Historic events

London: Quinn Square Rent Strike 1938

The East End battle against high rents and slum conditions The women's poster demonstration was the first the locals in Bethnal Green in London's East End knew about their rent strike. Quinn Square was a slum.

The truth about the miners' strike

From the 1970s on, Tory politicians meticulously and ruthlessly prepared an offensive to try to vanquish the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and ultimately trade unionism

The horror that was World War One

House clearing recently, I found a will written by hand by my grandfather dated 28 June 1916, three days before the Battle of the Somme, writes Pete Watson.

Leeds' forgotten dispute: The 1913-14 Corporation Strike

During the 1911-14 Great Unrest many strikes took place in and around Leeds, including the lockout of textile workers in Aireborough

European Revolutionaries and Algerian Independence, 1954 - 1962

Letter sent by Keith Dickinson to "Revolutionary History", 11 August 2013

1993: BNP racists forced off Brick Lane

Twenty years ago, on Sunday 19 September 1993, 1,000 people gathered on Brick Lane in Tower Hamlets, east London, to stop the racist, far-right British National Party (BNP) from having its regular paper sale.

Peterloo remembered in verse

On 16 August 1819, 20 workers were killed and 500 injured at St Peter's field in Manchester.

Piper Alpha: The price of profit -167 workers' lives

Twenty five years ago, on 6 July 1988, the Piper Alpha North Sea oil platform was destroyed by a massive explosion and fire which killed 167 workers, writes Philip Stott, Socialist Party Scotland.

Lessons for today from an anti-poll tax bailiff buster

During the mighty anti-poll tax campaign I was a Bailiff Buster. In Gateshead most of us were feisty woman who were determined not to let any bailiff get past us - and they never did!, writes Elaine Brunskill, Newcastle Socialist Party.

Audio: Liverpool - a city that dared to fight - Peter Taaffe

Interview with Peter Taaffe on Militant, the Labour Party and the struggle of the socialist led council 1983-87 in Liverpool.

When mass action defeated Thatcher's poll tax

Launching the battle in Scotland: Margaret Thatcher was dubbed the Iron Lady. She wore this description with pride as, like her successors today, she ruthlessly tried to solve British capitalism's difficulties by launching brutal attacks...

Yeadon Mill strike 1913

Striking back at greedy bosses: One hundred years ago, mill workers in Yeadon and Guiseley, West Yorkshire, took heroic strike action over pay and working hours, writes Iain Dalton, Yorkshire Socialist Party.

Three decades on: We want the truth about Orgreave

Over the last few months, the endemic corruption of South Yorkshire police during the 1980s has been exposed by the revelations surrounding the cover-up of the Hillsborough disaster. The chair of the recently launched Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, Barbara Jackson, spoke to the Socialist..

Are you sick of your boss? Join the campaign!

The 'Sick of Your Boss' initiative by Youth Fight for Jobs aims to win decent jobs, pay and working conditions for young workers as part of rebuilding a fighting democratic trade union movement

45 years since the Ford Dagenham strike: women workers still fighting for decent pay

The marvellous victory of the women factory workers in the machine shop at Ford Dagenham rings as loudly today as it did 45 years ago, writes Linda Taaffe, National Shop Stewards Network.

Che Guevara - Symbol of fashion or symbol of struggle?

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara is perhaps the most recognisable revolutionary icon, his image having graced countless posters and t-shirts, writes Tom Baldwin, South West Socialist Party.

October 1992 battle against pit closures

Hundreds of thousands march against vicious Tory government: On 13 October 1992, the then Tory trade secretary, Michael Heseltine, announced the closure of 31 of the 50 deep coal mines that remained in the UK after Thatcher's closures in the 1980s, writes Mike Forster.

Orgreave 1984

Members and supporters of the National Union of Mineworkers have drawn encouragement from the recent findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel

Who was Malcolm X?

"By any means necessary" - Malcolm X's expression of militant civil rights - is known worldwide by young people fighting against racism, writes Hugo Pierre, Tower Hamlets Socialist Party.

Poll tax: When organised mass action defeated the Tories

18 million refused to pay: The campaign against Thatcher's poll tax is an example of how a mass movement can defeat a government, writes Steve Score, former secretary, Leicestershire Anti-Poll Tax Federation.