AWL

The year from March 2020 to March 2021 was the first big break in the activity of Marxists selling socialist newspapers on the streets, in protests, door-to-door, and in meetings, since the Social Democratic Federation launched its weekly, Justice , in 1884. Even before that, the Chartist movement, and the “Owenite” socialist movement, centred much of their life round the production and selling of newspapers. But for the last year we have had no in-person meetings; most of the time, relatively few street protests; and street stalls and door-to-door sales have been more difficult. As they start...

Tim Cooper will be doing a parachute jump from 20,000 feet in late May (date depends on weather conditions), and is appealing for sponsor money to go to the Workers’ Liberty fund appeal . Another aim for Tim is to conquer his fear of heights. His approach could be a model for the labour movement left as we battle to overcome fears of defeat and marginalisation: defy them head-on. With thanks to Paul, Alex, Andy, Dave, Zack, and our May Day advertisers in Solidarity 590, we have raised an additional £330 this week, taking us to £5,920.24. We’re working towards £20,000 by 11 July: donate here

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Mike Perkins, a long standing supporter of Solidarity and Workers’ Liberty, died on 9 November aged 88. Mike joined shortly after his retirement from work, some 20 years ago. Through his union, Unison, he was on the trade union education course at Southampton College. Run by a socialist tutor, the course was lively, relevant and political, rooted in the class struggle and related political issues. It was 1997. The Labour Party had won the election, but were led by pink-Tory Blairites who had captured control. These issues were discussed on the course, with a number of members continuing that...

• See here for other articles debating the US election, Trump, etc . The motions below were debated at a Workers' Liberty committee meeting (by Zoom) on 24 October. Motion 1 was defeated. An amendment to motion 2 to delete the first sentence,"Trump is not likely..." (in square brackets below), was carried, and then Motion 2 as amended was carried. Motion 1 This US presidential election has narrowed down into a contest between a fascistic demagogue with a militant and part-militarised mass base, and a standard-issue neoliberal. Voting Biden to stop Trump requires saying no more "for" him than...

As the virus spreads, Safe and Equal is stepping up efforts to get its model motion on isolation pay passed through Labour Parties and union branches. It also asks activists to seek invitations for S&E to speak at meetings. S&E has recently been approached with an invitation by a local Labour Party with which it had previously had no contact, and has had ongoing links with Redbridge Trades Council's drive to get Redbridge council to ensure full isolation pay in its care homes since an S&E speaker went to the Trades Council in April. The Uyghur Solidarity Campaign UK and Labour Movement...

From the next-but-one issue, no.562, 9 September, we will return to our usual tabloid format from this reduced format which we've had to use in lockdown because lack of street activity and meetings made it difficult to circulate the paper. We will use the return to run an experiment of producing a couple of regular issues in the "endorse-folded" format (which we've previously used for "specials" on fighting fascism and on automation) and seeing whether that format sells better than the plain-vanilla version of tabloid. Because of the probability of a second virus surge, we won't run our...

Neil Faulkner of the Mutiny group has published a series of articles about the ideas of Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky on revolutionary parties, prompted, he says, by "an online meeting on the future of the British Left in which I participated on 12 July". That meeting brought together us, Workers' Liberty, with Mutiny and another group, Red Flag. We found it useful and hope for more similar. Faulkner's series takes off from a polemic against the emphasis of the Red Flag speaker, K D Tait, on "different programme and strategy". He makes no comment on what the Workers' Liberty speaker, Ruth Cashman...

At the end of July, local AWL organisers met to discuss remobilising members to respond to the economic and political upheavals that face labour movement activists as the lockdown eases. Our window for that remobilisation may be short if lockdowns are partially or fully reintroduced. As socialist activists whose political bread-and-butter is face-to-face communication and outward-facing activity such as meetings, street protests, and picket lines, we need to learn the lessons of lockdown. Some trade union activity has been possible in some unions, at the local level and among leftists, but...

A “Momentum Against the AWL” twitter campaign have said the Working Group looking into a report of sexual assault taking place in 2005, made public in 2018, was a “whitewash”. This assertion is variously linked to other points including not involving the survivor in their work, and that nobody in the AWL has resigned as a result of its findings . Our response, written in consultation with members of that Working Group, and to correct some of these misrepresentations, is as follows: • The remit of the Working Group, published on our site on 30.1.18 was: to “further investigate individual and...