Solidarity 064, 6 January 2005

Blunkett’s gone but “law and order” policy stays

The temporary eclipse of David Blunkett’s career has predictably done nothing to halt the New Labour government’s helter-skelter progress on their authoritarian “law and order” agenda. The introduction of compulsory national identity cards will still go ahead by 2006. The reasons the Home Office gives for this are quite revealing. “It will: help protect the UK against terrorism, organised crime, identity theft, illegal immigration and illegal working; allow UK citizens to travel and carry out everyday transactions easily and securely; and ensure that public services are only used by those...

The Tsunami disaster

Socialists and trade unionists in the Indian Ocean countries hit by the 26 December Indian Ocean tsunami have called for more aid from rich countries, cancellation of debts owed by the victim countries, and an end to the blockage of aid by the local military. Vast numbers of people were killed straight off by the tsunami. That could have been avoided. What can still be avoided is a similar death toll from the aftermath. Millions of people have lost their jobs and homes and, often, their friends and families. Hundreds of thousands of them are injured. Most were already living in poverty before...

Sri Lankan Trotskyists' appeal on tsunami aid

The Sri Lankan Trotskyist organisation NSSP has issued this appeal following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. As you already know, more than 25000 people have been killed and over 2.5 million people displaced by the deadly Tsunamis that swept across South East Asia, hitting Sri Lanka the hardest. Many of our comrades including trade union members have been definitely affected in Northern-Eastern-Western-Southern coastal areas. Definite figures and details of damages for our comrades have not been available yet. All infrastructure has been damaged in those areas. The situation in...

Brighton teaching assistants

Teaching assistants in Brighton and Hove are still in dispute over the council’s plans to cut the number of weeks a year they are paid. After three successful days of strike action and two large strike day demos it looks as if GMB and Unison leaders are losing their nerve. But after the last strike on 10 December both the GMB and Unison seemed to be ready to spread the action across the whole council workforce, and both unions ruled out going to ACAS. They have now called off a strike day planed for 6 January and entered talks in which they offered to accept binding arbitration through ACAS...

The miners’ strike 1984-5

Socialist Worker, the miners and the “downturn” By Jack Cleary, from Socialist Organiser 6 February 1985 Socialists need realism, honesty and candour in assessing the world around us. On the other hand we should have no business with unnecessary or premature defeatism. Anyone reading what Socialist Worker says could not avoid the conclusion that the strike is lost. Socialist Worker’s 2 February issue, for example, has good headline advice for striking miners: “No Surrender”. But the underlying train of thought behind this, is made clear in articles in that issue. For example, under the...

The writing on the wall

Uzbek “Republic” A fair election result was finally secured in the Ukraine over the Christmas period — although only after mass protests had secured a re-run. There will be no such happy outcome in Uzbekistan where all five parties taking part in the 25 December parliamentary election supported the incumbent President, Islam Karimov. Additionally, two-thirds of potential candidates were not allowed to stand. The European Union having little interest in this Central Asian “republic” were somewhat quieter about the result than they had been about Ukraine, although their election monitors...

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