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What we think
Tories prepare for possible snap election
Editorial of the Socialist issue 996: As the deadlock at the top of the Tory Party continues, Tory MPs are reported to be telling their constituency parties to prepare for another snap general election
Socialist Party news and analysis
Capitalism’s Grenfell shame – Tories must go
The Grenfell inquiry has opened with heart-rending tributes to the people who perished from their loved ones
Homeless charity colluding to deport homeless!
Youthful enthusiasm to break with repression of past
The historic referendum to repeal the eighth amendment to the Irish constitution, which equates to an almost complete ban on abortion, takes place on 25 May
A new outbreak of Ebola has begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2014-16 some 28,000 people were infected in West Africa. 11,600 of them died.
Government continues to back failed private rail
The companies running the East Coast Main Line (ECML) rail franchise from London to Scotland – Virgin and Stagecoach – are to lose it because they “got their sums wrong” according to Chris Grayling, the transport secretary
France ’68
May 1968: ‘Communist’ leaders hand power back to defeated bosses
France, May 1968: week four: By Friday 24 May 1968, ten million workers were on strike. The greatest general strike in history. On the same day, the president of France, General Charles de Gaulle, tried to address the nation. Nobody saw it. It was a victim of the TV workers’ strike.
Socialist Party workplace news
Victory: how school strike beat ‘academy’ privatisers
School workers in Newham, east London, stopped Avenue Primary School becoming a privately run ‘academy’ earlier this month
PCS conference votes for strike action
At its conference in Brighton on 22 May the PCS civil servants’ union voted decisively for a statutory strike ballot against the Tories 1% pay cap. The ballot date is not fixed but is expected to start in June.
Solid strike at Tesco Dagenham distribution centre forces pay talks
Heavy security presence and a profusion of steel fencing didn’t deter angry, vocal pickets striking for decent pay at Tesco Dagenham distribution centre on 17-18 May.
Services disappearing from Harrogate
Staff at Harrogate College were back out on strike for two further days on 17-18 May. This is part of action across the Hull College Group.
College staff caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
In November 2016 workers at the Vine, a specialist education service, were transferred from Leeds City Council into Leeds City College.
First ever strike at TGI Fridays
International socialist news and analysis
Yes to the struggle to lift the siege
Yes to the struggle to lift the siege: While in Jerusalem a messianic inauguration ceremony was held for the American embassy, in the Gaza Strip, the day of the embassy’s transfer was the deadliest day since the war in 2014
Tax Amazon movement wins in Seattle
On 14 May, Seattle City Council passed a historic tax on Amazon and other big corporations to fund permanently affordable, publicly owned housing. The driving force behind this victory was the strength of our #TaxAmazon movement.
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Stop Trump! Build for 13 July student walkouts
The world was rocked on 18 May by yet another school shooting in the USA. This time it was in Santa Fe, Texas, when eight students and two teachers were killed. It is the 22nd school shooting this year
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!
The Socialist will reach a milestone next month. The 1,000th issue of our paper.
Leicester socialists fight poverty-paying sweatshops
The full effects of Tory policies, both economic and social, are being felt in Leicester, as sweatshop conditions and shocking illegal levels of pay persist in 2018.
Sheffield Pride organisers defeated in attempt to ban politics
Organisers of Sheffield Pride have sparked criticism of the event after calling Pride a “celebration, not a protest.”
40 attend Socialist Party housing campaign launch in Windsor
There was a successful launch of our new housing campaign in Windsor on 15 May. The meeting was attended by 40 people, with speakers and lively discussion from the floor.
Section 28
30 years on from Section 28: the legacy of fighting LGBT+ attacks must continue
On 24 May 1988 Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was enacted in England, Scotland and Wales by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.
Opinion
How ‘Prevent’ training fosters racist paranoia
Recently work required me to complete online ‘Prevent’ training, supposed to help those who work with young people spot signs of “radicalisation.”
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
The story of the mass trespass by hundreds of young working people from Manchester and Sheffield on Kinder Scout, to establish the ‘right to roam’, is remembered with pride.
Letters to the Socialist’s editors including witch hunts and private police.