2019
31 December 2019 · Britain, Tories, Uncategorized
British Conservative Party tacks right
The election of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and the bitter defeat of the hopes of the Labour left represent a deeper cultural and institutional shift in the politics of the British Conse…
30 December 2019 · · EU, Labour Party, Racism · 1 comment
Actually, it is racist
One conclusion being drawn from Labour’s defeat is that the party under Corbyn was insufficiently concerned about migration, English nationalism and the concerns of the “majority of the work…
22 December 2019 · Britain, Uncategorized · 3 comments
Britain: 2019 election analysis – A victory for the Far Right. A crisis for the Left
The British ruling class has much to celebrate. Their party – the party of the rich and the corporations – has won its biggest majority since 1987. Our party – the party of working people – …
17 December 2019 · France
Assault on pensions: French mass strikes raise the stakes
Macron has united all the trade unions and left political organisations in opposition to his pension reforms. The strike on 17 December has been given a boost by the resignation of Jean-Paul…
13 December 2019 · · Labour Party · 6 comments
A disastrous election result: defend the gains of Corbynism.
On an emotional level it feels like a death in the family writes Andy Stowe . The Tory victory was, above all else, a triumph for a reactionary project of the hard right that has been incuba…
10 December 2019 · Uncategorized
An appeal in these turbulent times
Socialist Resistance needs some of your money £1500 solidarity appeal Socialist Resistance operates on a tight budget. We rely on donations from people who share our ideas. We are the only e…
9 December 2019 · Scotland
General election 2019: Exeunt Scottish Socialist Party, stage left
In a previous article Mike Picken put forward an analysis of the General Election of 12 December in Scotland. In this article, he examines the positions of Scotland’s largest left-wing organ…
9 December 2019 · · Britain
The choice: Labour hope or Tory Brexit racism
With just three days to go and the contest tightening, the election remains too close to call, writes Alan Davies . Everything remains to be played for. Whilst the polls are still predicting…
6 December 2019 · · Britain · 1 comment
Post- Truth election?
In a pub in Cumbria, a data engineer from Workington has just been crowned the World’s Biggest Liar , writes Roger Benjamin . But his tall tales are no match for some of those told in this p…
5 December 2019 · Britain, Scotland · 2 comments
General Election: Scotland at Crossroads
This General Election has been rightly described as the most significant in Scotland in decades and a range of complex and key issues are raised. Whether you are viewing it from inside or ou…
5 December 2019 · · Italy
Sardines against Salvini
A few weeks ago four thirty year olds from Bologna were complaining about the victory of Salvini’s hard right Lega (League) in the Umbrian regional elections and the danger of him winning th…
3 December 2019 · · Algeria, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, International, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan · 2 comments
Rebellion and Reaction – Worldwide anti-austerity upsurge met with brutal repression
Across the globe workers, indigenous people and youth are taking to the streets to protest against austerity, corruption, dictatorship and climate extinction – despite the setback of elector…
2 December 2019 · Britain, Reviews, Tories
Change the Record
Ian Parker read David Cameron’s smug self-serving shite in his For the Record memoirs so you don’t have to. Every month, David Cameron tells us at the beginning of his memoirs, he offloaded …
1 December 2019 · Britain, Climate Change, Labour Party
Labour’s Green New Deal
Labour’s manifesto represents the most radical environmental offer ever proposed by a major party challenging for government. It’s a remarkable response to the rapid advance of the ecologica…
1 December 2019 · Reviews
Free Associations in Psychoanalysis, one of its Red Threads
Ian Parker reflects on aspects of context that led him to write his recent book on his own experience of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis was a radical modern project, at one with the developm…
27 November 2019 · Britain, trade unions · 1 comment
The significance of the current UCU Strikes
Lecturers in around half of Britain’s universities started eight days of strike action on Monday 24 November. UCU (University and Colleges Union) members are taking action in fifty-six insti…
26 November 2019 · · Labour Party · 3 comments
Corbyn is right to be neutral on Brexit
Labour is the only party with a chance of forming the next Westminster government which is committed to giving us a second referendum on Brexit writes Andy Stowe . Remainers should vote Labo…
21 November 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party · 2 comments
Labour’s election winning manifesto
Labour’s 2019 election manifesto could very well be the set of ideas that wins the election writes Andy Stowe . One of the things that tells you it’s very different from every manifesto of t…
20 November 2019 · Britain, Labour Party
Corbynism from Below
C orbynism from Below edited by Mark Perryman, Lawrence and Wishart (2019) reviewed by Dave Kellaway In France and Italy political leaders like Mélenchon or Bertinotti inevitably write tomes…
18 November 2019 · · Women
There is a new wave of Feminism! Organising for our future and the planet!
It’s been a tough couple of years both personally and politically. On a personal level, I had serious health issues which, of necessity, required me to pull back from political organising an…
17 November 2019 · Bolivia
Against the coup in Bolivia
Statement by Fourth International Bureau This is no time for misrepresentation. Bolivia is suffering a brutal and violent {coup d’état} organized by a racist extreme right, which has begun t…
16 November 2019 · · Climate Change, Reviews
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez inspires Labour’s GND
Alan Thornett reviews A Planet to Win – Why We Need a Green New Dea l by Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos, (London, Verso, 2019). 208 pp. £10.99 This …
15 November 2019 · · Britain, Green Party · 4 comments
Greens in a pickle
Even before Labour’s manifesto is published, Corbyn and the front bench are rolling out a raft of radical announcements – critically the Green New Deal and defence of our NHS, writes Veronic…
14 November 2019 · · Labour Party, Racism, trade unions
Union leaders shouldn’t make excuses for racism
The Brexit referendum result showed that there is large scale racism in British society writes Andy Stowe . It affects both the Labour Party and the unions. There’s the infamous “controls on…
13 November 2019 · Reviews
A paradigm of modern barbarism
Critique of Modern Barbarism - Essays on fascism, anti-Semitism and the use of history , by Enzo Traverso (pub. IIRE Amsterdam, 2019) reviewed by Herman Pieterson In its series Notebooks for…
13 November 2019 · Chile · 1 comment
Solidarity with the popular uprising in Chile
Since 18 October we have been witnessing the most powerful popular upsurge since the time of the Popular Unity in Chile (1970-1973). In a world context convulsed by great movements against n…
12 November 2019 · Spanish State, Uncategorized
Sanchez’s election ploy fails as far right make big gains
Sanchez, the leader of the left of centre PSOE (Socialist Workers Party of Spain), thought that abandoning his attempts at forming a new coalition government after the April general election…
6 November 2019 · · Uncategorized · 1 comment
Sorry We Missed You… Don’t miss this film
If you take a look through the TV schedules for any particular week you will find a significant proportion of programming is so called ‘reality TV’, writes Dave Kellaway. These programmes ar…
5 November 2019 · Britain, Labour Party, Scotland · 3 comments
Labour off to remarkable start
Labour has got off to a flying start since the general election was launched last week. Corbyn launched its campaign the very next day in Battersea Town Hall in front of a hugely enthusiasti…
28 October 2019 · · Ireland, Reviews
The DUP’s chickenshit scandal
Barney Cassidy reviews Burned by Sam McBride (380pp £16.99) If you eat chicken that’s been bought in Tesco, the Co-Operative, Waitrose, Aldi, Iceland or your local takeaway there’s a good ch…
25 October 2019 · · Britain, Tories
Have the election after a vote on Brexit
Boris Johnson has looked into a muddy ditch and decided that’s not where he wants to die writes Alan Thornett. Since the day he became Tory leader he has insisted that he would take Britain …
18 October 2019 · Russia, Ukraine · 2 comments
Ukraine, Peace, oligarchs and big power manoeuvres
Thoughts about a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia by Marko Bojcun Trump’s efforts to coerce Zelensky into helping him discredit Joe Biden simply reinforces the fact that t…
17 October 2019 · · Kurdish struggle, Middle East, Turkey
Erdogan launches reign of terror to crush Rojava
By Sarah Parker and Phil Hearse “They didn’t help us in Normandy, in the Second World War” was Donald Trump’s less than entirely relevant comment on the fate of Syrian Kurds, after his green…
16 October 2019 · Catalonia, Scotland
Speak out on Catalonia
On 14 October nine prominent Catalan political figures were sentenced to over 100 years in jail for organising a referendum on self determination on 1 October 2017, writes the Catalan Defenc…
14 October 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 2 comments
Hold the referendum before an election
In the parallel universe that exists between today’s fake Queens speech and the so-called ‘special session’ of Parliament on Saturday – that does not yet have anything to discuss – support f…
13 October 2019 · · Reviews · 1 comment
Joker – is it getting crazier out there?
" What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fuckin' deserve! " Joker Joker was such an overwhelming fil…
12 October 2019 · Britain, Climate Change
Extinction Rebellion seizes the moment
You’d probably have to go back to the Suffragettes to find a protest movement that is as creative, hard-hitting and effective as Extinction Rebellion (XR). It is hard to think of another rad…
10 October 2019 · Kurdish struggle, Middle East, Turkey, Uncategorized
Trump’s 'stab in the back' to the Kurdish national movement
In one more blatant display of his erratic character, political irresponsibility and human carelessness, US President Donald J. Trump abruptly announced on the night of Sunday 6 October, fol…
10 October 2019 · Cuba
Republic of Cuba
Cuba is a ‘unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic’. That is what it says in the constitution, and that official designation needs to be taken seriously in any evaluation of Cu…
7 October 2019 · Kurdish struggle, Turkey
Trump green-lights Turkish invasion of NE Syria and the destruction of hope
Sarah Glynn, co-convener of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan, argues that the United States’ backing of a Turkish offensive into Syria must be opposed I’M terrified for my friends and for …
7 October 2019 · Uncategorized
Portugal returns an anti-austerity government
Portugal went to the polls on Sunday October 6 and gave the biggest share of the vote – but not an outright majority – to the Socialist Party. Instead Socialist Party government will be depe…
4 October 2019 · · Britain, EU, Scotland · 1 comment
The contradictions underlying Brexit and Scottish independence
To date articles in Conter addressing Brexit have concentrated more on the neo-liberal opposition, and those on the Left perceived to be tail-ending this section of the British ruling class,…
2 October 2019 · · Britain, EU · 3 comments
British politics in utter turmoil
British politics is in utter turmoil as a general election looms. We face either a Labour government, possibly as the biggest party with the support of other left parties, most notably the S…
27 September 2019 · · Reviews · 1 comment
Left Hooked on Twitter
Ian Parker reviews Richard Seymour’s The Twittering Machine , lured by birdsong into the pit of hell Mass social media, with Twitter as one of its key platforms, presents itself as the ultim…
25 September 2019 · · Britain, Democracy · 1 comment
Parliamentary Sovereignty – Brexiteers don’t like it up ‘em
The Labour Party conference immediately understood the significance of the Supreme Court judgment against Boris Johnson writes Andy Stowe . It greeted the humiliation of the arch-Brexiteer w…
20 September 2019 · · Britain, Ecosocialism, USA
Green New Deals must push the boundaries
Green New Deals (GNDs), of various kinds, are increasingly a feature of the global climate and ecological struggle, writes Alan Thornett . They are not new but today they have greater signif…
17 September 2019 · Europe
Stop the Tory Brexit - For a United Socialist Europe
Membership of the European Union (EU) has given hundreds of millions of people some idea of what it’s like to live in a world without borders. Over a million British citizens have been able …
13 September 2019 · Britain, Scotland
Scottish independence grows nearer
One of the first things Boris Johnson did on becoming Prime Minister was to give himself the title of ‘Minister for the Union’ and head to Scotland to try to shore up the collapsing Tory vot…
11 September 2019 · · Uncategorized · 5 comments
British politics in tumult
It is a tumultuous time in British politics, writes Susan Pashkoff . Parliament returned from its summer recess on September 3 to a new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, elected by only Tory me…
4 September 2019 · · Britain · 2 comments
This Is Always How Brexit Was Going to End
Brexit was always going to end in an attack on democracy. The two can't be separated, writes Michael Chessum. This is always how it was going to end. Brexit is useful to the establishment be…
31 August 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 4 comments
Labour movement begins to face down the coup
Jeremy Corbyn encouraged people to take to the streets on Saturday 31 August to protest against Boris Johnson’s attempt to shut down Parliament writes Andy Stowe . A massive crowd filled Whi…
28 August 2019 · · Britain, Democracy, EU, Labour Party, Tories · 1 comment
Only Labour can stop Johnson’s coup
John McDonnell is absolutely right to say that Johnson’s suspension of Parliament is a “very British coup”, writes Andy Stowe . A government of hard right ideologues is shutting down the ver…
27 August 2019 · Kurdish struggle, Middle East, Syria
Oppose Continuing Assaults on Idlib and on Kurds in Northeastern Syria
We, the Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists oppose the military attacks on the Idlib region and northern Hama and threats and assaults against the northeastern regions of…
22 August 2019 · · Israel, Palestine, USA, antisemitism
On Trump and Netanyahu and mutual interests
It has been an interesting week, writes Susan Pashkoff. Two members of Congress, Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib had been invited to visit the Israeli-occupied territories under…
21 August 2019 · Reviews
Facing the Apocalypse reviewed
Facing the Apocalypse - Arguments for ecosocialism by Alan Thornett, Resistance Books 2019 reviewed by Hans A Bauer. This review was first published by E-International Relations in July 2019…
16 August 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party, Tories
Confrontation looming on Brexit
With Parliament neutralised by the summer recess, battle lines are being drawn for the biggest constitutional crisis in modern times when it comes back next month, writes Alan Dav ies. With …
8 August 2019 · · Ireland, Trade Unions
Harland and Wolff: bitter present, ugly past
Belfast shipyard Harland and Wolff once employed 35,000 people writes Barney Cassidy . Its workforce was the aristocracy of the city's working class. They were heavily unionised and well pai…
29 July 2019 · · Reviews
Decolonial Communism reviewed
Andy Kilmister reviews Decolonial Communism, Democracy and the Commons , by Catherine Samary, with contributions from Samuel Farber, Silvia Federici, Franck Gaudichaud, Zagorska Golubovic, E…
27 July 2019 · Britain, Tories
Johnson’s Tories = Brexit Party Mark II
This is what Brexit looks like. Boris Johnson’s new Cabinet, shaped by purges and resignations, looks more like the arrival of a new party, which effectively it is, than the same party with …
20 July 2019 · · EU, Labour Party
A Missed Opportunity
The March for Change could have made July 20 th 2019 one of the most significant days in recent British political history writes Andy Stowe . Instead of a contingent of Cornish nationalists …
19 July 2019 · Britain, Labour Party
Shipwreck of the Third Way: Tony Blair, New Labour and Inequality
As a general election approaches, especially one which might lead to a Johnson or Johnson-Farage government, (and, less likely, a Corbyn government) the record of the last Labour government …
18 July 2019 · · Labour Party, USA
Ermine robes and baseball caps
The closest thing to a Hitler rally most people alive today will have seen was Donald Trump’s audience in Greenville chanting “ send her back ” writes Andy Stowe . An enraged white mob was p…
14 July 2019 · Antisemitism, Labour Party, Labour Party, antisemitism · 1 comment
Another crude smear campaign
Jonathan Freedland continues his crusade against Corbynism and the Left with another disreputable column in the Guardian. Basing himself on an article by two academics , (Matt Bolton and Fre…
11 July 2019 · Britain, Tories · 2 comments
Boris Johnson and Billie Eilish
“Determination, extreme talent, a crazy drive, insane work ethic, and an amazingly positive attitude. I love working with you. You rock! You’re my role model!” “I love you for being yourself…
10 July 2019 · EU, Labour Party
Stop Brexit: march on the 20 July
The shift in Labour’s position to backing Remain in another referendum on a No Deal Brexit or a Tory Deal is very welcome. But its position is still ambiguous as it implies that a new Labour…
8 July 2019 · Ecosocialism, Our History, Reviews · 1 comment
Population and contraception: the Godwin, Malthus, Place, debate
William Godwin: A Political Life by Richard Gough Thomas, published by Pluto Press in 2019 reviewed by Alan Thornett This biography is well written and informative. It is a good summary of W…
4 July 2019 · Asia, India · 1 comment
Modi 2.0: Whither India?
This interview with Mokham Bai , a socialist feminist visiting Manchester from India, was conducted in June 2019 by Ian Parker Could you begin by saying a bit about yourself and where you ar…
4 July 2019 · Culture, Reviews · 1 comment
Crippled: Austerity and the Demonization of Disabled People
Bob Williams-Findlay reviews CRIPPLED: Austerity and the Demonization of Disabled People , by Frances Ryan; Verso Books, June 2019. When the initial request asking to review Frances Ryan's n…
2 July 2019 · local government · 1 comment
Participatory democracy and co-production in local government
Socialist Resistance is publishing this article from Rick Hatcher with his permission because we think it raises important questions for the left: Neoliberalism has two complementary dynamic…
1 July 2019 · Sudan, Uncategorized
Solidarity with the Sudanese Revolution
The uprising in Sudan, together with that in Algeria, has shown that the issues that lay behind the "Arab Spring" which started in Tunisia in 2010 have certainly not been resolved. The Arab …
1 July 2019 · Africa, Sudan
Sudan revolution: solidarity model motion
Model motion for trade union and Labour Party meetings This meeting notes: a. That demonstrations beginning in December 2018 over spiralling costs of living have developed into a mass protes…
30 June 2019 · Africa, Middle East, Sudan
Solidarity with the revolution in Sudan
The popular revolution in Sudan is an inspiration and gives hope for the fight for democracy and for social and economic justice in the Arab world. It has already scored one huge success by …
28 June 2019 · Britain, EU, Labour Party
Do Remainers want to abandon the working class?
Jon Cruddas' Guardian article has a simple message, widely backed by left-wing Brexiteers, that Labour will lose its traditional working class base if it backs a ‘Remain’ position on Brexit.…
25 June 2019 · International, Turkey
Erdogan humiliated by Istanbul election re-run defeat
Sarah Glynn, Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan activist, looks at the re-run of Istanbul's mayoral election on Sunday 23 June, which has led to a humiliating defeat for authoritarian Turkis…
21 June 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party, Tories
Johnson government is a threat to Labour
Nothing short of an alien invasion in the next couple of weeks is going to stop Boris Johnson becoming the next British prime minster writes Andy Stowe . His well-documented dishonesty , rac…
18 June 2019 · · Ecosocialism, Reviews
Facing the Apocalypse: Arguments for Ecosocialism
by Alan Thornett, Resistance Books & IIRE, 2019, 310 pages reviewed by Michael Lowy This is an important book . One may disagree on some issues -e.g. population, which I do not believe shoul…
17 June 2019 · · Britain, Iran, USA
Attacks at sea – lessons from US history
Watching the news about the attacks on 2 oil tankers (the Kokuka Courageous and the Front Altair) in the Gulf of Oman (near the Straits of Hormuz) on June 13, I had this strange feeling of d…
12 June 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party · 2 comments
Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Emily Thornberry are correct on Brexit
The Corbyn project is in crisis, writes Alan Davies . The EU elections results were a disaster for Labour, brought about by a major failure by the Corbyn leadership. It was an election that …
10 June 2019 · · Sudan
#Iamsudanrevolution
A lively protest took place at Downing Street in defence of the Sudanese revolution – around 500 protestors; overwhelmingly Sudanese on Saturday June 8 writes Veronica Fagan . Women were ver…
8 June 2019 · · Reviews
Chernobyl, the Soviet Union and Marxism
The superb new HBO TV series Chernobyl dramatises the Marxist understanding of the Soviet Union writes Andy Stowe. Chernobyl captures that sense of shoddiness and bleakness in the final days…
6 June 2019 · Africa, Middle East
Sudan: “The general strike can force the regime to go”
“The general strike can force the regime to go”: Sudanese trade unionists speak out as killings continue - By Miriam Scharf and Irang Bak A general strike has brought Khartoum and all major …
5 June 2019 · · Britain, USA · 2 comments
The Brexit Party – Trump's British wing
When you arrive at the Brexit Party’s homepage the first image that greets you is a young black woman in a still from their European election YouTube video writes Andy Stowe. It’s their way …
4 June 2019 · EU, Europe
Euro Elections 2019, Hard Times for the left
Smiles from the Greens, triumph for Salvini and Farage, possible resignation from German Social Democratic leader and forced elections for Tsiprias in Greece – these reactions sum up the mai…
31 May 2019 · Pakistan
Pakistan: Solidarity with Ali Wazir and the PTM
In the morning of Sunday, May 26, 2019, the Pakistani army openend fire on people protesting against its brutal operations in the region bordering Afghanistan. Videos show unarmed, peaceful …
28 May 2019 · Israel, Middle East, Palestine · 1 comment
As Israel lines up with the far right, step up solidarity with Palestine
Israelis living in a self-imposed cultural bubble, in which they see themselves as living somewhere in the mid-Atlantic remote from the Middle East, saw their composure very slightly dented …
27 May 2019 · Britain, Labour Party, Uncategorized · 1 comment
Labour should be the anti-Brexit party
The message the EU election results send to the Labour party Leadership could hardly be more stark: get off the fence over Brexit or risk losing the next general election as well – particula…
24 May 2019 · Britain, Labour Party, Tories
May resigns and Brexit moves to the right
So May, with her cabinet falling to pieces around her and the 1922 Committee pulling the rug from underneath her, has at last accepted the inevitable and announced her resignation. She chose…
23 May 2019 · Culture, Reviews
Left Wing Melancholia
LEFT WING MELANCHOLIA – MARXISM, HISTORY AND MEMORY. by Enzo Traverso, pub. Columbia University Press, 2017. It was the title that appealed. Three years ago we were part of an explosive upsu…
21 May 2019 · Africa, International
Sudan, Algeria, and the Long Arab Spring
The recent uprisings in Sudan and Algeria show that the conditions that gave rise to the Arab Spring are not going away. But movements against authoritarianism and exploitation still face ex…
15 May 2019 · · Culture, Far right
Radical web under threat as cash pours in to far right media
A decade ago the Left believed that it could use social media to outflank the established mass media. But it is the far right that now dominates social media, writes Phil Hearse. Two recent …
7 May 2019 · Ecosocialism, Reviews
Facing the Apocalypse – Arguments for Ecosocialism
Facing the Apocalypse – Arguments for Ecosocialism; by Alan Thornett RRP £17. Pub. Resistance Books and Merlin Press.ISBN: 978-0-902869-91-2; 342pages, reviewed by Pete Murry I’m not sure th…
6 May 2019 · Britain, Labour Party, Tories, local government · 2 comments
What the local elections mean...
What is my verdict on the local elections that took place in Britain on May 2, asks Susan Moore ? A catastrophe for the Tories with the loss of 1,269 seats out of around 8,500 that were up f…
5 May 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 1 comment
Every Labour vote counts in the European election
Labour voters should ignore the Morning Star’s call for a “ people’s boycott ” of the European elections writes Andy Stowe. The left campaign in favour of Brexit never really took off. Lexit…
2 May 2019 · · France
Gilets Jaunes still fighting
For the last six months, the Gilets Jaunes in France have been demonstrating in cities, giving out leaflets at roundabouts, blocking distribution centres and occupying motorway tollbooths, w…
29 April 2019 · · Far right, Reviews
Postfascism: the rise of the radical right
Phil Hearse reviews New Faces of Fascism by Enzo Traverso, Verso, 2018 The forward surge of fascist and far right movements, symbolised by figures like Trump, Bolsonaro in Brazil and Salvini…
24 April 2019 · Britain, EU, Labour Party, Uncategorized · 1 comment
Dangers for Labour in the EU elections
Unless there is a last-minute deal between Labour and May, which fortunately looks highly unlikely, we are facing EU elections on May 23 rd – something that will pose major problems for both…
21 April 2019 · · Uncategorized · 1 comment
The killing of Lyra McKee
When Gerry Adams was an IRA commander in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast he used the riots that local young people conducted in defence of their area against the British army as an opportuni…
20 April 2019 · · Indian subcontinent, Our History
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
In the late spring of 1919, green meadows in the fertile plains of the Punjab were acquiring a golden hue with the sun’s rising radiance, writes Lal Khan . It was the onset of harvest time. …
17 April 2019 · Ecosocialism · 3 comments
Extinction Rebellion, Reform and Revolution
Extinction Rebellion (XR) must be doing something right argues Andy Stowe . Within a few weeks of the organisation becoming nationally known the Daily Heil , preferred paper of lower middle-…
16 April 2019 · Uncategorized · 1 comment
Delusional Thinking from a Bygone Age
Why Martin Kettle is wrong about the Tory right Martin Kettle, Guardian columnist and longtime Blairite, has written a piece in the Guardian (11/4/19) claiming that whatever happens next, “t…
30 March 2019 · · Britain, EU, Far right, Tories, Uncategorized · 1 comment
Second referendum moves closer
It was yet another momentous week in British politics, writes Alan Davies . As well as an ongoing constitutional crisis, it saw significant progress towards a second referendum and a fresh a…
29 March 2019 · · Britain, EU · 2 comments
The differences between cats and dogs
Cats and dogs are pretty similar to the inexpert eye writes Andy Stowe . Both have four legs, a tail, hairy bodies and can ruin the furniture. But every cat owner has had a jealous twinge wh…
24 March 2019 · · Britain, EU · 6 comments
A million on the streets of London
There’s no doubt that some of the most high-profile people involved in organising and speaking at the March 23rd People’s Vote demonstration comprise a real rogues’ gallery writes Andy Stowe…
17 March 2019 · · Britain
Stop Brexit and get rid of the Tories
The Tory Brexit is hanging onto life by a thread writes Andy Stowe. The March 23rd demonstration called by the People’s Vote campaign has the potential to land the killer punch on both Brexi…
16 March 2019 · · Britain, EU · 1 comment
Brexit on the ropes: Labour must back a second referendum
If you wondered what a profound constitutional crisis looks like, look no further that this week’s events in Parliament. The Tories are falling apart, the cabinet has imploded, the governmen…
13 March 2019 · Brazil
14M - One year after her murder: Justice for Marielle!
This 14 March 2019 marks a year since the brutal and planned political assassination of Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes. Marielle, a woman, black, LGBT, and a city councillor f…
9 March 2019 · Education, USA
We are fighting a mean-spirited and anti-democratic attack on public education
Oakland teachers aren’t just fighting for a living wage and better working conditions. They’re fighting against the closure of dozens of schools, which would pave the way for the privatizati…
8 March 2019 · · Europe, Women
The feminist strike extends across Europe
In 2016 Polish feminists went on a feminist strike to defend the decriminalization of abortion and in defense of reproductive rights; months later the Argentines stopped the country in prote…
8 March 2019 · India, Women
Women’s Oppression and Liberation
Does Karl Marx have any relevance for today’s struggles for women’s liberation, asks Soma Marik ? Do his theories of society and revolutionary transformation present us with tools that in an…
7 March 2019 · · Britain, Ireland, Reviews
I, Dolours: a woman’s political biography
Barney Cassidy reviews I, Dolours , now available on Netflix. As a child growing up in a Belfast Republican family, Dolours Price was given a particular responsibility when she reached the a…
3 March 2019 · · Uncategorized · 1 comment
Farming, Food and Nature
As the US Ambassador tells Britain that a post-Brexit trade deal would have to allow chlorinated chicken and hormone beef into the country, Alan Thornett reviews Farming, Food and Nature: Re…
1 March 2019 · Uncategorized · 6 comments
Defend Corbyn against the AWL
Just as the latest round of witch hunting antisemitism allegations against Jeremy Corbyn has reached its crescendo something particularly vile has emerged from the woodwork – a 2400-word ope…
28 February 2019 · · EU, Labour Party, Tories · 1 comment
Labour declares for a second referendum
Yesterday’s debate was a turning point in the Parliamentary battle over Brexit, writes Alan Thornett. The session turned out to be more significant than expected given that May had put off t…
28 February 2019 · Labour Party, antisemitism · 2 comments
Lift Chris Williamson’s suspension – Stop the Witch hunt
Socialist Resistance calls for the lifting of the suspension of Derby North MP Chris Williamson from the Labour Party. Chris has a long record of antiracism including opposition to antisemit…
24 February 2019 · · Uncategorized
Open selection and trigger ballots
Open Selection and trigger ballots Veronica Fagan examines how we make Labour MPs accountable to their members and the significance of the ‘Independent Group’. There was great deal of furore…
23 February 2019 · Ecosocialism
Derek Wall: internationalist ecosocialism of word and deed
Terry Conway for RedGreen Labour interviewed ecosocialist activist, internationalist and writer Derek Wall. RGL: You have been involved in environmental politics in one form of another for a…
21 February 2019 · Uncategorized
Growing threat from far right upsurge
The ‘No Pasaran!’ conference in London on 2 March has been called in response to the growing wave of far-right breakthroughs internationally. PHIL HEARSE investigates. December’s regional el…
20 February 2019 · · Climate Change, Ecosocialism, Uncategorized, Youth
The climate is changing – why aren’t we?
I’m in my mid-sixties and have been politically active since my late teens, writes Terry Conway . This week I have had one of the most positive political experiences of my life, supporting y…
19 February 2019 · Ecosocialism, Latin America, Reviews
Hugo Blanco: From Trotskyism to Indigenous Vitality
As Hugo Blanco is due to speak at a series of meetings across Britain, we reprint a review in which Andrew Ryder discusses We the Indians: The Indigenous Peoples of Peru and the Struggle for…
17 February 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party, Tories · 3 comments
Labour are also running down the clock
The Tories are in beyond a mess, writes Alan Davies. The fragile truce they put together last month when Parliament instructed Theresa May to reopen negotiations on the withdrawal agreement …
17 February 2019 · Labour Party, Reviews, antisemitism · 4 comments
WitchHunt – how antisemitism is weaponised
A review of the new film WitchHunt (Jon Pullman, 2019, 62 mins) by Dave Kellaway The Rio cinema in Hackney was nearly completely full for the premiere of the new film WitchHunt by Jon Pullma…
16 February 2019 · · Climate Change, Trade Unions
Are energy trade unions ‘playing fast and loose’ with climate change?
On 15 th January the Scottish Parliament debated a motion from Roseanna Cunningham SNP MSP, on securing a just transition to a carbon-neutral economy, writes Sam Mason . Remarkable in this i…
14 February 2019 · · Climate Change, Ecosocialism, Youth
Climate, class and revolting children
Radical action on climate change should be the many versus the few, not the young versus the old, writes Chris Saltmarsh . The global wave of student strikes for climate action has come to t…
13 February 2019 · Migration, Racism · 1 comment
The Stansted 15: A lesson in action and solidarity
Following the sentencing of the Stansted 15, Bill MacKeith, father of May MacKeith, one of the defendants, offers this reflection. See also the earlier SR posting following the convictions i…
10 February 2019 · Culture
Photography as indictment
Don McCullin is probably the most famous living British photographer and his career spanning retrospective in Tate Britain which runs till May 6th looks set to be one of the most popular exh…
8 February 2019 · · EU, Labour Party · 3 comments
The British Road to Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn’s papacy of Labour’s broad church has been successful in keeping together all the party's doctrinal strands and potentially schismatic sects writes Andy Stowe . MPs like Kate H…
30 January 2019 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party, Tories
Labour must change course as crash out looms closer
The clear and highly dangerous outcome of the shenanigans in the House of Commons on Tuesday 28 January, is that as a result of May’s dramatic U-turn into the arms of the European Research G…
29 January 2019 · · Britain, Labour Party, Uncategorized · 2 comments
Labour's Immigration Bill fiasco
Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn are distinguished by political careers devoted to anti-racism and defending migrants’ rights writes Andy Stowe . So, it’s entirely legitimate t…
29 January 2019 · Britain, Kurdish struggle
How can we support the hunger strikers?
They are starving themselves so that the world takes notice and compels Turkey to end the isolation of Abdullah Ocalan. We can help spread their message, we can put pressure on our elected r…
24 January 2019 · Uncategorized
Against the coup intervention in Venezuela!
This statement was issued by the PRT, Mexican section of the Fourth International, on 23 January 2019. The Workers’ Revolutionary Party (PRT) stands emphatically against the new attempted co…
23 January 2019 · · Britain, Education
Developing the National Education Service
One of the big ideas in the Labour Party’s manifesto for the General Election in 2017 was the creation of a National Education Service (NES), writes Jon Duveen . This idea was given more sub…
21 January 2019 · · Britain, EU, Ireland · 3 comments
Ireland’s British border
The opening shots of the Irish War of Independence were fired one hundred years ago this week on January 21 st 1919 writes Barney Cassidy . T he 3rd Tipperary Brigade of the Irish Volunteers…
17 January 2019 · Britain, EU, Labour Party, Tories · 3 comments
Put Labour at the head of the anti-Brexit movement
May has, unsurprisingly, survived the vote of no confidence moved by Labour with the solid support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the European Research Group after suffering the …
11 January 2019 · Britain, Labour Party · 3 comments
A general election will not resolve Brexit
The government is in a state of collapse. May has suffered two humiliating Parliamentary defeats in the last week and will suffer another one on Tuesday. Meanwhile Britain is in a free-fall …
10 January 2019 · Racism
The new undesirables
Sivamohan Valluvan and Eleanor Penny unpack neoliberal attitudes to migration and 'low-value' humans. Presiding over an otherwise vacuous Conservative conference characterized by empty ‘ tec…
9 January 2019 · Britain, Culture, Uncategorized · 6 comments
£350 million and Turkey
See if you can guess where this quote comes from asks Andy Stowe who reviews Brexit: The Uncivil War. “The whole country — the whole world — can see our rotten parties have failed us. The pa…
8 January 2019 · Women
“Feminism of the 99% is an anticapitalist alternative to neoliberal feminism”
The Italian feminist Cinzia Arruzza is an associate professor of philosophy at the New School of Social Research in New York and author of the book Dangerous Liaisons: Marriages and Divorces…
3 January 2019 · Kurdish struggle, Syria, Turkey
Turkey plans invasion of Northern Syria: solidarity needed
Donald Trump’s sudden decision to withdraw 2000 U.S. troops from Syria is a green light to Recep Tayyip Erdogan to decimate the Kurds in what remains of Rojava in northern Syria. Earlier thi…