News and socialist analysis

Budget 2012: reject regional pay

One of the many attacks on workers in the budget is the proposal to introduce regional pay in the public sector, including the civil service...

National action needed to stop the pensions robbery

Last week's issue of the Socialist carried an explanation of why the PCS civil service union had decided not to call action on 28 March...

Wales: Does Plaid Cymru leadership vote show left turn?

The election of Leanne Wood, a radical, republican, anti-capitalist woman, as leader of Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru makes a sharp change from the party's more conservative leadership of the past and could attract trade unionists and young people to Plaid, writes Dave Reid.

Another repugnant Tory-Liberal budget for big business and the rich

Trying to fit in with the angry mood of ordinary people against bankers' bonuses, bailouts and other windfalls of the rich, Tory chancellor Osborne in his budget speech called tax evasion by the wealthy "morally repugnant"

Prepare for future struggle - build the trade union left

Unending misery - that's what this government has in store for us. NHS chiefs have been warned they will need to find a further £20 billion in 'savings'

Tell Con-Dem government: NO CUTS!

Support London 28 March strike: War is declared! ...or at least, the next phase in the ongoing pensions action has been called - with NUT and UCU members in the 'post 1992 universities' striking across London on 28 March

No to workfare - fight for a genuine alternative

Cait Reilly, one of the young people forced to work for free under the existing schemes is in the process of a judicial review of the government's workfare policies, writes Paul Callanan

Budget: far from 'all in it together'

Asked about the Con-Dem budget, Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats pleaded for "a budget for the millions not the millionaires"

Student walkout: Socialist Students show what could have been

The one thing not lacking on our university campuses, in our schools and at our colleges is anger. We've already seen the Con-Dems triple fees and scrap EMA. Now students face courses cut to the bone,...

Them & Us

Super rich suffer cash piles: It seems that 'Broke Britain' ain't so broke. Cash holdings of big companies in Britain are standing at £731 billion. That's cash sitting in banks not being invested because of 'lack of confidence...

Defend the right to protest!

The eleven year battle for justice for those detained by police on the May Day demonstration in 2001 has finally come to an end...

Build a strategy to win on pensions

Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) members have voted by huge majorities to reject the government's final offer on pensions which is intended to make us pay more, get less and work longer, writes John McInally

National Union of Teachers executive discussion on pensions

Martin Powell-Davies - a member of the NUT National Executive - posted the following report on 14th March on his blog, about the NUT's pensions survey and next steps

Capitalism isn't working: Time to fight for socialist change

Unless you are part of the richest 1% then life under austerity is getting increasingly difficult. Peter Taaffe looks at the nature of capitalism

Trade unions and workplaces

Preparing for the struggles ahead: At the Socialist Party's national congress on 10-12 March, the discussion on developments in the trade unions was introduced by Rob Williams...

Them & Us

A4e's champagne lifestyle: Conferences in Monaco, £200-a-head nights out, £800 meals - that's the lifestyle afforded by top executives at disgraced workfare company A4e...

Liberals' 'democratic' conference

While the Socialist Party held its national congress in Clacton-on-Sea and committed itself to the fight to save the NHS, the Lib Dems had their conference in Gateshead

Resist Cameron's cold cruelty

Unemployment is rising. Benefits are being slashed. Among the latest to face the Con-Dems' axe are 1,700 disabled workers in skilled, productive jobs as 36 Remploy factories face closure.

Fight back against attacks on pensions

Work longer. Pay more. Get less. These three attacks on public sector pensions led to 30 November - the biggest strike in recent British history. The three attacks on the table have not substantially changed...

NHS: Axe Lansley's bill!

A Guardian/ICM poll has shown that most people don't want it. The Royal College of Nursing, other health colleges, health sections of unions Unison, Unite and GMB, academics and nine out of ten hospital doctors all oppose it