Solidarity 592, 12 May 2021

An incoherent, unprincipled electoral stunt

Having supported Labour in all elections while Jeremy Corbyn was leader, the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) has started standing candidates again. The Morning Star , which poses as a broad labour movement publication but is in reality a mouthpiece for the CPB, quoted the party’s general secretary Robert Griffiths in its May Day edition: “That we are fielding numbers of candidates unprecedented in recent decades is no accident... The latest edition of our programme — Britain’s Road to Socialism (BRS) — has struck a chord with many militant working class voters, especially the young...” There...

More doubts on Malm's water power

I would like to add some rough and ready comments to the letter from Paul Vernadsky ( Solidarity 591 ). The idea that coal-fired steam power (as opposed to water power) was somehow adopted in order to control wage labour seems to me to be questionable. Certainly water power at one point in industrial development was very important, and not just in textile manufacture. I remember as a child growing up in Stockbridge, about ten miles west of Sheffield. There was a place called Tin Mill Wood where there was a small lake (now owned by an angling club) and piles of large stones lying around. I...

Women's Fightback: Eating meat to prove masculinity?

Fragile masculinity is back in the news with a new poll, which showed almost three quarters of men would choose to die a decade earlier over giving up meat. The Australian survey was commissioned by No Meat May, a group that encourages people to give up meat for a month to combat climate change, global food scarcity, health problems, and animal cruelty. The poll, which included 1,000 respondents, found that almost half (47 per cent) of all participants thought of meat as a “masculine undertaking”, and almost three quarters (73 per cent) of men surveyed said they would rather die ten years...

No to Netanyahu, no to Hamas!

Hamas, the political-Islamist group ruling the Gaza Strip, and allies, fired some 480 rockets at civilian targets in Israel on 9-11 May. The Israeli government responded by bombing hundreds of targets in Gaza. Escalation looks likely to continue. Solidarity argues for “two nations, two states”. Israel should withdraw from the West Bank, end its blockade of Gaza, and concede the right of the Palestinians to an independent state of their own alongside Israel. The surrounding states should recognise the right of Israel to exist, i.e. the right of the Israeli-Jewish nation to self-determination...

Letter: Thrown out by events

I agree with Mohan Sen ( Solidarity 591 ) that “Labour’s campaigns have been weak”, as the Labour Party under Starmer hasn’t really challenged the government on the NHS and impending cuts. Also, I don’t believe the left should be gleeful at Labour setbacks. But I disagree that a good result for the Tories, which is now apparent, will push us way back. I’m of the belief that further Tory cuts, and their lack of care for housing, especially in regards to safety in their failure in removing dangerous cladding (just look at what happened in Canary Wharf on 7 May [a fire at the New Providence Wharf...

More in-person action on campuses

One hundred students protested at SOAS University in London on 10 May, rejecting an investigation into racism in the institution as insufficient and demanding the removal of director Adam Habib. Petitions, online actions, and motions in the student union and Unison union branch have been organised since back in March the director delivered a racial slur in response to being challenged about cuts to the African Studies department and the failure to address direct racial discrimination on campus, back in March. Students have been challenging Habib’s position as director since his interview with...

NEU: a setback and advances

The National Education Union (NEU) Executive elections closed on 29 April. Disappointingly, Workers’ Liberty supporter and victimised rep Tracy McGuire lost the national support staff seat, after a vicious campaign by the misnamed “NEU Left”, who have been as determined to remove her from her Executive role as her employer was to sack her. This deprives the executive of a tenacious fighter for support staff. Tracy has fought to ensure the union fully represents support staff and develops into an industrial union. That is why the “NEU Left” fought so hard to remove her. However disgusting her...

BT ballot: still waiting

On 30 September 2020, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced that its “Count Me In” campaign against planned job cuts and other attacks to terms and conditions by BT was “stepping into full gear.” More than seven months since that announcement, and nearly six since CWU members voted for industrial action by a 97.9% majority in a consultative ballot, the union has still not launched a formal ballot. More announcements about “intensification” and a “significant ramping up” of the campaign have followed, but no ballot. A large national ballot requires preparation. The CWU is right to...

Bus workers to strike 25-26 May

The Unite union has announced new strikes by bus drivers on the Metroline services in London in an ongoing dispute about the bosses’ plan to introduce “remote sign-on”. Drivers will be out on 25-26 May, and 7-8-9 June.

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