As we approach the second anniversary of the Coalition government coming to office, Workers Power conference looked back at the movement against austerity – not from the viewpoint of passively recording history, but in order to build on our strengths, overcome our weaknesses and chart a path forward. Since coming to power in 2010, […]
Big Society is Watching You! Kady Tait After the budget, the petrol chaos and the pasty tax, the Tories’ latest attack comes in the form of wide-ranging powers to snoop on our online communications. A new proposal expected to be outlined in the Queen’s speech in May would allow the secret services to have […]
By Andy Yorke The media and Tory ministers have jumped on this week’s report on the August riots to cover up police repression and blame the poorest youth and their families. The ‘Riots Communities and Victims Panel’ didn’t include anyone from the community. Set up by the Coalition with Labour backing, the hand-picked panel of […]
No Cuts – No War – No Privatisation Left winger George Galloway stormed to victory in the Bradford West by-election with 18,000 votes and a huge 37 per cent swing from Labour. Richard Brenner writes This extraordinary event, in which thousands of young people in Bradford, white and Asian, rallied to an anti-cuts candidate and […]
On 3 March Anthony Grainger, 36, was executed by police in a car park in suburban Manchester. He was sat, unarmed, in a stationary vehicle, having been followed by police in a pre-planned operation. Writes Helen and Chrissie Hadfield.
Italian workers have downed tools as political opposition grows to labour reforms. Unelected Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, is facing serious opposition to his plans to “free up” labour contracts. In fact, as with similar “reforms” in Spain, his aim is to allow employers to sack workers with near-impunity, as they can in Britain. Dave […]
The killing of 17 year-old black teenager Trayvon Martin by an armed Neighbourhood Watch man in Sanford near Orlando, Florida has sparked national outrage. George Zimmerman was detained after he shot and killed Martin, but was then released by police without charge. Writes Simon Hardy.
The 29 March one-day general strike witnessed massive participation across Spain as millions rallied to the unions’ call to resist government attacks on fundamental workplace rights. Kady Tait reports After three years of vicious austerity, 5.3 million people, a quarter of the workforce, and 50 per cent of young people are unemployed. Spain has entered […]
In the aftermath of Rajapakse’s victory in his war against the Tamils, the JVP, the supposedly Marxist party that backed him, has split apart. Peter Main outlines the history behind the split and the prospects it has created.
On 19 March, China awoke to widespread rumours of a coup in Beijing. The internet was alive with tales of troop movements, artillery fire in the capital and splits in the ruling Communist Party. Within hours it was clear that there was no coup, but every reason to believe that the splits are real enough. […]
A report by the Fair Labor Association into working conditions at three plants in China that supply Apple with iPads and iPhones has confirmed gross violations of Chinese labour law and unacceptable management practices, writes Peter Main
Workers Power conference debated and passed another resolution specifically on the fight to stop the destruction of the NHS, recognising the political importance of this struggle.
As we approach the second anniversary of the Coalition government coming to office, the Workers Power 2012 conference reviewed the movement against austerity – not from the viewpoint of passively recording history, but in order to build on our strengths, overcome our weaknesses and chart a path forward
Two years of Tory Britain has taken its toll on young people. Unemployment stands at 20 per cent and rising; for Black youth the figure is pushing 50 per cent. University fees have tripled, Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) has gone, and unpaid workfare is the only option for a million youth without jobs, education or […]
Sally Turner Monday 26 March was the first day of Alfie Meadows’ trial for ‘violent disorder’ after police beat him into a near-fatal coma – a crime for which no police officer has been charged. Writes Sally Turner.
On Saturday 31 March the elected leaders of Grass Roots Left, a national rank and file grouping in Unite, met in London, writes Paul Silson The first point up for discussion was the Open Letter from the Communist Party of Britain, which proposed unions withhold their funding from Labour in order to strengthen their demand […]
The electricians’ – or sparks’ – struggle against new contracts on the building sites that would have resulted in a 35 per cent pay cut has led to a stunning victory for the workers and humiliation for the bosses, showing the strength, power and effectiveness of militant rank and file organisation. Rix Bragg reports As […]
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is standing a range of candidates from across the unions and campaigns in capital for the Greater London Authority (GLA) elections on 3 May. Excitement is growing in the wake of the surprise victory of Respect’s George Galloway in Bradford West. Writes Simon Hardy.
Tanker drivers have a legitimate dispute. If they win, it would destabilise the Tories further. Rebecca Anderson explains that this is why Tory ministers have launched a war against them
On 21 March the European Commission, in charge of regulating competition, approved the Coalition government’s plan to take on the Royal Mail pension scheme, relieving the company of the burden of its £8.4 billion deficit, writes Andy Yorke. While the CWU has long argued […]
David Cameron must have hoped that the commotion over a threatened tanker drivers’ strike would take the heat off the latest Tory sleaze scandal. Well, he was wrong. In fact, Francis Maude’s dreadful attempt to invoke the spirit of the blitz by telling everyone to fill up jerry cans with petrol only resulted in a […]
On May 3, Londoners go to the polls to elect a new mayor. The two main candidates are the incumbent Tory candidate, Boris Johnson, and Labour’s Ken Livingstone, who was in office from 2000 to 2008. Workers’ Power is calling for a vote for Livingstone. Jeremy Dewar writes
The British working class is facing the fight of its life. The NHS is facing destruction. Mark Booth writes
March proved to be a bad month for the Coalition. It was a reverse of the old adage that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. In the first week or so it looked like things were going smoothly with the NHS destruction bill finally clearing the Lords, and the […]
By Dave Stockton Italian workers have downed tools as political opposition grows to labour reforms. Unelected Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, is facing serious opposition to his plans to “free up” labour contracts. In fact, as with similar “reforms” in Spain, his aim is to allow employers to sack workers with near-impunity, as they can […]
George Galloway’s ‘Bradford Spring’ shows huge potential for left advance Dave Stockton assesses George Galloway’s stunning election win in Bradford West. George Galloway has pulled off his second big election victory (the first was in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005) to confound the major national parties, especially the pro-war and pro-cuts Labour Party. He […]
In the aftermath of Mahinda Rajapakse’s victory in his war against the Tamils, the JVP, the supposedly Marxist party that backed him, has split apart. Peter Main outlines the history behind the split and the prospects it has created. The split in the JVP opens up the potential for a regeneration of the entire working […]
Thirty years on from the imperialist adventure against Argentina that became known as the Falklands War, the British establishment prepares – amid renewed tensions over the status of the islands properly called the Malvinas – to celebrate their subjugation of the semi-colonial country that dared to challenge them. In this reprint of a Workers […]
Rebecca Anderson says the tanker drivers’ dispute could win and destabilise the Tories still further…but why have Unite guaranteed not to strike over Easter? Over 2000 petrol tank drivers from seven companies are threatening to strike over pay and conditions, health and safety, training and pensions. The strike is aimed at creating industry standards that […]
The second edition of The Degenerated Revolution updates the original analysis of the origins and nature of the Stalinist states in Russia, Eastern Europe, Cuba and China with a detailed examination of the collapse of the USSR in 1989-2 and the course followed by the remaining Stalinist states. The Degenerated Revolution: the rise and fall […]