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From The Socialist newspaper, 26 September 2018
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Gift card theft
Among other things, the collapse of House of Fraser and its takeover by Mike Ashley has brought home the risks around using gift cards.
I use gift cards through a work-based scheme to save a few percent off shopping, mainly in high street stores and supermarkets. Luckily I don't have a House of Fraser gift card.
Thousands of people are being left out of pocket as the cards are not being honoured.
The BBC reported the words of Cathy Martin: "I honestly feel like going and lifting £150 worth of stock and walking out! I mean, it's the same thing, isn't it?
"Except I'd be arrested, and House of Fraser gets away with pretty much the same thing. They've stolen £150 from me - and thousands of others."
That would be my feeling exactly. One law for the rich, another for the rest of us.
Bryan Clare, Stevenage
Faithful's fascism fiction
'The Faithful' by Juliet West tells the story both of adherents to Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, and of a young man who turns his back on them to fight against the Spanish fascists.
Some of the characters have a 'sympathetic' reason for supporting Mosley. There is the mother who wanted to save her son from war and calculated that Mosley was the best chance to do so.
However, the book also charts the disillusionment of loyal fascists and the growing realisation of the consequences of the increasingly racist policies of Mosley's 'New Party'.
It is a revelation to hear fascist ideology not couched in foreign accents, but in aristocratic British ones. The thuggery of Mosley's Blackshirts is not emphasised, but rather the reasons some felt the attraction of fascism - the theory that a 'corporate' state would bring an end to class conflict.
The narrative follows the characters into World War Two. Suddenly the Nazi bombs weren't falling on Spanish 'reds', but on British homes. It helped bring about a different perspective for some.
The background to the story is factual but the characters are fictitious. It is a book which brings history alive.
Derek McMillan, Durrington, Sussex
Far-right threat
On 17 September 1993, the far-right British National Party (BNP) won its first council seat in a by-election in Millwall, east London.
The BNP no longer exists as a political force. But other racist parties, such as Ukip and Britain First, have partly taken its place. And there are, unfortunately, individuals who are increasingly active in mobilisations led by the far right.
This is highlighted in a rise in the number of far-right terror suspects currently in prison. In fact, Home Office figures show there has been a rise of nearly five times since the murder of Jo Cox MP by Thomas Mair.
13% of all those held for alleged terror offences are now reported to be right-wing extremists. The fight to destroy the BNP may well have ended, but the fight against the far right continues.
Carl Harper, Peterborough
Freight pension advice
I have heard that a freight company in the rail industry wanted to close its pension scheme. Management said it would arrange for independent financial advisors to meet with employees.
Their advice was to stay in the pension scheme! This could be connected to the fact that your contributions to such a scheme are not subject to income tax - and that employers also pay into the scheme, adding to the pension you receive...
A member of train drivers' union Aslef
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Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
In The Socialist 26 September 2018:
What we think
Militant was right - councils can fight cuts
Fight for a democratic, socialist Labour Party
Fighting for socialism amid capitalist chaos
Socialist Students
Students and workers unite and fight
Freshers fairs: socialist ideas chime with students
News
Private firms and toothless regulator to blame for trains chaos - nationalise rail now!
Fight plans for A&E appointment system - fight to save our NHS
Labour civil war rages in Enfield
Workplace
Who wants driver-only operation?
Hospitality workers coordinate historic strike
Strike vote: college staff want a pay rise
Compulsory redundancies stopped at Leicester University
Safety-critical airport workers continue strike
Glasgow workers striking for equal pay
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Victory for Sheffield Save Our NHS
Residents push back Barking estate landlords
Brilliant sales at Labour Party conference
Directors' contempt for repressed workers
Huddersfield campaigners keep their powder dry
International socialist news and analysis
Trump's tariffs raise international tensions
Opinion
Powerful defence of the welfare state
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