The Socialist 11 October 2017

Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories

Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories

Major attacks 'Universal Credit', half a million more face poverty

IMF helps cause inequality it slams

NHS meltdown - fight the Tory cuts

Hundreds of torture victims wrongly detained

Them & Us

Catalonia: Workers can finish what Puigdemont won't

The fight against racial discrimination is tied to the fight to defeat capitalist austerity

Royal Mail workers fight court attempt to stop national strike

Boeing bust-up threatens thousands of skilled jobs

Who's watching who?: The fight for justice, trade union and democratic rights

Workplace news in brief

Housing crisis: Corbyn's positive measures blanked by Labour's right

No more fire deaths - ensure safety now!

Don't wreck our rec! Campaigning to save green space in Standish

Carlisle NHS campaigners hand in petition to MP

Cardiff Socialist Students confront 'Parasite' Jacob Rees-Mogg

Manchester rally discussed unionisation and nationalisation

Join the Orgreave Halloween rally

Too much to cross the Mersey

Poverty, repression and fightback on the docks

Theresa May, Frida Kahlo and turning women into wares

Shocking insight into Isis

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Who's watching who?: The fight for justice, trade union and democratic rights

Unite members protesting against blacklisting, photo the Socialist (Click to enlarge)

Dave Nellist, Coventry Socialist Party

For almost 100 years a secret ban was operated to deny jobs to thousands of workers involved in trade union activity.

In 1973, 24 workers were charged and six imprisoned for alleged 'conspiracy' during the previous year's building strike - some files from the case are still closed "in the interests of national security".

In the 1980s, Special Branch spied on a number of left-wing Labour MPs, including myself in Coventry. And secret government files recently released show that Margaret Thatcher's government directly meddled in the internal affairs of the predecessor of the PCS civil service union.

In 2014 Theresa May, then home secretary, set up a judicial inquiry after it was revealed that undercover police officers duped a number of women into sexual relationships to infiltrate law-abiding political groups.

What links these stories is the extraordinary lengths to which the 'secret state' will go in trampling over trade union and democratic rights, to defend the establishment.

On 14 October victims and campaigners on these issues will speak at a day-long event organised by Unite Tom Mann branch and Coventry Trade Union Council, including:

Ricky Tomlinson, today best known as an actor and star of BBC's The Royle family - but 45 years ago he was sent to prison for two years for trade union activities.
Dave Smith has documented the history of blacklisting. His work led to a parliamentary debate in September.
Helen Steel, of the McLibel Two, conducted the longest case in British legal history, defending themselves against a libel charge by McDonald's. The police sent an officer from the undercover Special Demonstration Squad to become Helen's partner.
Chris Baugh, assistant general secretary of the PCS, which is calling for a public enquiry into the monitoring of trade union activists.

Saturday 14 October, 11am Methodist Central Hall, Warwick Lane, Coventry CV1 2HA. Facebook event at: http://bit.ly/2fHabYA . There will be live streaming of the morning's main speeches.

In this issue

Socialist Party news and analysis

Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories