Solidarity 202, 4 May 2011

“A riot is the language of the unheard” (Martin Luther King)... Currently “direct action” seems to be used mechanically for any action outside the once standard, ignored, tedious and silent marches. There is an important differentiation between vandalism and violence — neither of which ought necessarily be condemned — but the argument differs slightly. On the question of direct action — occupations, strikes, civil disobedience and yes, sometimes property damage —I find it difficult to comprehend the arguments against this method to stop cuts that will rocket up child poverty, homelessness...

At the start of this year, Workers’ Liberty member Janine Booth was elected to represent London transport workers on RMT’s Executive. Workers’ Liberty members on the Tube decided to set up our own separate AWL branch, become more organised, and prioritise recruiting new AWL members. We were already in a good position to recruit. Over years, we have built up a group of activists around our rank-and-file bulletin, Tubeworker , which celebrates its 20th birthday this year. While other left groups had been preaching left-sounding slogans, or cosying up to the union leadership to advance themselves...

An inquest into the death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson, who died after an encounter with police officers at the G20 protests, has found that his killing was “unlawful”. A jury ruled that the baton strike and push to Tomlinson by PC Simon Harwood were “unreasonable” and that Tomlinson “posed no threat” at the time he was attacked. It remains unclear whether Harwood will face any punishment, but the verdict will be a huge boost to Ian Tomlinson’s family and their quest for justice.

The Save Greenwich Philosophy Campaign could reach its peak on Thursday 5 May when the academic planning committee meeting takes place. One of the campaign demands is to allow a representative to voice our arguments on May 5, but so far such requests have been denied. At this point the Save Greenwich Philosophy Campaign has received no consistent line of argument concerning the decision to cut single honours philosophy at Greenwich. Arguments have ranged from the supposed lack of applicants to the claim that a combined course will draw in more students. So far, the campaign has held two...

Students and workers at Newcastle College have won at least a postponement of cuts. At the beginning of 2011 the college announced plans to cut 171 frontline jobs, 17% of the workforce. Students set up SOS (Save Our Staff) to support lecturers. We began with a banner drop at one of the college’s open evenings to raise the profile. Management tried scare tactics to prevent us taking other action. But we still managed to organise a successful walkout. On 24 March the lecturers’ union UCU organised a march from the college to the university, and yet again there was a great turnout of students. On...

Nearly 75% of universities who have declared their fees for 2012 have opted to charge the maximum £9,000. The government had previously indicated that £6,000 would be the effective benchmark, and that universities would be allowed to charge £9,000 only in “exceptional circumstances”. As recently as March 2011, Nick Clegg stated that universities “can’t charge £9,000 unless they’re given permission to do so” However, the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), tasked with scrutinising universities over their fees regimes and expected by some to intervene to stop some institutions from charging the...

The management of London Metropolitan University has announced a massive wave of course closures. The proposals will see courses cut down to 160 from 557. The main targets of these cuts will be Philosophy, History, Modern Languages and Performing Arts. The only degree programme in Caribbean studies in the UK will also be shut down. The university has been facing a major deficit after a crisis in 2009 saw it lose £36 million of government money (which it had falsely claimed from HEFCE after providing inflated figures for student numbers). One member of the LMU Save Humanities Campaign told...

According to the Observer (24 April), Labour leader Ed Miliband “is set to make two speeches informed by the ideas of Blue Labour over the summer, although insiders insist he is also listening to contributors to a soon-to-be-published Purple Book”. The Times (19 April) reports that the “Purple Book” will be diehard-Blairite — “Purple was the colour of new Labour. It’s what you get if you combine red and blue. It symbolises the need to stay on the centre ground” — and will come out about the time of Labour Party conference in September. So Miliband is “listening to”... two strands of very right...

The murder of Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh by dissident republicans at the beginning of April was just the latest deadly instalment in their increasingly dangerous campaign. The Continuity IRA, with roots in a 1986 split in the Provisional movement, was the first major group to challenge Sinn Féin’s gradual abandonment of armed struggle. The most “traditional” of the armed groups, it claims the direct lineage of the Provisional Government of 1916. In the past it has dabbled with pan-Celtic nationalism and “third way” distributist theories derived from Catholic social teachings. However, by...

Osama bin Laden targeted working people - nearly 3000 of them on 11 September 2001 - in the confident belief that the imperialist government of the USA would be more hurt by that than his own followers, on the fascistic far right, would be. Anyone who cares for working people, and opposes bin Laden's programme of terroristic religious fundamentalism, should be pleased by his death on 1 May at the hands of US forces. But we do not applaud or congratulate the US military. Their capture of bin Laden came after eight and a half years in which the US government and its allies have: • turned Iraq...