Archive for October 2021
5 October 2021
Pandora leaks put capitalism in the dock
Expose it and fight for a socialist alternative
The explosive leaking of 6.4 million documents and 1.2 million emails showing the totally parasitic nature of capitalism and its rulers in today's world. Implicated are 35 heads of state, over 100 billionaires and 300 public officials.
6 October 2021
Boris Johnson and the Tories see the COP26 conference in November as an opportunity to showcase their vision for a 'Global Britain' leading the way on climate change
6 October 2021
Pay NHS and care staff to address worker shortages
Boris Johnson's suggestion of a pay rise for HGV drivers to attract more workers into this essential job is very welcome
6 October 2021
NEU: National executive agrees campaign on pay
Vote Martin Powell-Davies for DGS to ensure a campaigning, socialist lead from the top: Socialist Party members on the National Education Union (NEU) executive are able to report to their members that, following the national executive meeting that took place on 2 October, there will now be a national campaign on pay, including 'potentially' industrial action
6 October 2021
Unite health members say no to 3% and vote for action
Health service members of Unite the Union in England have voted by 90% to reject the government's 3% pay offer for this year.
6 October 2021
Brighton waste workers walk out
The Socialist Party joined the GMB union and Brighton's Cityclean, recycling, commercial waste and HGV drivers and workers on their picket line on 5 October as they fight for better pay and working conditions
6 October 2021
Capitalism's economic instability in the 'new normal'
Volatility in world supply chains: The recent acute shortages of energy, goods and labour in some sectors in the UK stems in large part from UK-specific capitalist failings
6 October 2021
Youth Fight for Jobs - why we're marching on 9 October
"One month I didn't have any money at all": On 9 October, Youth Fight for Jobs is organising protests and marches in 14 towns and cities. This is just after the Tories remove the safety net of furlough, which will disrupt the lives of up to one
6 October 2021
Ten years since our 330-mile Jarrow March for Jobs
In 1936, 200 unemployed workers marched from their homes in Jarrow in north-east England to London against mass unemployment, demanding the government re-establish the shipbuilding industry in their town
6 October 2021
Barking NHS: "Sorry, please try again later"
On 29 September, East London Socialist Party member Pete Mason proposed a motion, based on the following, to Barking Reach Residents Association, which he chairs. It was passed unanimously.
6 October 2021
We have the right to breathe fresh air
Around 300 demonstrators gathered in Edmonton on Saturday to demand that the plans to build a new incinerator in the local area should be stopped
6 October 2021
Nottingham: Punish Labour for cruel cuts
Vote TUSC in Sherwood and St Ann's on 7 October: The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is standing in two council by-elections in Nottingham
6 October 2021
London protest for Texas abortion rights
The Socialist Party leaflet on the protest about Texas abortion rights in central London on 2 October read: "Defend the right to choose, when or whether to have children".
6 October 2021
North West socialists join march against Tory conference
The Socialist Party was part of the march to show disdain for the Tory party at their annual conference in Manchester and demand change
6 October 2021
Obituary - Dave Hardaker, 1952-2021
Comrades in the Northern Region were shocked to learn of Dave Hardaker's sudden death on Wednesday 29 September.
6 October 2021
Caffeine and capitalism - a symbiotic relationship
'This is your mind on plants' by Michael Pollan - published by Allen Lane: Is the molecule C8H10N4O2 - that's caffeine to you and me - responsible for the slave trade, colonial wars, imperialism, increased labour productivity, and even the development of capitalism?
6 October 2021
Railway bosses cook the books in another capitalist market failure
In an episode of the classic Channel 4 sitcom, Father Ted claimed the money was "just 'resting' in my account" when desperately trying to explain away some financial irregularities.
6 October 2021
Glasgow's equal pay battle set to re-erupt
Three years ago this month saw an heroic 48-hour mass strike for equal pay. 8,000 Glasgow council workers, organised by Unison and the GMB, took the action. The majority female workforce had been underpaid
6 October 2021
Fighting Fund target smashed - £31,703 raised
Congratulations to all our members and supporters who helped us smash our fighting fund target for the July-September quarter, raising a brilliant £31,703, 127% of the target
6 October 2021
Bakers' union disaffiliates from Labour
Now step up the fight for a new workers' politics
6 October 2021
Sarah Everard trial reveals police abuse of power
While the Tories talk about how murders like Sarah's should never happen again, their actions speak otherwise.
6 October 2021
Tories plunge millions further into poverty
£6 billion has been ripped from the hands of working-class people through the removal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift
6 October 2021
Coordinated FE strike against measly pay offer
College workers at ten University and College Union (UCU) branches initiated strike action as part of a coordinated fightback on pay on 28 September
6 October 2021
Unison LG members reject insulting pay offer
In a Unison consultative ballot of local government workers, 79% of members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who voted put a cross on the ballot form to reject the employers' insulting offer of 1.75%
6 October 2021
Tesco warehouse rep fighting for reinstatement
An Usdaw rep at a Tesco warehouse who is also a Socialist Party member has been wrongfully dismissed for organising in his workplace, both on the shopfloor and in his union branch, of which he was recently elected secretary.
6 October 2021
Scunthorpe steel scaffolders strike for pay rise
"I've worked here eleven years and only ever had one pay rise", one scaffolder told me on the picket line. Another added: "That was three years ago but was self-funded!"
6 October 2021
9 October 2021
Newcastle United takeover: No to billionaire Ashley or Saudi despots
The Saudi Public Investment Fund owns 80% of the club.
11 October 2021
Marching in Cardiff on Saturday 9 October, during a day of action called by Youth Fight For Jobs.
Marching in Cardiff on Saturday 9 October
Marching in Cardiff on Saturday 9 October, one of many protests during a day of action called by Youth Fight For Jobs.
11 October 2021
Socialism 2021 event: 19-21 November 2021
In a world facing crisis on every front, discussion on how socialist ideas can change the world is more necessary than ever.
13 October 2021
MPs list Covid failings: Workers' inquiry needed: A slow move into lockdown restrictions at the start of the pandemic, a decision to halt testing in March 2020, the disastrous privatised test-and-trace, and sending thousands of Covid-positive patients into care homes - all among the government's "big mistakes" in handling the Covid pandemic in E
13 October 2021
Social care funding needed now
The news media are keen to talk about shortages of petrol, HGV drivers, fruit pickers, etc, but they are not talking about the social care crisis caused by the shortage of carers.
13 October 2021
Oaks Park pickets vote for more strikes to defeat bullies
Strikers at Oaks Park secondary school in Redbridge, east London, have told bosses they'll fight bullying till the bitter end.
13 October 2021
National Education Union deputy general secretary election
'Why I'm voting for a fighting strategy to win on workload, pay and cuts': Socialist Party member and teacher Martin Powell-Davies is running as a candidate for National Education Union (NEU) deputy general secretary
13 October 2021
60 steelworks scaffs march in second week of all-out strike
The second week of the all-out strike by Unite the Union, involving around 60 scaffolders, got off to a flying start
13 October 2021
Build a mass working-class climate movement with socialist policies
The COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow is now only weeks away.
13 October 2021
Fight for the pay rise we deserve
Saviour Boris is at it again! At the Tory party conference, he criticised bosses for shortages due to failure to invest in people and pay. A sentiment that, if it stood alone, we could agree with. But
13 October 2021
Durning Hall: Hands off our community space
Durning Hall in Forest Gate, east London, has been used by local groups to meet for six decades. But the charity that runs it, Aston-Mansfield, has submitted a planning application for redevelopment, including
13 October 2021
March to save Stratford arts jobs from Newham Labour attacks
The campaign to save arts jobs in Stratford, east London, has called a second protest after the council reneged on promises yet again.
13 October 2021
Newcastle United takeover - no to billionaire Ashley or Saudi despots
For working-class control of football: The vast majority of Newcastle United fans were overjoyed on 7 October at the news that the 14-year reign of Mike Ashley, of Sports Direct infamy, was finally over.
13 October 2021
Ridley Road: An engaging story of fighting fascism
The new BBC 1 drama 'Ridley Road' is based on true events: the struggle against fascism in the early 1960s. It opens with the shocking scene of three characters giving Nazi salutes.
13 October 2021
DVLA: Workers ballot on further strike action
PCS members at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are balloting from 12 October to 10 November on whether to continue their campaign of industrial action over Covid safety.
13 October 2021
Pandora property speculators fuel housing crisis
The Pandora papers have further revealed capitalism's parasitic nature. Britain's housing crisis is shown to serve as a lucrative venture for the super-rich. The investigation revealed that 1,500 UK
13 October 2021
Tough for some: Life is tough for everybody. The government cut in Universal Credit is forcing tens of thousands into poverty at a time when prices are set to rise. People will have to choose between heating the house
13 October 2021
The 'winter of discontent' - When workers could take no more
A combination of the rising cost of living, low pay, tax increases, and fuel and food shortages has led some commentators in the establishment media to talk about the possibility of a new 'winter of discontent'
13 October 2021
Who runs Unison: lay members or the paid officials?
The new NEC must start the fight to democratise Unison
13 October 2021
Prepare for coordinated trade union action: After a decade of austerity, followed by a devastating pandemic and with prices rising - workers are ready to struggle for a pay rise. Health unions Unison, RCN, Unite and GMB ran ballots on the 3% NHS pay offer over the summer, and all came back with a resounding rejection and a willingness to fight.
13 October 2021
College strikes continue into third week
UCU strikes have continued into their third week at five FE colleges
13 October 2021
Cynical Johnson government no friend of workers
In September the Tories briefly dipped below Labour in polls, as workers face pay restraint, soaring prices, tax hikes and shortages
13 October 2021
Hackney: Stop closure of children's centres
On 8 October, over 50 parents, children and members of public sector union Unison protested to demand that Fernbank and Hillside children's centres in Hackney, east London, be kept open
13 October 2021
Place Unite at the head of the anti-Tory movement
Unite policy conference 2021: It is 40 months since Unite's last policy conference in July 2018 and, in that time, the world has been shaken about
19 October 2021
Arms fair: Hundreds of protesters defy police 'dispersal zone'
The police had the power to order people to leave the area
20 October 2021
The fall of Apartheid in South Africa
Why didn't its overthrow end poverty and inequality?: Twenty seven years ago, the world rejoiced as the monstrous apartheid regime was overthrown with the election of the first black majority African National Congress (ANC) government.
20 October 2021
"Are you the socialist cabby?"
The likelihood of politics coming up on a cab journey is nearly guaranteed. I mainly see workers, dozens of times a day.
20 October 2021
Hackney children's centres - more education cuts are devastating
After years of behind-the-scenes cuts, the Labour council in Hackney, east London, is now cutting education services to the bone
20 October 2021
Biggest protest yet to save Stratford Circus
Over 70 trade unionists, arts workers and community campaigners turned out for the second protest in defence of Stratford Circus arts centre on 16 October
20 October 2021
Doncaster: Vigil condemns violence against women
I attended the vigil for victims of violence against women in Doncaster. We held a two-minute silence for Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa, and all the women who have been murdered in lockdown by their violent
20 October 2021
Obituary - Tony Davison: "I work for Militant, but Laing's pay my wages"
Socialist Party member Tony Davison, from Beverley in East Yorkshire, has sadly passed away. He will leave a huge hole. Our thoughts are very much with his wife Sue and his family.
20 October 2021
I'm unemployed: For me vacancy crisis is a lie
I'm writing this at 7.10am. The other night, I had an interview at a local Tesco for the night shift.
20 October 2021
'An unflinching critique of capitalism': The South Korean-produced Squid Game now has over 111 million views around the world, in record time for a series released on Netflix
20 October 2021
Socialist nationalisation not bailouts for the bosses
Bosses of energy-intensive industries are clamouring for government bailouts. Soaring gas prices internationally are hiking the cost of energy and threatening the profits of industry. With the threat of
20 October 2021
Austria: Chancellor Kurz resigns amid allegations of corruption
Sebastian Kurz of the right-wing People's Party (ÖVP), for five years a shooting star of the European conservatives, had to 'step aside' as Austria's chancellor on 9 October
20 October 2021
Save the planet from capitalist climate catastrophe
The world leaders, including Boris Johnson and Joe Biden, will arrive at the COP26 climate conference starting on 31 October in their polluting private jets, to talk about how we must do more to prevent climate change
20 October 2021
The UK's Covid hospitalisation rate is currently six times higher than other large European countries
20 October 2021
Container delay carnage makes the case for socialist planning
Recent reports of delays at Felixstowe Port, which has prompted warnings about shortages of toys and clothes at Christmas, are yet another example of the chaotic and anarchic nature of capitalism.
20 October 2021
Fight to defend homelessness services
Councils in England have warned that the cost of homelessness services will increase by 27.2% in the next three years
20 October 2021
Ealing People's Budget - cuts can be resisted
For every £1 received from central government in 2010, Ealing, in west London, now gets 36p. There is no let-up in the Labour council's relentless cuts to jobs, services and facilities.
20 October 2021
Northampton People's Budget - cuts and privatisation is a failed strategy
Northampton Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) hosted its first People's Budget meeting on 5 October.
20 October 2021
Fighting the cuts at the ballot box in Liverpool
A by-election has been called in the Kirkdale ward of Liverpool following the resignation of right-wing Labour councillor Malcolm Kennedy
20 October 2021
Unite and fight for 30,000 permanent DWP jobs
During the pandemic, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was forced to launch emergency recruitment of more than 13,000 additional staff
20 October 2021
Gwent valleys Stagecoach bus drivers strike for fair pay
It was pouring with rain but pickets had been out since 4am this morning at Blackwood, Cwmbran and Brynmawr Stagecoach depots fighting for a decent pay rise.
20 October 2021
Scunthorpe scaffs strike for pay
"The picket line is here and we're not leaving": Around 60 scaffolders, members of Unite the Union, who work on the maintenance contract at British Steel in Scunthorpe, are on all-out strike to win the industry rate for the job
20 October 2021
Reinstate Gary Evans! Llanelli postal workers strike
Postal deliveries in Llanelli ground to a halt on 13 October when workers at Llanelli Delivery Office walked out to force Royal Mail to reinstate Gary Evans, who has been wrongfully dismissed.
20 October 2021
Napo AGM 2021: Union placed on war footing
"Should this engagement with the employer not result in an improved offer, formal notice of a trade dispute should be lodged and members balloted on industrial action, including strike action and action short of strike action."
20 October 2021
University workers ballot for strike action
University and College Union (UCU) members in universities are being balloted over whether to take industrial action in two disputes
20 October 2021
Fight for a socialist recovery
For higher wages, permanent jobs, fully funded services. Boris Johnson and the Tories' talk of a 'high-wage economy' will stick in the throats of workers at Weetabix, Clarks and elsewhere.
20 October 2021
COP26: Trade unions must fight for a socialist transition to renewables
Capitalism won't deliver the necessary action in the timescale and scope required
20 October 2021
20 October 2021
Brighton bin workers' victory in sight
Brighton bin strikers have voted to accept a deal that "ticks all the boxes, and more" according to GMB branch secretary Mark Turner
20 October 2021
People's Budgets - a socialist answer to cruel cuts
The Tories are planning £2bn more austerity cuts in the autumn budget.
20 October 2021
Housing crisis: Tories and Labour are not on our side
The deaths from the Grenfell Tower fire, and the fire safety issues it exposed, have shown the real face of the Conservative government – but also that of the Labour Party - tied to big business and the building industry
25 October 2021
It is clear that the Glasgow COP26 summit will not achieve even the goals set for it at the 2015 Paris climate talks.
27 October 2021
Public sector pay thaw - union fight is on for a real rise and funding
For teachers, the government's announcement that in April 2022 they will lift the public sector pay freeze imposed in November 2020 simply represents too little too late
27 October 2021
In his budget statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced an increase in the minimum wage and an end to the public sector pay freeze
27 October 2021
Tory climate plans set to fail - socialist planning needed
With weeks to go before the COP26 conference in Glasgow, the Tories have finally published their strategy for the UK to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050
27 October 2021
Fighting sexism and harassment, and for a safe night out
Many young people feel that the lockdown has 'stolen' what should have been the most fun time in their life
27 October 2021
Here's the question. Who does the Tory government support: the privately owned water companies or the public?
27 October 2021
Clarks shoe workers strike to give 'fire and rehire' the boot
Picket lines of striking Clarks workers were joined by about 50 trade unionists on 'Solidarity Day' on 15 October.
27 October 2021
Royal Mail workers stand against 'unachievable workloads'
Despite the promise of benefiting delivery workers' conditions, the rollout of the 'Pathway to Change Agreement' between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is proving to be the opposite
27 October 2021
GPs vote to reject government plans
Health workers are dangerously overworked and tired - threatening their own health and the services they can provide to patients.
27 October 2021
Gary Evans, a Communication Workers Union (CWU) member at Llanelli Delivery Office who was wrongfully dismissed, has been reinstated following a 24-hour strike on 13 October that halted postal deliveries after a solid 98.6% vote for action.
27 October 2021
The fight for Hackney's children's centres continues
The fight against the closure of two of Hackney's affordable children's centres, Fernbank and Hillside, continued on Wednesday 20 October
27 October 2021
Southampton People's budget Building an alternative to Tory and Labour austerity
Local authorities up and down the country, including Southampton, face a financial crisis. The chancellor's budget will do nothing to plug Southampton's budget gap. Already the city council has carried
27 October 2021
Save Southall youth centre - stop all cuts
Young people, trade unionists and supporters gathered at Ealing Town Hall to oppose the demolition of a youth centre in Southall on 19 October
27 October 2021
Carlisle says make the richest pay, not the poorest!
Carlisle Socialist Party held a protest on 16 October against cuts in living standards. With the retail price index already at 4.8% and expected to rise to 6%, this year's meagre wage rises are turning
27 October 2021
Ably showing inadequacy, red tape and inhumanity of capitalism: This ten-part dramatisation is based on Stephanie Land's 2019 memoir, 'Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive'
27 October 2021
TV review The Riots 2011: One Week in August
Following the murder of Mark Duggan by the police, riots rocked London, and many other cities, a decade ago
27 October 2021
Military coup in Sudan - Defiant masses take to the streets
For a revolutionary workers' and poor people's government!: At the time of writing, a military coup is taking place in Sudan. The army has arrested civilian ministers and their advisors. However, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in defiance
27 October 2021
On 25 October, around 30 mostly young people and students gathered in York to protest against the destruction of our environment and the imminent threat of climate catastrophe
27 October 2021
Tory NHS funding won't fix staff shortage
The extra £6 billion for the NHS won't deliver decent pay for NHS staff
27 October 2021
Gwent Stagecoach workers driving for victory on pay
Over 200 bus drivers have completed their sixth day of strike action
27 October 2021
Public spending under further threat from Tories
Tory chancellor, 'Richi' Sunak, is due to present his autumn budget and spending review statement on Wednesday 27 October. It will be no afternoon of joy for the working class.
27 October 2021
COP26: protest for Socialist change to reverse climate chaos
The UN's climate change panel says that it is 'code red for humanity'.
19 Nov Socialism 2022
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