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From The Socialist newspaper, 28 June 2017
Pentrich Rebellion 200 years on
Former socialist Labour MP, Dave Nellist, spoke at the meeting photo Andy McQuillan (Click to enlarge)
Karen Seymour, Mansfield Socialist Party
On 25 July 40 people gathered in the village hall in Pentrich, Derbyshire, to mark the 200th anniversary of the Pentrich Rebellion. The excellent meeting, organised by Mansfield Socialist Party members, was followed by a choice of walks to discover more of the village's remarkable history.
We were honoured to be joined by a relative of one of the hanged rebels, Isaac Ludlam. She, in turn, spoke about how proud she was to be a descendent of his.
Agent provocateurs
The 200 or so workers who marched to Nottingham in 1817 were determined to bring down Lord Liverpool's Tory government and improve their own poverty-stricken lives. Agent provocateurs and light dragoons, however, made sure that fate by hanging, imprisonment or transportation was assured.
200 years later, the ruling class is terrified of the huge power and strength of the working class when it is united. This weak, split and in-fighting Tory government can and must be brought down.
A Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn could deliver immediate improvements in people's living standards, and show what could potentially be achieved in a socialist society, which is the ultimate goal.
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Coronavirus crisis - Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
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In The Socialist 28 June 2017:
What we think
Step up the fight to kick out Tories and Blairites
Grenfell Tower
After Grenfell - fight for safe homes
Camden evacuation - residents expose risks - Blairites duck responsibility
Grenfell fire compounded by overcrowding: build more council homes now
Reports: organising to fight for safe homes after Grenfell
Council union responds to Grenfell
Socialist Party news and analysis
Police accused of killing cover-up
Barclays finally charged for having hands in till
Students 'skirt' school uniform issue!
Homelessness - Corbyn offers housing revolution
Benefit cap defeat for government
Tories may have broken election laws... again
Socialist history
Liverpool's 1983-87 socialist council
International socialist news and analysis
Trump and the fossil fuel corporations - a lethal combination for the planet
Jobstown Not Guilty - verdict imminent
Workplace news and analysis
Trade unions must organise to kick out the Tories
Unison conference: confident delegates take control, give Corbyn 'rapturous' welcome
Refuse workers strike against bullying bosses
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Organise the 'youthquake'! Young Socialists - Generation Socialist
Cardiff: unity in solidarity with Grenfell
Corbyn inspires thousands at Glastonbury
To join the struggle to save the NHS
From Militant to the Socialist Party - what you thought
Pentrich Rebellion 200 years on
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