The Socialist 6 October 2021

Make the bosses pay, not the workers

Bakers' union disaffiliates from Labour

Sarah Everard trial reveals police abuse of power

Tories plunge millions further into poverty with Universal Credit cut

Capitalist climate hypocrisy

Railway bosses cook the books in another capitalist market failure

Glasgow's equal pay battle set to re-erupt

Pay NHS and care staff to address worker shortages

NEU: National executive agrees campaign on pay

Coordinated FE strike against measly pay offer

Unison LG members reject insulting pay offer

Unite health members say no to 3% and vote for action

Tesco warehouse rep fighting for reinstatement

Scunthorpe steel scaffolders strike for pay rise

Brighton waste workers walk out

Capitalism's economic instability in the 'new normal'

Fighting for our future

Youth Fight for Jobs - why we're marching on 9 October

Ten years since our 330-mile Jarrow March for Jobs

Barking NHS: "Sorry, please try again later"

We have the right to breathe fresh air

Nottingham: Punish Labour for cruel cuts

London protest for Texas abortion rights

North West socialists join march against Tory conference

Fighting Fund target smashed - £31,703 raised

Obituary - Dave Hardaker, 1952-2021

Caffeine and capitalism - a symbiotic relationship

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We have the right to breathe fresh air

photo Nick Humphries/CC (Click to enlarge)

Nick Auvache, North London Socialist Party

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. The incinerator will not solve the problem of waste management; it will make it much worse by spilling out its noxious fumes into the atmosphere of what is already a very polluted area.

The plume will not just affect the immediate area but spread its harmful effects across a number of north London's boroughs. Speaker after speaker condemned the project. Many of the activists pointed out that they had tried to engage in dialogue with local Labour councillors in Enfield but they were not interested. None were present at the protest.

Socialist Party members took part in the demonstration, which brought together trade unionists, youth, local environmental campaigners and Black Lives Matter activists. Some speakers advocated withholding council tax as a means of protest. Others vowed to continue to "disrupt the streets" so long as the politicians continue to ignore us. Others preferred to direct their anger towards the Tories, and one Lib Dem councillor claimed that the matter was above politics!

The North London Waste Authority, the body responsible for approving plans for the incinerator, is controlled by Labour and has the power to halt this project. The fact that it is ignoring local opinion as well as scientific evidence is a disgrace. This shows why we need protests but it also why we need a socialist pro-clean air alternative to Labour.

Particular scorn was reserved for Sadiq Khan, London's mayor who has confirmed his opposition to the incinerator plans in private but refuses to act publicly. The demonstration was very clear on that issue: quiet opposition is not enough, and the main speaker reminded everyone present to remember the silence of especially Labour councillors at the next election.

Voters should be reminded of Labour's silence but more than anything they need an alternative to vote for. The Socialist Party is part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition which will be standing in the local elections in May next year, and is fighting for a real clean-air political alternative to the dirty, polluted system of capitalism and its political representatives.

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Bakers' union disaffiliates from Labour