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From The Socialist newspaper, 23 May 2018
Sheffield Pride organisers defeated in attempt to ban politics
Pride should be a political event, photo Mary Finch (Click to enlarge)
Michael Johnson, Yorkshire Socialist Party
Organisers of Sheffield Pride have sparked criticism of the event after calling Pride a "celebration, not a protest." Organisers informed attendees that political groups would not be allowed on the march, placards and banners would be checked beforehand in case they cause offense, and attendees should wear bright clothes.
LGBT+ people were quick to point to the origins of Pride as a political protest and the need for Pride events to take up the struggles facing LGBT+ people today - locally in the face of austerity and international issues.
Faced with this backlash the Pride organisers have started to back down from their guidelines after initially threatening legal action against "those who have created all this drama." However this issue underlines the growing divide between the 'leadership' of the LGBT+ organisations and the needs of LGBT+ people themselves.
The Socialist Party sees the vital need for Pride to be part of a fighting movement as well as a celebration will be taking part in Pride events across the country putting forward socialist ideas against capitalist prejudice and big business exploitation, and for LGBT+ liberation.
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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.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
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In The Socialist 23 May 2018:
What we think
Tories prepare for possible snap election
Socialist Party news and analysis
Capitalism's Grenfell shame - Tories must go
Homeless charity colluding to deport homeless!
Youthful enthusiasm to break with repression of past
Government continues to back failed private rail
France '68
May 1968: 'Communist' leaders hand power back to defeated bosses
Socialist Party workplace news
Victory: how school strike beat 'academy' privatisers
PCS conference votes for strike action
Solid strike at Tesco Dagenham distribution centre forces pay talks
Services disappearing from Harrogate
College staff caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
First ever strike at TGI Fridays
International socialist news and analysis
Yes to the struggle to lift the siege
Tax Amazon movement wins in Seattle
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Stop Trump! Build for 13 July student walkouts
Student leaders claim one million on the streets against Brexit - fight for a workers' exit
Let's sell 1,000 extra copies of issue 1000!
Leicester socialists fight poverty-paying sweatshops
Sheffield Pride organisers defeated in attempt to ban politics
40 attend Socialist Party housing campaign launch in Windsor
Section 28
30 years on from Section 28: the legacy of fighting LGBT+ attacks must continue
Opinion
How 'Prevent' training fosters racist paranoia
Ads won't fix it: fight mental health cuts as well as stigma
We can learn about struggle from the mass trespass of Kinder Scout
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