The Socialist issue 352
19 June 2004
European and local elections 2004: Blair Takes A Battering
MOST PEOPLE who went out to vote last week, mainly to punish Blair and New Labour, had no illusions that the outcome of the elections would improve their lives…
Socialist Party Election Successes
STANDING 48 candidates in 34 council wards on 10 June, the Socialist Party (standing as ‘Socialist Alternative’) received 16,787 votes. In addition, 2,825 people voted for Socialist Party Councillor Ian Page in the London Assembly election…
A Shadow Over Blair
Elections 2004: : A "GOOD kicking", a "bloody nose", a "slap in the face" – all the media descriptions of New Labour’s disastrous election results had some reference to being beaten up. …
European elections: ‘Kicked In The Ballot Box’
WHEN TONY Blair arrives at yet another European summit this week he’ll be able to share the burden of electoral defeat with the other heads of state around the table…
Ireland: Victory For Socialist Party In Local Elections
THE SOCIALIST Party in Ireland, a leading force in the anti-Bin Tax campaign last year, has made excellent gains in the local elections in Ireland and won four councillors, doubling its representation…
How to Combat the Threat of the Far Right
Stoke-on-Trent election report: Stoke-on-Trent contradicted the national picture of major losses suffered by New Labour in the local elections…
Socialist Party features
THIS SATURDAY, 19 June, thousands of workers and pensioners will join a TUC-sponsored demonstration in protest at the great pensions robbery being carried out by money-grubbing private companies and their accomplices in government…
PCS Executive Passes First-Year Test
THE 2004 conference of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) was a test of the first year of the Left Unity-led national executive (NEC) by delegates and union activists from across the country…
Political Fund Up For Debate at UNISON conference
The big debates this year will be at the local government conference which meets before the main conference of the union…
International socialist news and analysis
Iraq: A Transition To Discontent?
ONE REASON for Labour getting ‘a good kicking’ in the 10 June elections was opposition to Blair’s war and occupation of Iraq…
Kurdish people’s struggle: No Trust In Imperialist Powers
SINCE THE war on Iraq, the Kurds have stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the Middle East. They welcomed the war, fought for the US, and celebrated the occupation as liberation. Their leaders even offered Kurdish fighters to help put…
General Strike Stops Nigeria But Union Leaders Have No Answers
FOR THREE days, 9-11 June, Nigeria came to an almost complete halt in the fourth general strike in four years as workers and poor once again moved into action…
Venezuela: A Decisive Turn In The Crisis
IN A surprise announcement, the radical left-populist Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, has accepted the decision of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and will face a recall referendum…
