State infiltration - a warning to the workers' movement

The state, cartoon by Alan Hardman, photo Alan Hardman

Last Sunday's Observer (14 March 2010) led with a scurrilous 'exposé' of how "an officer from a secretive unit of the Metropolitan police" was "working undercover among anti-racist groups in Britain, during which he routinely engaged in violence against members of the public and uniformed policemen... "

Youth Fight for Jobs day of action

Youth Fight for Jobs demo in Barking, East London, photo Paul Mattsson

On Saturday 13 March Youth Fight for Jobs organised demonstrations and campaigning activity against youth unemployment, cuts in education and the racist BNP in Manchester, Barking in East London and Yorkshire...

Unison leadership's "scorched earth policy"

EIGHTY PEOPLE from Unison branches across London took part in a protest against the appalling actions of the union's leadership in the witch-hunt against four Socialist Party members.
Outside Congress House, where the London region of Unison has its offices, Unison members burned letters from the regional secretary, Linda Perks.

Coventry: Voters need socialist fighters - not service cutters

Dave Nellist

"You know Dave Nellist and the Socialists - they are the ones who stand up for people like us". This was the comment of a woman to her daughter at one of our recent campaign stalls, a sentiment that is more and more common among working class people across the city...

Free the Tamil refugees

Tube Lines: Another fine mess

News in brief

Defend higher education

Socialist Students new mag out April

Course closures, funding cuts, job losses, fees... The last 18 months, since the start of the economic crisis, have seen students and campus trade unions organising protest action in Britain on a scale not seen since the movement to oppose the introduction of tuition fees in 1997-1998.
Why? Higher education faces a 'fight for survival' as reports show that funding could be cut by a third...

Defending public education in the USA

Another general strike brings Greece to a halt

ON THURSDAY 11 March, Greece was again brought to a standstill by the third general strike in a few weeks against the government's third draconian austerity package since the start of the year, writes Andreas Payiatsos, Xekinima (CWI Greece), Athens, and Niall Mulholland (CWI).

Iceland: 93% reject bankers' bailout

Interview with Skúli Jón Kristinsson, CWI Iceland We have seen recently some angry protests and demonstrations on the streets of Reykjavik. What is this "parliament of the street"?...

Thatcher's enemy within: 25 years after the end of the miners' strike

When the 1984-85 miners' strike ended, most of Britain's 180,000 miners had been on strike for a year in a battle to save their pits, their communities and trade unionism...

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition General Election launch rally

TUSC logo

General Election launch rally: TUSC has been set up in opposition to public spending cuts and privatisation, for investment in publicly owned and controlled renewable energy, for the repeal of the anti-trade union laws, and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. www.tusc.org.uk.

Surrey workers fight cuts

THE JUGGERNAUT of cuts and closures is already being felt in Surrey, which people usually see as a place of leafy suburbs and stockbrokers, writes Paul Couchman, Save Our Services in Surrey (personal capacity).

Fighting the cuts at Leeds University

Unite to save Northcott Theatre

Cuts mean poorest people priced out of the legal system

Legal aid in crisis: "Do you think they'll evict me?" - this is the question I was asked recently at the County Court. I was the duty solicitor representing a housing association tenant who had £2,200 rent arrears. Usually...

Hanging in the balance

A Hung Parliament? In substance, Britain’s general election campaign is a phoney war. The three main parties will attempt cuts in public services, pay and conditions. Socialist Party general secretary Peter Taaffe reports on the current political situation and the possibility of a hung parliament.

Youth Against Racism in Europe answers disgraceful Observer 'expose'

The disgraceful article in the Observer (14 March 2010) claims to 'expose' how "an officer from a secretive unit of the Metropolitan police" was "working undercover among anti-racist groups". Lois Austin and Hannah Sell reply...

Letter to The Observer: 'I remember Officer A well'

Fight the cuts, not union members

Dawn raids on Unison branch offices: Fifteen unelected Unison trade union officials raided the Unison offices in Bromley and Greenwich in south London and the Tenant Services Authority in central London in the early morning of Friday 5 March, writes Paula Mitchell, London Socialist Party secretary.

Protest against Unison dawn raids 15th March

Youth Fight for Jobs demonstrations

Young voters need real change

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

As smug MPs fail to convince: Fifty-six percent of 17-24 year olds aren't registered to vote. Of those that are registered, many still do not vote come polling day. With this in mind, BBC3 hosted a 'first time voters' Question Time,...

Michael Foot - the end of an era

Many "Old Labour" workers and socialists will be saddened at the death of Michael Foot and will see it as signifying the death of an era. However the ideas of Michael Foot - of piecemeal socialist reform of society through successive 'progressive' Labour governments - died long before he physically passed away on 3 March. Socialist Party general secretary Peter Taaffe writes.

Trades Council demo unites Brighton fightback

Brighton trades Council demonstration against cuts, led by the save Our Nursery campaign, photo P. Knight

"THEY SAY cut back, we say fight back" was the chant that roared through the streets of Brighton on Saturday as over 600 working class trade union activists, socialists and campaigners brought the city's streets to a standstill, writes Peter Knight, Brighton Socialist Party.

Riot cops attack peaceful Sussex students' protest

Police clear path for racist EDL thugs

Anti-war campaigner Joe Glenton gets nine months

Civil Servants Strike reports (updated)

Members of the PCS civil servants' union took strike action today to oppose the changes to the civil service compensation scheme.

Solid two-day civil service strike shows anger of PCS members

Palestine: 'The Wall Must Fall!'

ONE THOUSAND people demonstrated on 19 February, in the Palestinian village Bil'in, in the occupied West Bank, writes Report from Socialist Struggle Movement, (CWI in Israel/Palestine).

Chile earthquake: Natural disaster, state catastrophe

Hands off our NHS!

TRADE UNIONISTS, health activists and local communities have been protesting in recent weeks at plans to close critical care and maternity services in general hospitals...

Debate on women's oppression: Socialists propose solutions

PCS members were striking on International Women's Day, photo Paul Mattsson

Last week I addressed an International Women's Day anniversary meeting in the European Parliament. The meeting was called by the United Left group, of which Socialist Party MEP Joe Higgins (CWI Ireland)...

Waltham Forest day of action: Socialists and trade unionists make a stand

Canvassing for support for socialists in Lewisham

Build solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils

Solidarity with Yarl's Wood hunger strikers

National Shop Stewards Network: For undivided rank and file organisation

Justice for the Shrewsbury pickets

London Underground signals victory

On 5 February London Underground (LU) signal maintainers took 24 hour industrial action over management's attempts to impose rosters, breaches of framework agreements and outsourcing of work, writes London Underground Signal Maintainer.

Leeds university rally

CWU to put Royal Mail deal to ballot of members

Tower Block of Commons

Review: The ivory tower of Westminster politics has seldom looked as far from the struggles of everyday life as it did in Channel 4's 'Tower House of Commons', where four MPs spent eight days living in Britain's most deprived council estates, displaying naivety, dismay, but most of all, a gaping chasm i, writes Ben Norman.

PCS workers on strike in Barking, East London, photo by East London Socialist Party

Civil Servants Strike reports (updated)

Members of the PCS civil servants' union took strike action today to oppose the changes to the civil service compensation scheme.

Solid two-day civil service strike shows anger of PCS members

Fighting for jobs, services and conditions

PCS: All Out to Defend Jobs and Services

Invest in jobs, education & Training

Leeds Youth Fight for Jobs

We don't want to see a 'lost generation': "We should try to work with the masters of globalisation" These were the words of Professor Don Nutbeam...

Cut the working hours, not the jobs!

Portsmouth students and workers unite to fight cuts

Brighton students say: Save our nursery

EMA inadequacy impacts badly on students

Building action across Europe

Editorial: Attempts by the bosses and governments across Europe to make workers pay for the economic crisis are being met by a wave of anger and protest...

Greece - millions take part in general strike

Spain: Thousands join mass demonstrations

The fairytale world of RBS

Comment: IMAGINE WORKERS raiding their firm's safe every week to bet on horses. They stick the money, plus any winnings, back in the safe but keep a large cut for themselves. Now, imagine the workers betting most...

Stop council cuts

Nationalise the energy giants

Walsgrave hospital Coventry: Stop the parking charges rip-off

Fast news

TUSC: Activists launch socialist challenge

Onay Kasab

OVER 60 people attended a meeting in Greenwich, south east London, for a joint 'defend the four' and 'TUSC launch' meeting, writes Paul Callanan. 'Defend the four' is the campaign organised in defence of the four Unison members who have been politically witch-hunted by the union's right wing officials for the 'crime' of being Socialist Party members.

Where is the BA cabin crew dispute going?

For the third time in four months hundreds of British Airways cabin crew assembled for a joint branch meeting on 25 February at Kempton Park race course, writes Neil Cafferky.

Smash the bosses' construction blacklist!

Leeds lecturers win concessions - but cuts remain to be fought

Workplace news: In brief

Unison general secretary election: Nominate Roger Bannister

Roger Bannister, photo Alison Hill

The outcome of a BBC survey shows that at least 25,000 council jobs are at risk. A spokesperson from the London School of Economics has declared that: "Nothing like this has happened for a generation"...

Legal ruling exposes hypocrisy of Unison leadership

FBU general secretary speaks to The Socialist

Matt Wrack, Firebrigades Union general secretary, photo by Paul Mattsson

Preparing for more battles over jobs and services: Greg Maughan interviews Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary - another public sector union facing cuts to jobs and services in the coming months, writes How has the FBU changed since you were elected in 2005?.

Women will be at the fore in the fightback!

Unison Local Government strike 16-17 July in London, photo Paul Mattsson

100th anniversary of International Women's Day: At the turn of the century some feminists celebrated a 'genderquake', the idea that women had finally achieved equality, writes Claire Laker-Mansfield, Sussex Socialist Students.

Global media monster News International condemned

Tommy Sheridan, photo IS

RUPERT MURDOCH'S News International Ltd (a UK subsidiary of News Corporation) has been lacerated by a report from a House of Commons select committee into the News of the World's (NoW) phone hacking activities, writes Philip Stott, International Socialists, (CWI in Scotland) Dundee.

The hounding of Tommy Sheridan

Savage cuts planned at the Beeb

Supporters should own Pompey, not developers

THE COMPANY controlling Portsmouth Football Club (FC) has now gone into administration. This means that control over the club's finances has been taken out of the hands of the owner, writes David Maples.

The worldwide thievery of big business

FEW THINGS better display the underlying morality of capitalism than the scale and scope of 'offshore banking', 'off-balance-sheet' accounting and parasitical speculation - thievery by most people's definition, writes Steve Appleton.

NHS: Not safe in their hands!

"YOU CALL this cuts - I'm not scared to say cuts... I have to balance the books." So says a £140,000 a year NHS chief executive...

Private 'vultures' to run NHS hospital

Revisiting The Road to Wigan Pier

The great anti-poll tax victory: How 18 million people brought down Thatcher

Young people deserve a future: Join the Manchester march for jobs on 13 March

Leeds Youth Fight for Jobs demo, photo by Leeds Socialist Party

"Hundreds queue for 56 jobs at Selfridges", reported the Manchester Evening News before Christmas, when 600 job-seekers waited for hours in a queue stretching two blocks for a handful of temporary posts, writes Poppy Hamilton, Manchester YFJ.

Youth Fight for Jobs Demonstrations

How to stop cuts and defend public services

Nationally civil servants are facing an attack by the government on their 'compensation scheme' - their redundancy rights...

No cuts: Defend public services - SP black and white poster

No cuts: Defend public services - SP colour leaflet

No cuts: Defend public services - SP black and white leaflet

Demo opposes £29m Notts county cuts

RMT branch supports challenge to Denham

A meeting of the Rail Maritime and Transport workers' union (RMT) local branch held in Eastleigh near Southampton was attended by a candidate for TUSC, Tim Cutter, who will be standing in Southampton Itchen in the general election, writes Kevin Hayes.

Support the TUSC election challenge

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition General Election launch rally

British Airways cabin crew v management: Round two

THE UNITE union announced on Monday that British Airways (BA) cabin crew voted overwhelmingly for strike action, writes Neil Cafferky.

Anger on Teesside over Corus closure

ID cards - an expensive threat to civil liberties

Tories attack community café...

Yarl's Wood hunger strike

Fast news

The Eton co-op won't work

Comment: HAS DAVID Cameron swapped his top hat for a cloth cap by calling for public sector workers to set up their own co-operatives?, writes Nancy Taaffe.

Nominate Roger Bannister: Unison's leadership battle

Roger Bannister at Unison conference

Roger Bannister, who is seeking nominations to stand in the Unison general secretary election, commented on the latest round of job cuts announced by councils across the country...

Unison witch-hunt continues

South Wales: Demo against council cuts

Approximately 300 people attended a demonstration and rally in Port Talbot, South Wales on 20 February, a Welsh Unison member writes.

Socialist Party leaflet: All Out To Defend Jobs And Services: Defend The Civil Service Compensation Scheme:

Staythorpe: the fight for workplace safety

Port workers battle bosses... and high court

Jobcentre staff fight cuts

Leeds university: Support lecturers striking to save jobs

Fighting leadership needed for UCU

CWU women vote for political review

CWI Latin America school: A continent on the brink

CWI Latin America school, photo CWI

Members and supporters of the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) in Latin America met for a very enthusiastic and successful political education school in Brazil between 3 and 7 February...

Iraq: All eyes on the oil prize

Campaigning rights victory: But questions remain on new Waltham Forest policy

The Waltham Forest campaign2campaign, initiated by the Socialist Party, has recorded a victory as the north east London borough's council has announced that no campaigning groups will have to pay a fee or face a fine for setting up a stall in the town square, writes Bob Severn, Walthamstow Socialist Party.

How can the racist BNP be defeated?

UAF conference shows debate needed: Thousands of pounds of trade union members' money is given to campaigns such as Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and Hope Not Hate every year to help combat the rise of far-right, racist groups like the British National Party (BNP), writes A GMB member.

Scottish Defence League defeated: Working class political alternative urgently needed

Don't get between me and my profits - Alan Hardman cartoon

Fight council cuts!

Defend jobs and services: "THE SCALE of cuts is likely to be of a magnitude that no one has seen. My life in local government goes back to 1979 and there has never been anything as bad..."

Nominate Roger Bannister: Council workers need a fighting union

ROGER BANNISTER is a member of the Unison union's national executive, and campaigning to stand for election as Unison general secretary. Roger says the union must fight the cuts in Birmingham, which are being repeated by councils, health authorities and the education sector nationwide...

Youth Fight for Jobs: Leeds march for jobs and education

Leeds Youth Fight For Jobs demo February 2010, photo Leeds Socialist Party

A loud, lively Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) demonstration stopped traffic and drew widespread support from shoppers in Leeds city centre on Saturday 13 February, writes Ian Slattery, Huddersfield Youth Fight for Jobs.

TUSC to fight cuts in Spelthorne

"I will refuse to take any more salary than I currently earn, if elected, and I will publish details of my salary and expenses online for my constituents to see, examine and to hold me to account as their representative", writes North Surrey Socialist Party.

New TUSC sponsors

Notts Tories attack the vulnerable

Kay Cutts, the aptly named Tory leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said when elected last June that she would run a "business administration", writes Jon Dale.

New health inequality report reveals widening class divide

Ministers and MI5 colluded in the cover-up of torture

BNP's phoney changes

Fast news

The construction industry blacklist: Paltry punishment for attacks on workers

Construction workers have been fighting an employers' blacklist for many years. The big construction companies have been using it to try to stop workers on their sites joining trade unions and getting...

Oppose university cuts - defend jobs

Sussex student union elections: Support for socialist campaigners

Sussex university students demonstrate, photo Socialist Students

A busy week at Sussex University has left Socialist Students proud of the progress we've made, if a little exhausted, writes Sussex Socialist Students.

Student places crisis

Wales: New challenges for socialists

Campaigners against youth unemployment at the Welsh Assembly, photo Sarah Mayo

Socialist Party Wales recently held a very successful conference in Swansea that discussed future developments in Wales...

Celebrate May Day this year with The Socialist

Greece: Massive public sector workers' strike against savage austerity plans

HUNDREDS OF thousands of public sector workers took strike action in Greece on Wednesday 10 February, writes Andreas Payiatsos, Xekinima (CWI Greece), Athens.

Capitalist crisis threatens the eurozone project

Winter Olympics: Shortage of snow but no shortage of debts?

Protests as Canada's Tories suspend parliament