By Andy Yorke Around two hundred members of Left Unity (LU) gathered in Manchester for the first policy conference of this new initiative to build a new working class party, launched only four months ago on 30 November.  The conference marked a step forward for Left Unity, with largely fraternal debates deciding policy in important […]

By Franz Ickstatt, Gruppe Arbeitermacht, German section of the League for a Fifth International In the German media, the protest movement in the south and east of Ukraine is presented only as disturbances manipulated by Moscow as an excuse for the Russian aggressor to put more pressure on the struggle for an independent Ukraine and […]

By KD Tait The crisis in Ukraine has divided the international left and produced the deepest international crisis in Europe in 15 years. We argue that the conflict and our response must be situated in the context of a new period of inter-imperialist rivalry. The capitalist crisis, which began in 2007-08, has developed into a […]

By KD Tait An austerity package, for the “prevention of financial catastrophe”, passed by the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on March 29, threatens to deliver the people of Ukraine firmly into the grip of western imperialism. The bill, passed by a parliament purged of former President Yanukovych’s supporters, confirms that the decisive question characterising […]

By Kady Tait On 16 March, the population of Crimea voted overwhelmingly for federation with Russia. The results of the referendum were immediately rejected by all the major western imperialist powers, which have now barred Russia from G8 meetings and applied sanctions to figures in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage. In response to manoeuvres by […]

By Dave Stockton The tectonic plates of the world order, established after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, are shifting again, producing the political equivalents of earthquakes and tsunamis. Across the globe there are threats of economic sanctions between major powers which our rulers admit could make a train crash of the fragile economic […]

By Marcus Halaby A strike wave has forced the resignation of Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem Al Beblawi and his cabinet, only a month after the military junta of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi rigged a constitutional referendum to enshrine its rule. More than 20,000 workers at state-owned textile factories in Mahalla El-Kubra struck in February, demanding the […]

“We’re trying to get the women together from the community and involved in the strike."

By KD Tait March 24, 2014   In early February thousands workers and young people took to the streets in towns and cities across Bosnia–Herzegovina (BiH): Tuzla, Sarajevo, Zenica, Brčko, Bihac and Mostar and others. Sparked by protests against the privatisation and asset-stripping of five previously state-owned factories in Tuzla, the movement spread like wildfire […]

  By Marcus Halaby Three years ago this month, 15 schoolchildren in Daraa – encouraged by events in Egypt and Tunisia – were arrested and tortured for painting anti-regime graffiti on the wall of their school. Their treatment would be the spark for demonstrations of at first a few hundred and then a few thousand […]

Working class women across the country are confronting austerity and winning local battles. Bringing these class fighters together to forge a working class women’s movement has the potential to bring the cuts government to its knees, argues Joy Macready You can hear the rumble. Snippets here and there, up and down the country. Impressive victories […]

To achieve women’s liberation we have to fight for socialism. The two things are inseparable. Within the Second International, and later the Communist International, Clara Zetkin showed how the struggles could be linked. She led the women’s organisations of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), arguing that women needed to be organised, their rights defended […]

  By Shahzad Arshad On Friday 28 February, after 2,500 kilometres the Long March of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, VBMP, finally reached its destination of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. The 20 marchers are relatives of just some of the 18,400 people who are missing and believed to have been abducted by […]

  A special conference in London voted by 86 per cent to approve constitutional changes that will massively reduce the number of union affiliated members in the party and curtail their rights in favour of more privileges for MPs. Jeremy Dewar asks what will the changes mean?   Ed Miliband has achieved his “Clause Four […]

 The National Union of Teachers has called a national strike in a continuing campaign to defend pay, pensions and conditions: report by NUT member Bernie McAdam Teachers are right to feel angry. That’s why thousands of schools will be closed on 26 March across England and Wales. Our aim must be to use this one-day […]

The Scottish people face a historic decision on 18 September 2014, when they vote on the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” Andy Yorke considers what advice socialists should give   Although polls continue to show a majority against complete independence, but in favour of increased powers for the Scottish parliament (“Devo-Max”), the latest […]

  On International Women’s Day we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Rabotnitsa (The Woman Worker). Started by a group of Bolshevik women, including Nadezhda Krupskaya, Konkordiya Samoilova and Inessa Armand, the first issue came out on 8 March 1914 and covered current events in the workers’ movement, paying particular attention to the participation of […]

The League has received this survey of Russian opinion from a correspondent in Russia. According to the WCIOM (The Russian Public Opinion Service) 73% of Russian citizens are against of any intervention of Russia into the conflict between opposition and state authorities because this is internal problem of the country, that was announced on the […]

By Andy Yorke Revelations about police spying on the family of the murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence have backed the Tory-led coalition government into a corner, forcing Home Secretary Theresa May to agree to a public inquiry, admitting that the “full truth has yet to emerge”. Stephen was murdered by a racist gang in 1993 […]

New world disorder Stop the ‘hospital closure clause’ Labour shuts door on collective working class participation Police spy on Lawrence family Is independent rank and file organisation the key to unlocking trade union potential? Teachers: all out on 26 March Next steps for People’s Assembly LU: strike forces management climbdown Kyiv: new regime rules under […]

  By Dara O’Cogaidhin   The Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign brought about one of the most significant defeats for this government to date – a judicial review in July ruled the government’s decision to close the hospital as unlawful. This was following months of mass protests and campaigning work within the community. But before the […]

  In the last issue of Workers Power, Tim Nelson of the International Socialist Network (ISN) wrote an article in favour of building a rank and file movement. Andrew Bebbington, also of the ISN, has provided a thought-provoking response. This is just the sort of debate on vital questions of revolutionary programme and tactics that […]

For the first time since the Second World War, fascists have come to power through an insurrectionary movement. Kady Tait reviews the situation

The People’s Assembly – founded on 22 June 2013 at a 4,000 strong rally in London – has, it seems, finally succeeded in establishing unity between the hitherto scandalously divided national anti-cuts movements. Alongside the union leaders’ craven refusal to mount any united prolonged and decisive industrial action, this had made resistance to the Con-Dem […]

By Marcus Halaby Saturday 1 March 2014 Barely a month after a rigged constitutional referendum held to enshrine continued military rule, Egypt’s post-coup regime has seen the sudden resignation of its prime minister Hazem Al Beblawi and his cabinet. This has taken place even as the regime continues its repression of Muslim Brotherhood activists, and […]

The Ukrainian working class has no reason to regret the downfall of the corrupt Viktor Yanukovich or his ministers and police chiefs. His brutal repression on the 30 November of a peaceful occupation of Independence Square, using Berkut special forces, launched a movement which would eventually bring him down. Then, on February 20-21, police snipers […]

By Peter Main The overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by the Euromaidan movement marks a major strategic advance for the imperialists of the EU, led by Germany. Although their preferred option was a “controlled” transfer of power via early elections and a compromise with opposition leaders, it is a mark of their determination to […]

On 22 February around 200 women attended the Women’s Assembly in London. Joy Macready reports Tightly stage-managed by Socialist Action and Counterfire, the top-table speakers were predominantly Labour, Green Party and trade union officials – none of whom were leading the fightback against the cuts. The sole activist was Louise Irving of the Save Lewisham […]

Thousands of school students strike in solidarity with refugees fighting racist violence and deportation. Tobi Hansen reports  On February 13, more than 3,000 school and university students went on strike to demonstrate their solidarity with refugees on the streets of Berlin. For nearly two years, there has been a camp on Oranienplatz in Berlin protesting […]

By Jeremy Dewar On a windswept, rainy Thursday night on 11 February, around 40-50 people gathered in front of Lambeth Town Hall to voice their opposition to the police. The occasion was the “consultation” exercise run jointly by the London Mayor’s Office and the Met, which is touring all 32 London boroughs: MOPAC. Left Unity’s […]