Archive for May 2015
1 May 2015
Rebuilding working class political representation
Over 150 attended the Liverpool TUSC rally, reflecting an appetite for an alternative
5 May 2015
Russell Brand mistaken to sow illusions in Labour
"Russelllllllll Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!". This response from the Artist Taxi Driver probably summed up what many people felt when they saw the latest episode of Russell Brand's Trews internet
6 May 2015
Support for TUSC from Bob Crow's cousin
On May Day, international workers' day, TUSC candidates and supporters participated in events across the country
6 May 2015
Barking bin workers' eight-day strike
The Barking and Dagenham bin workers are striking for eight days between 1st and 8 May.
6 May 2015
24-hours to go - Help spread the TUSC message
Before and during polling day we can make an impact in social media
8 May 2015
TUSC must continue to present the alternative to pernicious cuts
Cllr Kevin Bennett summed up his thoughts on his election campaign
8 May 2015
TUSC campaign finds strength in communities
In the culmination of months of work, Manchester TUSC attended the vote count
8 May 2015
In spite of the virtual media black-out for TUSC, which belied the promises made by media spokespeople before the election campaign started, encouraging results for TUSC are being reported
8 May 2015
After Labour's failure to defeat the Tories: Help build fightback against austerity
Millions of people woke up on 8th May to face the nightmare of a Tory majority government - full of fear of the misery that this new government will mete out
9 May 2015
With the votes of 24%, Tories have no mandate for more savage cuts
On 8th May the front page of the Daily Mirror was entirely black apart from the words: "Condemned again - five more damned years"
11 May 2015
Fight against "five more damned years"
"Our sweet victory", read the London Evening Standard, owned appropriately by a Russian oligarch and reflecting their delight at the unexpected victory of the Tories. Peter Taaffe writes.
12 May 2015
Organising resistance against Tory austerity starts now
Millions of people are contemplating how they can survive another five years of austerity, writes John McInally
13 May 2015
Labour annihilated as SNP sweeps in
The general election produced a "political revolution" in Scotland. The Scottish National Party (SNP) won 56 of 59 Scottish seats, polling 1.45 million votes. Now a new independence referendum seems inevitable
13 May 2015
Shelter, the homelessness charity, says more than 80% of homes for sale in England were unaffordable for the average working family looking to buy their first home
13 May 2015
Brixton marches against gentrification
Anger at impossibly high rents raised its voice in south London on 25 April, writes James Ivens, Lambeth Socialist Party.
13 May 2015
TUSC prominent on anti-academies demo
A highlight of TUSC's Lewisham election campaign was the uplifting 25 April demonstration against turning schools into academies, writes Roger Shrives, Lewisham Socialist Party.
13 May 2015
Student occupation of Birmingham library
Students have twice occupied the Library of Birmingham to protest shortening opening hours and library closures across the city, writes James Brackley.
13 May 2015
Last year at the National Union of Students conference, support for free education passed by a whisker, overturning a decade of opposition. This year, 90% of delegates voted to back free education, writes Ian Pattison, Socialist Students national chair.
13 May 2015
An anti-Private Finance Initiative (PFI) battle bus recently toured east London highlighting how PFI priviatisation is wrecking services provided by the local Barts NHS Trust, the largest NHS trust in England
13 May 2015
Iran: free all political prisoners
On 1 May the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) and the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers organised a picket of the Iranian embassy to highlight the plights of labour activists and political prisoners
13 May 2015
Organising resistance to Tory cuts starts now!
photo Senan
Public sector workers will be at the sharp end of more austerity but also at the centre of the opposition against it, writes Rob Williams, National Shop Stewards Network.
13 May 2015
Thousands of jobs are at risk as TNT/Whistl has suspended its entire UK delivery operation after losing its financial backers, writes Carl Harper, Royal Mail worker and CWU member.
13 May 2015
Kone engineering service workers have been on strike every Monday over plans to use unreliable tracking devices in their vehicles, writes Elaine Brunskill.
13 May 2015
CWU telecoms oppose Openreach changes
The recent CWU telecoms conference voted to vigorously oppose, with industrial action if necessary, BT Openreach's plans to concentrate all office-based jobs into just 23 'centres of excellence', writes Clive Walder.
13 May 2015
RMT members vote for Network Rail strike
RMT members working for Network Rail, including signal and maintenance workers, have voted by four-to-one to strike over pay and job security on a 60% turnout
13 May 2015
Dundee porters enter sixth week of action
Striking porters on the Dundee May Day march, photo Philip Stott
The Dundee hospital porters are into their sixth week of all-out strike action as we go to press and they are as strong and determined as ever, writes Philip Stott.
13 May 2015
FBU conference looks to continue fightback
The Fire Brigades Union 2015 conference is being held just days after the general election. Another 20% of cuts by the Tory government would reduce the fire service to the bone
13 May 2015
Tenacious TUSC celebrates hard-won progress
118,000 votes against all cuts: Including the local elections taking place on the same day across England (outside London), the 100% anti-austerity Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition received 118,125 votes
13 May 2015
Don't mourn - organise and join the socialists!
The fear and gloom that descended in the aftermath of the election will only intensify as Cameron installs a raft of Thatcherites on the new Tory government front bench
13 May 2015
The richest tenth of the UK's population pay 35% of their income (not wealth) in tax. The poorest tenth pay 43%
13 May 2015
Disaster in Nepal - amplified by capitalism
Nepal, one of the poorest countries in south Asia, has been further devastated by the recent earthquake and its aftershocks
13 May 2015
Check-off attack will not defeat PCS
The PCS civil servants' union very existence has been threatened over the past year. The politically-motivated decision by the government to withdraw check-off has tested the union to its limits
13 May 2015
Bromley Unite plans more sell-off walkouts
Bromley's Tory council wants to privatise everything it can get away with, and withdraw all trade union facilities with immediate effect - but they've got a fight on their hands
13 May 2015
New Tory cuts: Hammering the poor
photo Paul Mattsson
Champagne corks popped as Tory-backing hedge fund managers, corporate chiefs and super-rich elite, celebrated the election result
13 May 2015
Bradford Fire: victims demand independent inquiry
Thirty years ago, on 11 May, 56 people died and 256 were injured in a devastating fire which gutted Valley Parade, the home ground of Bradford City football club
13 May 2015
Rage in Baltimore: aftermath of Freddie Gray's death
On 26 April, the first black US President, Barack Hussein Obama, stepped to the podium at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner to engage in frivolous banter with fellow politicians, corporate media hounds and comedians, dressed in their finest tuxedoes and gowns
13 May 2015
Leeds YFJ anti-austerity protest
After only being online for a day, over 2,000 people have indicated they will attend an anti-austerity protest organised by Leeds Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) on the day of the state opening of parliament
15 May 2015
YFJ plans protests on Wednesday 27th May, the day of the state opening of the new parliament
15 May 2015
15 May 2015
Millions of people will feel fear and a sense of gloom as the Tories spell out their plans - to wipe out the welfare state, destroy the trade unions, and privatise everything in sight to the enrichment of the already super-rich, writes A weekend of discussion and debate on how to change the world.
15 May 2015
National rail action from Mon 25th May
RMT today confirmed that its members will be taking action from Monday 25th May in the current dispute over pay and jobs at Network Rail
18 May 2015
20 May 2015
Eleven thousand families were thrown out of their accommodation in the first three months of 2015. This is a 51% increase compared to six years ago. These evictions are due to excessive rents, coupled to low pay and to government benefit cuts
20 May 2015
Build a movement to defeat the government's savagery
When Maggie Thatcher first spoke from the Downing Street steps she quoted Francis of Assisi, promising harmony and hope. Instead she ruled ruthlessly for the 1%. Cameron's promise to be a 'one nation' prime minister is a lie on the same scale
20 May 2015
Stop the "elites fortifying their power"
No Place To Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the US Surveillance State by Glenn Greenwald is reviewed by Tony Saunois, secretary of the Committee for a Workers' International
20 May 2015
Management thrashed in academies debate
Students, staff and parents gave management a sound drubbing in a south London debate over whether three schools should be converted into academies, writes Beth Sutcliffe, Lewisham Socialist Party.
20 May 2015
ITV production staff in the Bectu, NUJ and Unite unions took national strike action over pay on 14 May
20 May 2015
Ukip, the divisive right-wing party, admits that it sent an agent provocateur into Stand up to Ukip which was campaigning against Nigel Farage in South Thanet, Kent during the general election
20 May 2015
100,000: The number of jobs the government intends to axe from its departments over the next five years, seriously damaging public service delivery
20 May 2015
Cheapskate council screws up election ballot!
TUSC candidate Paul Dennis polled an impossible zero votes
20 May 2015
All-out pay strike forces Labour council back to table
70 Glasgow homelessness caseworkers' strike now in eighth week
20 May 2015
FBU debates how to combat Tory onslaught
Delegates respond to Tory majority, further austerity and attacks on trade union rights
20 May 2015
Protest at re-opening of parliament on 27 May: Shock at election result has quickly turned into anger and action
20 May 2015
Labour leadership contest - appealing to big business
The Labour leadership contest begs the question: what is the point of the Labour Party?
20 May 2015
Fight Tories' new 'anti-extremism' law
The Tories plan to announce a raft of new 'anti-extremism' powers for the state in the Queen's Speech on 27 May alongside their proposed scrapping of the Human Rights Act
20 May 2015
State and big business spied on activists
The general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Matt Wrack reacted angrily to the news that police undercover agents had spied on him at anti-racist activities during the 1990s
20 May 2015
Tories rig exams to favour rich students
I recently wrote a letter to Mr Neil Carmichael, Stroud's Conservative MP, about my concerns surrounding A-level reform - but was fed an unsatisfactory automated response
20 May 2015
Save our 'life saver' libraries!
Protecting libraries is an important part of Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) campaigning. In Bristol, the independent mayor plans to close seven. Scandalously these cuts were fronted by the Green assistant mayor
20 May 2015
Defend NHS pay: Nurses could strike if the Tories' talk of a "seven-day NHS" results in attacks on unsocial hour and weekend working payments, according to the leader of the Royal College of Nurses, Dr Peter Carter
20 May 2015
US: Bernie Sanders calls for 'political revolution'
Socialists have led a successful struggle to increase the minimum wage in Seattle, photo 15 Now
Presidential campaign needs to build independent political power: Boldly calling for a "political revolution" against the "billionaires and oligarchs" who have hijacked the political system, Bernie Sanders, the only self-described socialist in Congress, has launched an insurgent campaign for president
20 May 2015
Build up resources to fight the Tories
The Socialist Party election appeal has now raised £73,000, with a further £8,000 pledged. This reflects enormous enthusiasm for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition challenge, and pride in the Socialist Party's role in building TUSC
20 May 2015
One highlight of the TUSC Llanelli election campaign was an unexpected 'bus canvass'
20 May 2015
Support the National Rail walkout over pay and jobs
RMT and TSSA unions set to strike Update 21.05.15: strike suspended
20 May 2015
Election aftermath: anti-Tory austerity protests
Protest reports from Sheffield and Bristol
20 May 2015
Russell Brand's 'The Emperor's New Clothes'
Russell Brand leads protesters on the New Era estate demo outside Westbrook offices in Mayfair, photo Paul Mattsson
Helen Pattison reviews The Emperor's New Clothes, the latest film starring Russell Brand and directed by Michael Winterbottom
26 May 2015
The Queen's Speech. A medieval pantomime of costumed caricatures like Black Rod, the royals and 'Rouge Dragon Pursuivant'. A fitting opening for the pantomime politics of the main parties. Fitting also for the medieval savagery they have in store for the working class
27 May 2015
Determined porters ratchet up pressure
The Ninewells and Royal Victoria hospital porters' strike is set to become the longest in Dundee since 1993
27 May 2015
Political fund threat changes council's tune
After 9 weeks of strike action, Glasgow council still refuses to resolve the homelessness caseworkers' dispute
27 May 2015
Up to 30 RMT members were on the picket at the Poplar depot of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) this morning as the union started a 48-hour strike
27 May 2015
Mood remains rock solid on Kone picket
Kone workers have escalated their action to a two week all-out stoppage
27 May 2015
Waltham Forest teachers demand decent pay
Last week around 60 Waltham Forest teachers packed into a local NUT meeting in support of a campaign to win a pay upgrade to the level of the inner London pay scale
27 May 2015
PCS conference: coordinated action can stop the Tories
Begin the fightback now - that was the clear message from PCS conference
27 May 2015
Fight cuts - defend workers' rights: come to the National Shop Stewards Network conference!
27 May 2015
Britain: the struggles to come
Following the general election, contrasting emotions were evident in the opposing camps. The Tories were triumphant at the prospect of 5 more years in power. Peter Taaffe writes
27 May 2015
A nice earner: One person not unduly worried about paying their gas bill is Tesco top dog Dave Lewis. In just six months the new head of the faltering retail giant was paid £4.1 million
27 May 2015
VE Day: When 'liberation' meant socialism
French resistance fighters liberated Paris from Nazi occupation
Commemorations marking the 70th anniversary 'victory in Europe' (VE) day recently took place in Britain (and throughout the world) with establishment dignitaries saluting veteran service men and women who liberated Europe from the clutches of fascism
27 May 2015
A new chapter in Chile's political crisis
Chile: mass demonstrations: Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of major Chilean cities this month. Demonstrators - mostly youth, but also workers and older people - insisted the government meet students' demands for free
27 May 2015
National Rail strike threat results in new offer
The RMT and TSSA national Network Rail strike, planned for 25-26 May, was postponed following a new pay offer
27 May 2015
Bromley council battle continues
Bromley council workers in Unite the Union have continued their strikes against privatisation of service by the Tory-run local authority
27 May 2015
Are falling prices good for us?
Things are officially getting cheaper! Figures released last week show prices fell in the UK in April. Negative inflation hasn't happened in over 50 years
27 May 2015
NHS trusts heading for bankruptcy
Privatisation wrecking hospitals: The NHS funding crisis continues to deepen with NHS trusts in England reporting a £822 million deficit for 2014-15
27 May 2015
'Spiderman' and political lobbying
The Guardian newspaper recently won its ten year legal battle to publish the "black spider memos" - letters written in spidery writing between Prince Charles and government ministers under Tony Blair
27 May 2015
Plymouth: Labour and Tories form grand cuts coalition
Labour has revealed how far it's degenerated by agreeing to share power with the Conservatives in Plymouth's hung council
27 May 2015
Stop the privatisation of student loans!
No one was surprised to hear of the Tories' plans to continue with their brutal austerity programme after winning a majority
27 May 2015
Lewisham academies: Teaching unions NUT and NASUWT in Lewisham, south London have called further two-day strike action on 3-4 June
27 May 2015
Toon and TUSC slam 'cash cow' boss
Activists and football fans came together to protest against the billionaire owner of Newcastle United and Sports Direct on 25 April
27 May 2015
Peterborough occupiers protest at homelessness
Protesters in Peterborough have occupied Aqua House, formerly Environment Agency offices for the city council
27 May 2015
Working class people's real aspirations
The Socialist Party believes Labour lost the election fundamentally because it fails to represent working class people. But a queue of Labour Party leadership have claimed that the party didn't appeal to the "aspirational"
27 May 2015
Tories have nothing in common with blue collar workers
As a 'blue collar factory worker' I won't be fooled by David Cameron's mantra that his new cabinet stands as the "real party for working people"
27 May 2015
Greece: subordination to or rupture with austerity?
We are now in the fourth month of the Syriza-led government's term. The result of so-called "negotiations" with the Troika - European Union (EU), European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund
27 May 2015
Thirty newcomers boost London post-election meeting
Thirty new faces joined a crowd of around 100 in a packed room in London to hear the Socialist Party's response to the general election
27 May 2015
'Council of war' needed to fight cuts
"Don't despair, organise!" has been the message of many union activists since the Tory victory was confirmed on 8 May
27 May 2015
photo Paul Mattsson
Tories threaten young people's welfare, housing and education: Sitting in my first A-level economics lesson a year before US bank Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy my teacher said: "before you finish this course the economy will have crashed"
28 May 2015
1,000 demonstrate against austerity
Leeds Youth Fight for Jobs organised a protest on the day of the state opening of parliament
28 May 2015
29 May 2015
Determination to fight back on a new scale
The chant "Tory scum, here we come" echoed through Westminster's streets
31 May 2015
PCS members rally in Trafalgar Square
The PCS mobilised support for the struggle against privatisation at the National Gallery with a demonstration of solidarity
19 Nov Socialism 2022
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