The Socialist 8 July 2010

Mass action can stop cuts

Mass action can stop cuts

Build united action to stop the cuts

What the Socialist Party says

Con-Dem budget cuts: Hitting those on benefits hardest

How will George Osborne's budget affect families?

Housing benefit cuts - increasing homelessness

Cuts to disability benefits will increase misery

Fight the savage cuts by Neath/Port Talbot council

Hull: Rallying against the austerity budget

'Godfather' turning in his grave

NUS anti-cuts conference

Youth Fight for Jobs Protest!

BNP forced to abandon its 'festival of hate'

South Africa: 5,000 sacked miners on strike

Kazakhstan: The fight goes on

News in brief

Organise against academies now!

Limited new 'final' offer facing BA cabin crew

PCS will fight new attack on redundancy pay

Unison by-election: fighting leadership needed

Shrewsbury Pickets march for justice

Lindsey refinery fire death: inquiry needed

Workplace news in brief

Unite general secretary election:

Interview: Ken Clarke's prison plans

Pride, prejudice, fightback and hypocrisy

A warm welcome at Summer Camp

Socialism 2010 Saturday 6 - Sunday 7 November

When the financial wizardry lost its magic

Mali's master of the ngoni

Previous issues, etc

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'Godfather' turning in his grave

THE FOLLOWING letter by Peter Taaffe (general secretary of the Socialist Party) was sent in reply to an article in the Guardian by Hywel Williams on 3 July.

Williams misrepresents the former left Labour stalwart Aneurin Bevan to attack Militant, the forerunner of the Socialist Party.

Dear Sir,

Aneurin Bevan was not "the Militant Godfather". However, he did share with us an admiration of Leon Trotsky, a stubborn defence of socialism and the rights and conditions of working class people.

He would have scorned his alleged "heirs" like the multi-millionaire Lord Neil Kinnock, as he did Ramsay McDonald for betraying the hopes of working class people.

Alive today, he would have forcefully opposed Kinnock's friends in the Neath/Port Talbot New Labour council - "Yes, a Labour council" - preparing to hand out redundancy notices to its 7,000-strong workforce in the last week.

Despite the lies peddled 25 years ago Liverpool council, under the influence of Militant, never sacked a single worker.

In fact, 2,000 new jobs were created, as were nurseries, new parks and 5,000 council houses built. Bevan, who achieved great things through the NHS, would have applauded this, while ferociously condemning New Labour today for passing on vicious Con-Dem cuts - as Neath/Port Talbot indicates is likely to be the case.

Sincerely,

Peter Taaffe

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Mass action can stop cuts