Alan Thornett
19 December 2020 · · Britain, Ecosocialism · 1 comment
Air pollution – Britain’s invisible killer
In a land-mark ruling, the inner south London coroner Philip Barlow, has ruled that the death of nine year old Ella Kissi-Debrah from Lewisham from an asthma attack in February 2013 was part…
7 December 2020 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party · 2 comments
Labour must oppose any Brexit deal
Whilst after years of Brexit and the end-game of the end-game taking place we still don’t know if there will be a deal with the European Union (EU), writes Alan Thornett . What we do know if…
6 December 2020 · · Britain, Ecosocialism, Tories · 1 comment
Johnson’s 10-point eco-plan
Johnson’s much vaunted 10-point eco-plan is totally inadequate as a green recovery from the Covid-19 crisis – or build-back greener as he likes to put it, writes Alan Thornett . His claim th…
13 November 2020 · · Climate Change, Covid-19 · 1 comment
Covid-19: a frightening future looms
Covid-19 provides a frightening glimpse of an uncertain future, writes Alan Thornett. It is not just out of control, but on a global rampage. There have now been 52 million cases and 1,300,0…
30 October 2020 · · Covid-19, Ecosocialism
Covid-19: the tip of a deadly iceberg
The most important issue in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic is the one least discussed, writes Alan Thornett This is the ecological dimension: i.e. disastrous and destructive relationship bet…
5 October 2020 · · Britain, Covid-19, Ecosocialism · 1 comment
Covid-19 resurgence – a glimpse of the apocalypse
Covid-19 is not just out of control, it is rampaging across the world. Sensational headlines are focusing on Trump; hardly surprising given his attitude to the virus, writes Alan Thornett . …
26 July 2020 · · Britain, Economics, Ecosocialism, Labour Party, Uncategorized · 1 comment
Relaunch Labour’s Green New Deal
According to the World Health Organisation, the Covid-19 pandemic is still accelerating globally; infections have doubled in the past six weeks, writes Alan Thornett . This is another sharp …
7 July 2020 · · Biodiversity, China, Ecosocialism
Support China’s ban on its wildlife trade
An important debate has emerged, on the left, in response to China’s proposed ban on the wildlife trade in its so-called wet markets – following the role this trade is suspected to have play…
8 June 2020 · · Covid-19, Ecosocialism · 5 comments
Covid-19 changes everything
Covid-19 is a huge and many-sided issue, writes Alan Thornett. There is the disastrous governmental response leading to thousands of deaths, there is the approaching mass unemployment pandem…
22 April 2020 · · Biodiversity, Climate Change, Covid-19, Ecosocialism · 1 comment
International Earth Day and Covid-19
Today, April 22, is International Earth Day , writes Alan Thornett . It was established 50 years ago following a massive oil spill off the coast of California as an opportunity to reflect on…
6 April 2020 · · Covid-19 · 4 comments
Covid-19: the ecological dimension
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread rapidly around the world and remains out of control – other than in those countries, led by China, that had (crucially) moved early and decisively t…
25 March 2020 · · Covid-19 · 3 comments
Made in Downing Street
We are facing a catastrophic situation, writes Alan Thornett. Society is in freefall in a number of countries, including this one, with the virus out of control. Britain, we are told, is jus…
28 February 2020 · · Britain, Climate Change · 2 comments
‘The bell is tolling’ on Heathrow expansion
In the biggest victory ever won by environmental campaigners in Britain the court of appeal yesterday declared that the long disputed third runway at Heathrow is illegal, writes Alan Thornet…
21 February 2020 · · Ecosocialism · 1 comment
The electric cars revolution
The internal combustion engine (ICE) is the biggest consumer of fossil fuel and emitter of CO 2 on the planet, writes Alan Thornett . It has powered road transport for over a century. It is …
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 …
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 …
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
9 December 2018 · · Uncategorized
Another Europe Is Possible ready to challenge Brexit
The first conference of Another Europe Is Possible (AEIP),which took place in London on December 8 th , was arranged rather hastily writes Alan Thornett . A draft strategy document and const…
19 November 2018 · · Biodiversity, Ecosocialism
WWF report: wildlife in freefall
The 2018 edition of the highly respected World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Living Planet Report – and its associated Living Planet Index – have just been published, writes Alan Thornett . The Report…
12 July 2018 · · Britain, Climate Change, USA
March against Trump – and for the Planet
There are many reasons for supporting the anti-Trump protests this week, writes Alan Thornett . It has become increasingly clear that Trump can do immeasurable damage not only to politics ac…
12 June 2018 · · Ecosocialism, Labour Party, transport
Heathrow: step up the campaign against expansion now
Tory Transport Minister Chris Grayling announced to Parliament on June 5 th , after endless prevarication, what he called the government’s ‘final proposal’ on airport expansion in the shape …
20 February 2018 · · Britain, Climate Change, Ecosocialism
Planning for a future which doesn't cost the earth
The Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group is organising an important conference on climate change and the trade unions on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Hamilton House London WC1H 9…
5 February 2018 · · Ecosocialism, South Africa · 1 comment
Cape Town water crisis—sign of things to come
Cape Town—in which some of Africa’s most affluent live– is rapidly running out of water, writes Alan Thornett . Population growth and a record drought, exacerbated by climate change, are cre…
15 January 2018 · · Britain, Ecosocialism, Tories · 1 comment
Plastic waste and political hypocrisy
Ten years after plastic pollution has reached a global crisis point—brilliantly highlighted recently by David Attenborough’s stunning Blue Planet II series—Theresa May has decided that it is…
13 December 2017 · · Britain, EU, Labour Party, Tories
May and EU staring down barrel of a Corbyn government
To say that last week was a remarkable week in politics does not do it justice, writes Alan Thornett. Theresa May travelled to Brussels at the start of the week to try to persuade Michel Bar…
17 November 2017 · · Obituaries · 1 comment
Obituary: Derek Robinson 1927—2017
by Alan Thornett Derek Robinson has died at the age of 90. He became a major figure in the car industry and in BL in the mid-1970s after he succeeded fellow Communist Party (CP) member Dick …
2 May 2017 · · Ecosocialism, Reviews
Dead Zone: Where the Wild things were
Alan Thornett reviews Philip Lymbery's important new book from Bloomsbury (2017) Bloomsbury Publishers, who published Elizabeth Kolberts The Sixth Extinction in 2014 has published another im…
19 April 2017 · · Labour Party, Tories
General election: Labour must present a radical alternative
by Alan Thornett Theresa May has called a general election for June 8 th hoping that Labour has been sufficiently weakened by the attacks of the right on the Corbyn leadership that she will …
14 April 2017 · · Britain, Climate Change, USA
Protesting Trumps threat to the planet
Alan Thornett looks at the destruction Trump is wreaking and the resistance that is growing: There are many reactionary aspects to the Trump administration: racism, misogyny, homophobia, isl…
27 February 2017 · · Britain, Labour Party · 8 comments
Corbynism after Copeland
by Alan Thornett It is to Jeremy Corbyn’s great credit that he has faced down, once again, the usual chorus of demands for him to resign—following Labour’s defeat in the Copeland by-election…
8 November 2016 · · Britain, Tories
Tory Party undergoes major UKIPisation
Alan Thornett looks at what's going on: Theresa May’s government, established in a few frenzied weeks of infighting after the referendum in June, is the most right-wing administration of mod…
7 October 2016 · · Ecosocialism
A major step towards the Anthropocene
Alan Thornett looks at current debates: We are at a crossroads in terms of the impact of our species on the planet. The actions of modern human beings, ‘ homo sapiens’—i.e. us—are set to det…
14 July 2016 · · 4 comments
The Brexit hard-liners take control of government
Alan Thornett analyses the composition of new government, in which Brexit hard-liners have gained key positions. The Theresa May administration is a sharp shift towards the xenophobic right.…
15 May 2016 ·
Don't leave the EU at this time in this way
In this short talk, Alan Thornett explains why, despite the fact that the European Union is a bosses' club, he thinks it's the wrong time for voters in Britain to support a Brexit campaign. …
4 May 2016 · · 1 comment
Break free from fossil fuels
Alan Thornett During the first two weeks of May a global wave of action is taking place around the world around the demand: Break free from fossil fuels – keep the coal, oil, and gas in the …
25 March 2016 · · 2 comments
The left debates the case for EU exit
Alan Thornett reports on the London meeting on March 23 called by Counterfire and the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) in support of an exit vote in the EU referendum. It generated a lively …
2 February 2016 ·
Climate Rising conference – a big success
Alan Thornett reports from the Climate Rising conference held on Saturday 30 January in London. The Climate Rising conference on Saturday (January 30 th ) was the first big climate event in …
18 January 2016 · · 1 comment
The age of the Anthropocene?
Alan Thornett reviews The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis edited by Clive Hamilton, Cristophe Bonneuil, and Francois Gemenne published by the Routledge Environmental Humanit…
15 January 2016 ·
Assessing the Paris COP and building on the outcome
Alan Thornett The COP21 in Le Bourget Paris in December 2015 adopted an agreement on global warming and climate change, which was signed by all 195 participating countries. It will come into…
23 September 2015 ·
Tsipras wins a pyrrhic victory
Alan Thornett Alex Tsipras has won a surprisingly strong victory in the Greek elections. The opinion polls, that had predicted a close vote, were wide of the mark and Syriza comfortably led …
16 September 2015 · · 4 comments
The capitulation of Tsipras leadership and the role of ‘left europeanism’
Alan Thornett A crucial debate is taking place on the left, inside and outside of Greece, following the dramatic capitulation of the Tsipras leadership to the austerity agenda of the EU in r…
27 July 2015 · · 1 comment
The case for PR after May 7
Alan Thornett Since the election there has been a debate around how the Tories emerged with an unexpected overall majority. One reason is that they demonised the SNP and raised the spectre o…
15 July 2015 ·
Creditors take control of Greece
Alan Thornett We have seen the total humiliation of the people of Greece. After 17 hours of talks over Sunday night the IMF and EU elites have inflicted a comprehensive and humiliating defea…
6 July 2015 · · 4 comments
Greece: massive victory for the No campaign
Alan Thornett The European elites are in shock. In defiance of massive intimidation the people of Greece have delivered a huge 61% No vote in the referendum. It is a stunning result. It is a…
3 July 2015 ·
Solidarity with a Greek No vote on Sunday
Alan Thornett We are two days away from the Greek referendum. The Banks and the European elites are straining every nerve not only to win a Yes vote on Sunday but to destroy Syriza, the gove…
20 June 2015 ·
Greece on the verge of default
Alan Thornett Greece is on the verge of defaulting on its debt to the IMF which is due by the end of June. Negotiations broke down on Friday and an EU summit has been called for Monday in an…
9 June 2015 · · 10 comments
What position should the left take on the EU referendum?
Alan Thornett Following the election and Cameron’s pledge to the right, there will be an in out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU at least by the end of 2017, and possibly in 2016…
4 May 2015 ·
The biodiversity crisis and the environmentalist left
Alan Thornett (This is an expanded version of a workshop presentation in the ecology stream at the Historical Materialism conference in London in November 2014.) In this presentation I want …
30 April 2015 ·
The election result could trigger a governmental crisis
Alan Thornett There seems to be only one certainty in this election and that is that Labour is going to get hammered in Scotland by the Scottish National Party (SNP) —in fact they are facing…
30 March 2015 · · 7 comments
An election Labour should win hands down
Alan Thornett As parliament is dissolve at midnight tonight and the official campaign is poised to be launched, Labour and the Tories remain more or less neck and neck in the polls. It’s sti…
3 March 2015 · · 11 comments
Syriza at the crossroads
Alan Thornett looks at the developments of the last week and their implications: The new Greek government, after being threatened and intimidated by the ECB, the IMF, and the EU elites, has …
19 September 2014 · · 9 comments
Scottish independence denied by "Project Fear"
The proposal for an independent Scotland has been defeated in the referendum and the ruling elites have expressed a huge collective sigh of relief. It was a defeat based on fear and intimida…
12 September 2014 · · 2 comments
Shock and Awe against a yes vote in Scotland
Alan Thornett It was as if an earthquake had hit the debate on Scotland. Shock polling last weekend put the yes campaign in front while others indicated that the two campaigns were neck and …
1 September 2014 · · 1 comment
Land and Labour: Marxism ecology and human history
A useful but controversial book Alan Thornett reviews Martin Empson's book, published in 2014 by Bookmarks at £13.99. Martin Empson is a prominent activist in the Campaign Against Climate Ch…
6 May 2014 ·
James Hansen’s ‘exit strategy’ from global warming
James Hansen on the campaign trail Alan Thornett examines James Hansen’s ‘exit strategy’ from global warming. James Hansen has long been recognised as the world’s foremost climate scientist.…
21 March 2014 · · 1 comment
Fourth International debates key issues
Alan Thornett reports from the annual meeting of the International Committee of the Fourth International (FI), which took place in Amsterdam from February 22-26, attended by around 80 delega…
18 November 2013 · · 2 comments
Grangemouth - a major defeat
Nationalise it! One thing is clear from the recent dispute at the Grangemouth, on the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh, writes Alan Thornett: a major defeat has been inflicted on one of the bes…
18 October 2013 · · 9 comments
A wake-up call on Climate Change
Alan Thornett reviews the latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change, which confirms that there are no cpaitalist solutions to the climate crisis. This article first appear…
30 September 2013 ·
Miliband tacks slightly left
Power house of the Tory recovery Ed Miliband’s speech at the Labour Party conference has opened up the political situation and has started a debate on the left on the direction Miliband lead…
26 July 2013 ·
A tour de force on the state of health care internationally
Alan Thornett reviews John Lister’s Health Policy Reform – Global Health versus private profit published by Libri Publications at £22.00 June 2013. John Lister’s new book is an impressively …
17 May 2013 · · 5 comments
Broad parties and the fight for Left Unity in Britain
Alan Thornett This text below was written by myself and John Lister in July 2011 as a chapter on Britain in the book New Parties of the Left , published by Resistance Books book a month late…
25 March 2013 · · 5 comments
A new left party must be both democratic and ecological
image no longer in the archive What is posed today is not just socialism but ecosocialism. Alan Thornett explains why any new party of the left must have democracy and ecology at its core. T…
18 January 2013 · · 1 comment
A Short History of the Euro Zone
With the crisis of the eurozone raging and no solution in sight Alan Thornett examines how the whole European project was driven from the outset by big business; how the contradictions which…
23 December 2012 · · 10 comments
A comment on the SWP's conference resolutions
The bulletins for the SWP's conference, to be held on 4 -6 of January 2013, have just appeared on-line. Although there are no big surprises there are a number of things worthy of comment, ev…
30 September 2012 · · 4 comments
Why we need broad parties of the left - video
Alan Thornett explains why Socialist Resistance is committed to helping create a left challenge to Labourism in Britain and argues that organisations like SYRIZA are going to be crucial to r…
23 March 2012 · · 5 comments
The Falklands oil rush and Thatcher’s War
The 30th anniversary of Britain’s invasion of the Falklands to remove an occupation force sent by Argentinian military dictator General Galtieri, comes at a time of renewed controversy over …
2 January 2012 · · 19 comments
Too many people? A review
Alan Thornett reviews Too Many People? by Ian Angus and Simon Butler published by Haymarket at £13.99. As a long-time comrade of Ian Angus, a fellow ecosocialist, and an admirer of his work …
19 March 2011 · · 6 comments
How should we vote in the AV referendum?
How should the left vote in the referendum on May 5th on an Alternative Vote (AV) system of election for Westminster? Alan Thornett argues for a yes vote in support of AV as the best option …
13 February 2011 · · 4 comments
Some thoughts on the People’s Convention
Alan Thornett reports that Saturday’s People’s convention — jointly organised by the Right To Work Campaign (RtWC), the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) and the Disabled People’s Agains…
5 March 2010 · · 5 comments
Fourth International declares itself ecosocialist
Alan Thornett reports from t he sixteenth world congress of the Fourth International (FI) which was held near Ostend, Belgium, in late February. There were over 200 delegates, observers and …
6 June 2009 · · 1 comment
Jack Jones - No friend of the union left
image no longer in the archive Jack Jones (March 1913 - April 2009) the former General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) died in April at the age of 96. He was gene…
18 February 2009 ·
Workers at BMW's MINI plant confront union convenors
In the videos below , angry agency car workers at BMW’s plant in Cowley lambast the plant’s union conveners after being given one hours notice of redundancy by management last Friday (writes…
17 March 2008 ·
Respect Renewal and Agencies for Social Change
By Alan Thornett image no longer in the archive Respect Renewal has done remarkably well in the four months since the split and its founding conference in November. True it does not yet have…
29 February 2008 ·
Socialists and Ken Livingstone
By Alan Thornett image no longer in the archive The whole of the left should condemn the hysterical Thatcherite campaign against Ken Livingstone led by the Evening Standard and Channel 4. It…