23 October feeling more determined and confident than ever
28 October 2014
The Labour Party in Scotland has been thrown into a deep crisis following the resignation of its Scottish leader, Johann Lamont
29 October 2014
Sheffield recycling workers to start indefinite action
Thirty Sheffield recycling workers at The Green Company continued their dispute for premium pay, welfare facilities and against bullying management with strike action on 25 and 26 October, and have given notice of an indefinite strike from Wednesday 29 November
29 October 2014
Unsocial media: Chancellor George Osborne told a bemused Tory audience at their recent conference that the government is cracking down on aggressive corporate tax avoidance
29 October 2014
Fighting for better pay for workers
Tory chancellor George Osborne has evil plans for those on low incomes. Most benefit claimants are actually in work. Osborne's austerity measures are just a programme of wealth protection for the rich
29 October 2014
Secure hospitals strike: Prison Officers' Association members working in the NHS took four hours of strike action on Friday 24 October in their struggle for a decent pay rise
29 October 2014
The National Health Service (NHS) is being ripped apart as a result of an acute underfunding crisis. Inevitably, patient care is suffering as a result
29 October 2014
The right-wing Daily Mail has continued its tradition of irresponsible journalism recently, with an unprecedented number of articles attacking Labour-managed NHS Wales
29 October 2014
Southwark Labour demolishes homes
No-one would oppose building more council houses. But is Southwark council really going to deliver on its latest promise of "11,000 new council homes over the next 30 years"?
29 October 2014
Ritzy workers threatened with redundancy
The Picturehouse cinema chain has threatened more than 20 redundancies at the Ritzy cinema. This comes just weeks after the Ritzy workers won a 26% pay rise through a long campaign of strike action
29 October 2014
Welsh poet Dylan Thomas once said he was a socialist, but a different kind of socialist. Those who knew him were aware of his consistent, ardent favour of a socialist society
29 October 2014
Film review: On the streets of Belfast in 1971
The British army was sent to Northern Ireland, not to defend beleaguered Catholics but to defend private property and British imperialism
This film, on general release, shows what it was like for a newly sent over British soldier during a few days in Belfast in 1971
29 October 2014
The Socialist Party is asking all members and supporters: can you make a donation to the Socialism 2014 finance appeal at the 8 November Rally for Socialism?
29 October 2014
Build a working class anti-cuts alternative: The Labour Party in Scotland has been thrown into a deep crisis following the resignation of its Scottish leader, Johann Lamont
29 October 2014
Record numbers of workers suffering poverty pay
The continuing scandal of low pay again hit the headlines last week when the Resolution Foundation think tank published figures showing a record number of workers in the UK on poverty wages
29 October 2014
Millions robbed by greedy bosses
Five million low paid workers are robbed every day
Come to the Rally for Socialism 2014: Stop thief! Five million robbed every day! It's organised crime
29 October 2014
Leicester holds historic People's Budget talks
Dave Nellist speaking at the Leicester People's Budget conference, alongside Tessa Warrington (left), cllr Barbara Potter (centre) and cllr Wayne Naylor (right), photo Ambrose Musiyiwa
On 25 October around 60 people gathered to participate in Leicester's first ever People's Budget conference
29 October 2014
Wales colleges: Vote 'yes' in pay strike consultation
A postal consultative ballot of Unison and other campus union members has begun in Welsh further education (FE) colleges, on whether we are prepared to take industrial action over Collegau Cymru (representing the colleges in Wales) paying no cost of living increase this year
29 October 2014
Australia: The sacking of a government
Gough Whitlam, former Australian Prime Minister, has died at the age of 98. His time in government raises important concerns for the working class about so-called democracy under capitalism
29 October 2014
Dublin TD promotes pro-choice campaign
Ruth Coppinger, a Socialist Party TD in the Republic of Ireland parliament travelled to Northern Ireland on Tuesday along with 30 other pro-choice activists to receive abortion pills from the pro-choice organisation Women on Web
29 October 2014
For almost 40 years, Ronnie Sookhdeo was a comrade in Militant and then the Socialist Party
29 October 2014
Bill Webster speaking in 1984, photo Dave Sinclair
William (Bill) Webster died in August after a long illness, aged 73
29 October 2014
Building a political alternative in Seattle
Kshama Sawant
"Poll shows Sawant polarising, but with impressive favourable rating" is the title under which a confirmation of the politics of Kshama Sawant and her organisation, Socialist Alternative (co-thinkers of the Socialist Party in the US), was published
29 October 2014
Lessons from history: 1917 Revolution in Russia
Lenin flankned by Trotsky addressing a demonstration in Moscow, May 1920. Under Stalin's counter-revolution, Trotsky was airbrushed out of the picture
The October revolution (7-8 November in the modern calendar) of 1917 in Russia was the greatest event in human history. Under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, it brought into existence the first, and so far the only, workers-led government to hold power for any length of time
29 October 2014
29 October 2014
Capitalism - 'the new mediocre'
"We're the fastest guns in the West - and still losing the living standards battle", was how Stephanie Flanders summed up Britain's economy.
29 October 2014
Salford FBU rep Paul Davies spoke to the Socialist about the four-day national strike starting on Friday
30 October 2014
Due to the threat of strike action and a boycott of the Picturehouse chain, the Ritzy bosses have now backed down from the threat to sack 34 members of staff, writes Laurence Maples.
30 October 2014
Boris Pilnyak: 'I want to live, I want to work'
October 2014 marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Russian writer Boris Pilnyak. Andy Ford writes on Pilnyak's life and works
30 October 2014
Russian writer Pilnyak: 120th anniversary
October 2014 marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Russian writer Boris Pilnyak.
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