Archive for September 2019
3 September 2019
Tories out now - Corbyn in with socialist policies
In parliament this week a major showdown is taking place between parliament and the prime minister
4 September 2019
Workplace victory emboldens retail workers to get organised
I work for a well-known high street retailer and recently one of my colleagues came to me, the unofficial union rep, because they were being conned out of 70 hours of holiday
4 September 2019
Money doesn't make up for cuts - education unions must organise for funding and against Tory attacks
You know there's an election in the offing when the Tories say they will raise spending on education despite decimating school budgets in their previous terms of office.
4 September 2019
Bury expelled from football league: Boot out the bosses ruining our game
After 134 years, two FA cups and three league titles, Bury Football Club has been expelled from the football league and is teetering on the edge of existence.
4 September 2019
Austerity anger feeds movement for Welsh independence
In the second of our series of articles exploring Brexit and the 'national question' Dave Reid secretary of the Socialist Party in Wales examines the situation there.
4 September 2019
What strategy can end the retail jobs massacre?
The last few years have seen swathes of closures of shops across the UK as whole chains have collapsed while others close considerable numbers of stores.
4 September 2019
Nottingham college workers plan 15 days of walkouts
University and College Union (UCU) members at Nottingham College are to begin 15 days of strike action.
4 September 2019
Science Museum Group staff strike over pay restraint
13% over four years. That's how much workers in the Science Museum Group (SMG) have lost in pay over the last four years of below-inflation pay deals.
4 September 2019
At 96 I'm more convinced of socialism than ever
Approaching my 96th birthday, I thought the other day: why am I a socialist? I've been one, a revolutionary socialist, for a very long time - and do you know what? Every day that passes I am more convinced that I've chosen the right path.
4 September 2019
Southampton Pride has grown year on year. The parade on 24 August was a huge spectacle, greeted by cheers and clapping from shoppers in the streets we passed.
4 September 2019
Dozens of protests say Boris must go - Socialist Party policies heard on TV
In response to Boris Johnson's undemocratic suspension of Parliament, tens of thousands of people have protested
4 September 2019
20 September climate action day: Strike to save the planet!
Record temperatures; raging forest fires; accelerating species extinction; more pollution; and an ever expanding mountain of plastic waste...
4 September 2019
Hong Kong protests: No let-up in trial of strength
After three months of unprecedented heroic mass struggle against the Lam administration, there seems no sign of an end to the conflict.
4 September 2019
Marches, blockades, strikes, occupations... How can protests win?
The Tories are still in office and working-class people continue to face attacks on living standards. What can be done to change all this?
4 September 2019
Socialist Party Youth and Student national meeting
Young Socialist Party activists from across England, Wales and Scotland met for a weekend of discussion on 31 August - 1 September, just as the capitalist political crisis in the UK was tipping into a new explosive phase.
4 September 2019
South Western Railway guards strike against DOO
Guards in the RMT transport union on the picket line at Salisbury on 2 September - the fourth day of their current strike - were angry and defiant.
4 September 2019
Climate action day - trade union round-up
Socialist Party members successfully tabled a motion at Cardiff Trade Union Council (TUC) to support the call for trade union meetings and stoppages on the day of climate action on 20 September
4 September 2019
TUC: name the day for a mass demo
Come to the NSSN rally: No hyperbole needed this year - the Trade Union Congress (TUC) conference really is taking place at a critical time.
4 September 2019
PCS civil servants' union members at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency are on strike for four weeks from 22 August.
4 September 2019
Bradford demo: Self-determination for Kashmir
Up to 5,000 people attended a rally outside Bradford Town Hall on 26 August under the banner of 'Free Kashmir'.
6 September 2019
Tories in tatters: Corbyn must seize the time
The Conservatives, once among the most successful capitalist parties on the planet, are shattering into pieces before our eyes.
Their government is left suspended in mid-air unable to govern, with a general election as Johnson's only option.
6 September 2019
PCS strike at BEIS - "the life we live is not liveable"
PCS union members working as cleaners and catering staff at the government's business department, BEIS, are on indefinite strike
11 September 2019
Tory meltdown - Organise to finish them off
Tory MPs are dropping like flies. Johnson has lost control of his party, parliament, and the plot
11 September 2019
TUC: Lost opportunity to organise a united struggle
With the Tories in meltdown, having lost their majority, and Boris Johnson reeling and on the ropes, many workers would be hoping that Labour and the trade unions would now deliver the knockout blow and force them from office.
11 September 2019
End austerity in the civil service: General election now
Prior to the conference of the Trade Union Congress, a motion was put by Socialist Party members and others to the national executive committee (NEC) of the PCS civil servants' union.
11 September 2019
PCS strike at BEIS: "The life we live is not liveable"
PCS members working as cleaners and catering staff at the government's business department, BEIS, are on indefinite strike. The workers are employed by private companies Aramark and ISS.
11 September 2019
Unions must fight to make bus drivers and passengers safe
A major report has at last been published, following concerns over driver fatigue on London's buses. High levels of deaths and injuries involving buses have been recorded.
11 September 2019
Asda workers protest against worse contract
Asda workers are being threatened with the sack if they refuse to sign a new contract which will worsen their terms and conditions.
11 September 2019
UCU ballots - yes to strike action on pensions, pay, workloads and equality
University staff in the University and College Union (UCU) are currently voting on strike action - this time in two ballots. The ballots close on 30 October.
11 September 2019
Students and workers unite against fees, low pay climate change
Boris Johnson and his Tory government are teetering on the edge of a precipice. Students and young workers have been hit hard by cuts and want to see the back of this pro-austerity government.
11 September 2019
Another London block of flats destroyed by fire - remove unsafe cladding now!
I woke up on 9 September to learn about the fire that happened at Worcester Park, south west London, exactly three months after the fire that took place in Samuel Garside House in Barking, the building where I live.
11 September 2019
Leeds pensioners occupy BBC to save free TV licenses
"BBC, shame on you" was the chant as around 50 pensioners from across Yorkshire, including as far away as Scarborough, occupied the reception area of the Leeds BBC offices.
11 September 2019
Frimley hospital staff fight back-door privatisation
There was a noisy and enthusiastic demonstration outside Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey on 22 August against outsourcing NHS staff to a 'wholly owned subsidiary'. Good to see NHS staff in uniform joining the protest.
11 September 2019
Leicester Kashmir protest rejects religious smokescreen
Leicester Socialist Party supported the 7 September demo against attacks on the democratic rights of the Kashmiri people by the right-wing Modi government.
11 September 2019
Salisbury welcomes Socialist campaigners
On 7 September, Wiltshire Socialist Party held our first campaign stall in the centre of Salisbury. Considering it has always been a Conservative safe seat, we were expecting a hostile reaction.
11 September 2019
Socialist newspaper sales round-up
Just some of the sales of the Socialist newspaper in the past few days...
11 September 2019
Coventry: 100 pack meeting against congestion charge
The threat of a government-imposed congestion charge in Coventry led 100 people to attend the second public meeting called in opposition to it on 2 September.
11 September 2019
Climate strikes: trade union round-up
Campaigning for trade union action on the climate crisis
11 September 2019
Far right makes gains in Germany
The 1 September state elections in the eastern German states of Brandenburg and Saxony saw a continuation of the decline of Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (Angela Merkel's CDU), currently Germany's ruling parties.
11 September 2019
South Africa: Xenophobic violence - a product of failed capitalist policies
The Socialist Party of Nigeria condemns the raging xenophobic attacks in South Africa which have affected Nigerians alongside other African migrants in South Africa.
11 September 2019
Scotland and Brexit: Developing threat to the capitalist union
In the third of our series of articles exploring Brexit and the 'national question' Philip Stott of Socialist Party Scotland examines its effect on Scotland.
11 September 2019
Capitalist 'democracy' v socialist democracy
Parliament is packed with pro-capitalist politicians who neither reflect the balance of the views of the electorate on Brexit, nor the needs of the working class to overturn austerity.
11 September 2019
Wandsworth Town McDonald's strike protest, one of six sites in South London taking action on 12.11.19. Photo Isai Priya
11 September 2019
London: Showing solidarity with workers and youth on the mass demonstrations in Chile. 26.10.19
London: Showing solidarity with workers and youth on the mass demonstrations in Chile. 26.10.19
11 September 2019
Wandsworth Town McDonald's strike protest. Tuesday 12th November 2019. Photo Isai Priya
Wandsworth Town McDonald's strike protest. Tuesday 12th November 2019. Photo Isai Priya
11 September 2019
Drivers and passenger assistants employed by Hackney council in the Special Education Needs Service have won a victory
11 September 2019
Tories in tatters: Corbyn must seize the time
The Conservatives, once among the most successful capitalist parties on the planet, are shattering into pieces before our eyes. The Tory party's weakness and splits are far from new. Now, however, under the leadership of Boris Johnson, the relatively slow inglorious decline of the Tories has become an unprecedented collapse.
11 September 2019
Lobby of TUC: Upbeat meeting calls for trade union lead to boot out Tories
A packed and enthusiastic National Shop Stewards Network rally took place in Brighton
11 September 2019
West Papuans demand self-determination in London
Dozens of West Papuan protesters and supporters demonstrated outside the Indonesian embassy on 7 September against state repression of the independence movement.
11 September 2019
Socialism 2019: the Saturday rally, 2nd November 2019. Reports of the event will be posted soon.
Socialism 2019: the Saturday rally, 2nd November 2019.
17 September 2019
On the day of the 'earth strike' - Friday 20 September - thousands of young people are expected to descend on central London
17 September 2019
South Yorkshire FBU celebrates halt to cuts
After a successful and hard-fought campaign from Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members, the fire authority resoundingly voted to shelve the proposed plans to reduce the number of firefighters riding a fire engine from five to four, which would have seen 84 firefighter posts cut.
18 September 2019
Ditch the Tories - and austerity
Parliament is closed but there's still open warfare in the Tory party. Meanwhile, in the real world, working-class people continue to suffer from austerity and exploitation at work
18 September 2019
Lincolnshire health visitors strike boost
Striking Lincolnshire health visitors felt boosted after Jeremy Corbyn gave his support at the recent TUC congress
18 September 2019
How students can fight and win
As university campuses reawaken for a new academic year, what are the major issues facing students - and how can they fight back?
18 September 2019
Northern Ireland: Campaign mounts over historic sexual abuse allegations cover-up
The fight for justice is intimately linked with challenging the culture of deference to authority which has held down and separated working-class people for too long
18 September 2019
PCS general secretary candidate: unions must mobilise to drive out Boris
Marion Lloyd: We cannot sit back and let the Tories go unchallenged. It is time for Left union leaders to urgently make a call for mass action before 31 October to force a general election
18 September 2019
DVSA strike - employer asks for talks
The last day of strike action is 19 September and the union has made clear it is prepared to bring out members in other teams if there is not a satisfactory resolution
18 September 2019
Nottingham College UCU - more strike action planned
Strikers are determined to defeat the employer's draconian contract - pay cuts for 20% of teachers and savage cuts in conditions
18 September 2019
South Yorkshire defeats fire cuts
After months of campaigning, lobbying and petitioning by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Socialist Party and others, on 16 September the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority voted not to proceed with the chief fire officer's proposal to reduce crewing levels from five to four
18 September 2019
Strike back to stop bullying Royal Mail bosses
Preparations are continuing for the national strike ballot in Royal Mail against its newly installed, openly anti-union management
18 September 2019
Trade union movement must put its stamp on swirling events
It was a serious mistake for the TUC not to call an emergency demo to demand a general election. Motions had been put forward by Socialist Party members in a number of unions.
18 September 2019
London: packed public meeting discusses political crisis
A packed public meeting discussed the turmoil in British politics and the work of the Socialist Party in London
18 September 2019
Just some of the events where the Socialist newspaper was sold in the past week..
18 September 2019
Peterloo - fighting for democracy and a better life
Non-Fiction - Peterloo: The English Uprising: This new work is crammed with detail on the economic, social and political circumstances behind the massacre
18 September 2019
Do you have something to say? Letters to the Socialist's editors. Rape convictions; Jeffrey Boycott; climate change; Brexit and Yellowhammer
18 September 2019
PCS members at BEIS maintain just fightback
Members of the PCS union are continuing their indefinite strike at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy government department for the London Living Wage
18 September 2019
Ilford: strike forces school management to back down
After a series of strikes and a threat of more to come, management at Ilford County High School has agreed to withdraw its unacceptable proposals
18 September 2019
Donate to help us move our press by October
Regular readers of the Socialist will know that the Socialist Party launched a building appeal in 2018, following our eviction from the premises we had occupied for nearly 20 years, writes Ken Douglas, Socialist Party national treasurer.
18 September 2019
Stand firm against the pro-capitalist politicians
Neither a reversal of the 2016 EU referendum result nor a capitalist Brexit - 'soft' or 'no-deal' - can meet the interests of the working classes of Britain and Europe, or resolve the political crisis for capitalism that Brexit represents.
18 September 2019
Climate change: what's socialism got to do with it?
Recent images of the Amazon rainforest ablaze highlighted the scale of change currently underway.
18 September 2019
Violence against women in South Africa
The rape and murder of a Cape Town student was the spark that lit a new wave of protests demanding an end to violence against women
18 September 2019
March planned to save Bewdley Fire Station
The campaign to save Bewdley Fire Station continues to build, with a march and rally planned for Saturday 28 September, starting at 10.30am
18 September 2019
On 12 December the ballot will close for the general secretary election of the civil servants' union, PCS
18 September 2019
Climate protests: which way forward after 20 September?
How can students and trade unions organise for success?
25 September 2019
The recent dramatic developments must not cloud the central tasks for the working class
25 September 2019
GMB union members at 12 Asda stores around Britain staged protests on 16 September against the imposition of new, rotten terms and conditions known as 'Contract 6'
25 September 2019
Far right pose increasing terrorism threat
The far right pose the fastest growing threat of terrorism in the UK. The shocking trend was revealed in a recent briefing by the Met assistant commissioner in charge of counter-terrorism.
25 September 2019
Climate Crisis: Socialist Green New Deal needed
On 20 September four million young people and workers around the world took to the streets to strike and protest against climate change. A few days later Greta Thunberg berated the "empty words" of the world's leaders at the UN climate summit who are "failing" young people.
25 September 2019
Hull construction workers strike against blacklisting
Workers building a wood chip acetylation (processing) plant in Hull walked off the job in defence of trade union agreements and against blacklisting on 24 September.
25 September 2019
Letters to the Socialist's editors including dentists, John Maclean and Behemoth.
25 September 2019
4m on climate strikes as workers join students
Thousands of cities across 150 countries held protests.
25 September 2019
Another blow for Boris. Johnson and Tories must go. General election now!
Six defeats in parliament in six weeks. A 'majority' of minus 44. And now the highest court in the land has ruled that Johnson unlawfully prorogued parliament
25 September 2019
Labour votes to abolish academies and private schools
And promises to abolish tuition fees, among other measures
25 September 2019
PCS NEC bypasses members on backing Labour candidates
Last week's decision by the leadership of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union to recommend to members in England and Wales that they vote for all Labour candidates without qualification in a future general election could prove to be a damaging mistake, coming hard on the heels of further moves against Jeremy Corbyn by the right-wing Blairites at this week's Labour Party conference.
25 September 2019
Bromley strikers - fighting on to save our libraries
Greenwich Leisure Limited, which has a contract to run public libraries in Bromley, will be meeting with the Unite union to discuss what is the longest running indefinite strike in the country.
25 September 2019
Drone attacks on Saudi Arabia: Tensions ratcheted up
The drone missile attacks on two oil installations in Saudi Arabia on 14 September threw more incendiary material into the volatility and instability of the Middle East.
25 September 2019
CWU reps determined to stop bosses' attacks
Over 70 Communication Workers Union (CWU) members - workplace and divisional reps from South Wales and south west England - recently met to discuss the plans that the Royal Mail board has to drive a coach and horses through the 'Four Pillars' agreement.
25 September 2019
Housing - bold, socialist measures necessary
Labour's housing policies: a welcome beginning: Walking through the streets of Britain's cities, homeless people sleeping rough are hard to miss.
25 September 2019
Nationalise to save jobs and protect passengers
Thomas Cook workers and customers were devastated by the firm's collapse.
25 September 2019
Standing up for the needs of working-class people
An interview with socialist no-cuts councillor Tolga Aramaz
27 September 2019
30 September 2019
Capitalist elite split - fight for a government in the interests of the working class
The Tory Party conference slogan 'get Brexit done' sums up Johnson's attempt to appeal to millions who are fed up with the parliamentary paralysis
19 Nov Socialism 2022
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