Britain

The postponement of the 2020 elections meant that 6 May 2021 was a bumper election day, including more than 4,000 council seats, thirteen directly-elected mayors, the London assembly, plus the Scottish parliament and Welsh Senedd. […]

Corrupt politicians with their snouts in the trough are nothing new. From ‘cash for questions’ under Tory prime minister John Major, to ‘honours’ for business people under New Labour leader Tony Blair, and then the […]

Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, launched the party’s campaign for the May local and mayoral elections in England on March 11 by majoring on Boris Johnson’s plan for a 1% rise-but-real-terms-pay-cut for nurses and other […]

April 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the riots in Brixton, south London, against police racism, unemployment, and poverty. Today, the report from the Tory government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities dismisses systemic racism […]

The report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has concluded that claims of institutional racism are “not borne out” and that the UK should be seen as “a model for other white-majority countries”. […]

On 27 and 28 March, the Socialist Party’s national committee met to discuss political developments in Britain and the tasks of the Socialist Party in the coming months. While the Covid pandemic continues to ravage […]

On 23 March, the Court of Appeal exonerated my clients Ricky Tomlinson, Arthur Murray and the ‘Shrewsbury 24.’ They were trade unionists arrested for their involvement in the 1972 national builders’ strike. In 1973, Ricky […]

The British Tory government’s ‘factsheet’ on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill explains that it will “strengthen police powers to tackle non-violent protests that have a significant disruptive effect on the public or on […]

The challenge to the London Metropolitan Police’s ban on a vigil in the memory of Sarah Everard, who was abducted and murdered last week, was rejected in the high court on Friday 12 March. The […]

Grief, shock and an outpouring of anger have been unleashed by the appalling abduction and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, earlier this week. Her killing has shone a spotlight on the extent of violence, […]

The first UK death from Covid-19 was recorded on 2 March 2020. Twelve months and over 120,000 deaths later, most people have been through greater upheavals than since the second world war. The UK has […]

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer’s speech, supposedly setting out his vision for Britain, did nothing to counter the criticism that he is dull. It contained virtually no policy proposals. Nonetheless, it played another role, more […]

On 14 February, the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) hosted its fifth online meeting of workplace trade union reps and workers during the pandemic. NSSN chair Rob Williams introduced the meeting explaining: “This is a […]

This Land – The Story of a Movement, by Owen Jones, is an important account of the rise and fall of Jeremy Corbyn, his army of supporters, and his colossal effect on the labour movement. […]

The government’s inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in London, on June 2017, in which 72 people died, has resumed. The inquiry has been agonising for the survivors and bereaved. Fire safety problems are […]

Over 550 attended the online conference of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) on 7 February in preparation for the local elections in May. Dave Nellist, TUSC national spokesperson, was in the chair. He […]

The Tories have made yet another U-turn. This time over their proposed review of employment laws and regulations post-Brexit. The 12 Labour Party-affiliated unions had issued a statement on ‘the Tory threat to our workplace […]

With Trump gone, capitalist governments worldwide are queuing up to establish friendly relations with Joe Biden, the new US president.  While it is a bit awkward for Boris Johnson, who was once described by Biden […]

The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, won a partial victory in his long battle to avoid extradition from Britain to the US. District Judge Baraister, at the Old Bailey court, ruled earlier this week against Assange’s […]

We can’t believe a word this Tory government says. We can’t trust a thing it does. Going into lockdown 3, working-class people can only rely on our own strength and organisation. This is the lesson […]

The world was united in misery in 2020. Too many deaths from the pandemic, job losses, pay cuts and poverty were the experience in virtually every country on the planet. Britain, as the year ends, […]

Earlier this year, publishers Pluto Press released a new book looking back at the defeat of Margaret Thatcher’s poll tax – ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay: The Fight to Stop the Poll Tax’ by Simon Hannah. […]

Almost six years after it was set up, the first phase of the Undercover Policing Inquiry – the Mitting Inquiry – finally took place for fourteen days from 2 November 2020. An opening statement to […]

In any battle, the tactical details and their timing always have an element of the accidental and unexpected in them. Keir Starmer’s suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour Party on October 29 and – […]

“Devolution is a disaster” were the reported words of Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson, referring to the Scottish government and “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake”. In fact, Blair was a reluctant devolutionist. He would rather not […]

The Tory government Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending review should be a wake-up call to the trade union leaders. Even from the capitalists’ point of view, there was no immediate need to impose a pay cut  […]

‘Socialism 2020 ‘ – Marxist discussion and debate over four days, hosted by the Socialist Party (CWI England & Wales) – broke previous records on ticket sales, in the response to the finance appeal to […]

‘Socialism 2020’, hosted by the Socialist Party (CWI England & Wales), takes place from today, Friday 20 November, to Monday 23 November. It will provide a Marxist analysis and explanation of many of the different […]

Almost six years after its establishment, the public inquiry into undercover policing has finally begun. It was set up by Theresa May, then home secretary (interior minister), to head off growing pressure following a series […]

The ‘spycops’ inquiry has finally opened in Britain, six years after Theresa May, then Tory home secretary, set it up. May was forced into establishing the inquiry when one ex-police spy, Peter Francis, went public […]

No Tory-negotiated trade deals will defend the interests of the working class. However, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson plays hardball in the eleventh-hour negotiations on what will replace Britain’s current arrangements with the European Union […]

Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from membership of the Labour Party for saying that antisemitism within Labour has been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”. He has broken no rule and has always opposed antisemitism. He […]

Back at the start of 2020, in order to win the Labour leadership, Keir Starmer tried to dress up in some of former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s clothes, claiming he wanted ‘unity’ with all wings of […]

‘Project Big Picture’ – a plan initially put forward by Manchester United and Liverpool football clubs, and discussed by the English Premier League – is a plan put forward ostensibly to offer the football industry […]

Unite the union’s executive council has voted to cut its affiliation fee to the Sir Keir Starmer-led Labour Party by 10% – the equivalent of 55,000 affiliated members. It is reported that the BFAWU (bakers’ […]

“MI5 confronts terror threat from left-wing extremists,” screamed a headline in the Times on 3 October. This right-wing propaganda is designed to tar socialists with the same brush as the far-right and jihadist organisations. In […]

While Tory government ministers warn of an exponential rise of the coronavirus, the same magnitude could be applied to the level of anger against them over their handling of the pandemic. An overwhelming majority of […]

“We need a call to arms. That’s why I call on everyone to write to the press and lobby their MPs”. This was the ‘clarion call’ of Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O’Grady at […]

Thousands of university and college students are returning to further and higher education campuses despite warnings this will lead to significant outbreaks of Covid-19. The University and College Union (UCU) and other education unions are […]

When no less than three former Tory prime ministers line up to attack Johnson’s government, when the Justice Secretary says – while supporting the proposed government legislation – he would resign if it is actually […]

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee, meeting on 2 September, has agreed to resume standing candidates in elections, starting in the contests scheduled for next May. TUSC was established in 2010 […]

This government is “the blind leading the blind”. It has to stop making “stuff up now on the hoof”. It cannot continue to say “one thing on Monday, changing its mind on Tuesday, something different […]

Record numbers of 18-year-olds in the UK have applied to go to university this September. Applications are up 1.6% for UK students and 10% for international students. Despite record numbers, university bosses are making massive […]

Protests and anger by school students have forced the Tories into a humiliating double U-turn over A-level and GCSE exam results’ grade moderation. The retreat arrived like the slow collapse of a set of dominoes […]

Back in March, when the spread of the coronavirus pandemic was accelerating globally, the Socialist newspaper explained that “a newly-spreading virus is a danger that can befall any society. The question facing the world today, […]

“We have been the key workers during the pandemic, but now the Labour-led council is sacking and reappointing all of us on worse terms and conditions. They are attacking us at the earliest opportunity”. These […]

Like every aspect of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Rishi Sunak’s “plan for jobs” is more headline than substance, and doomed to fail in its stated aims. The Tory chancellor’s summer statement set […]

A fantastic virtual meeting of up to 300 trade union reps, workers, campaigners, socialists, and international visitors took place on the 4 July as the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) held its 2020 summer conference. […]