Solidarity 160, 8 October 2009

Gandhi: some ugly truths revealed

This series got off to a good start as an attempt by the bourgeois establishment to de-sanctify the legacy of Mohandas Gandhi, and strips away some of the mythology surrounding him. The man revealed is an incredibly driven politician, who sacrificed his family, his sexuality, and other earthly pleasures, in pursuit of building a mass movement. The story of Gandhi’s early life (told in the first of the series) shows a different figure from the saintly ascetic of popular folklore. The documentary tells of the time he left his dying father’s bedside to satisfy the “carnal desires” he later...

Cold War spies and 80's women

In the final book of his Millennium Trilogy , Stieg Larsson turned to the nefarious activities of Sweden’s secret state for inspiration. It is the only area of public corruption this one-time editor of the Swedish Trotskyist journal Fjärde internationalen , and expert on the European far-right, had not yet exposed. With The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest , Larsson (who died in 2004) produced a political/spy thriller that is more Ian Fleming than John Le Carré. It is not very subtle. The action often owes more to Larsson’s political message than the natural flow of the story. Not that this...

Who are the English Defence League?

Bursting onto television screens and newspapers in the wake of a racist provocation-turned-riot in Luton in May this year, the embryonic forces of what now constitute the English Defence League have maintained a steady presence in the media and on the streets. But who are the EDL? The rise of the English Defence League (EDL) has in fact been a contradictory phenomenon. The media prominence is out of all proportion to the actual numbers involved in and on the periphery of the EDL. It is all the more surprising given that the organisation appears to be entirely internet-based. Most accounts of...

Cutting waste at “the coalface”

Don’t let the uninspiring foreword by TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber put you off the Labour Research Department’s pamphlet on “unions and climate change”. It provides a wealth of facts — and some useful pointers for action — that working-class environmental campaigners can use to develop their struggles. The pamphlet is mainly focused on potential roles for “green reps”, and places particular emphasis on measures that such reps can fight for management to take in order to decrease emissions and wastefulness within individual workplaces. Statistics show, for example, that almost 50% of...

Ratcliffe-on-Soar climate swoop: Building alliances with power workers

In the run up to the “Climate Swoop” at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, due to take place on 17 October, Workers’ Climate Action supporters in Nottinghamshire have been writing and distributing a bulletin for Ratcliffe workers. The bulletin the purpose and perspective of the Swoop, and argues that there are links between exploitation of the planet and exploitation of workers by the power station’s owners, e.on. Despite e.on bosses pocketing massive salaries, workers at Ratcliffe have been offered a derisory 1% pay increase this year. The bulletin promises support and solidarity from the...

Birmingham Social Services: Not fit for purpose

Birmingham city children’s social services have been found “unfit for purpose” as child deaths in that city hit the headlines. I cannot be the only social worker to have read that statement and thought, “too bloody right, we’ve been saying it for years.” The current round of adverts for social work depict a glossy picture which is very far from the reality of the best social work teams at the moment. The report by the Scrutiny Committee in Birmingham shows how different. The report raises many issues, including cramped and inadequate working conditions for overworked and stressed staff...

The first strike against the new austerity

Leeds City Council Street Scene workers have been on all-out indefinite strike since 7 September. These workers include street cleaners, depot staff, and household refuse collectors, all of whom are facing wage cuts of up to £6000 a year. The pressure of the strike may be beginning to tell on the council. They have finally agreed to talk to the unions. As I write on 6 October, the strike continues into its fifth week. Refuse collectors could see their wages falling to a little over £12000 a year. Many of these workers risk losing their homes as they lose up a third of their wages. The...

Student convention

On 21 November University College London Students for Free Education will host a National Convention Against Tuition Fees for anyone who thinks higher education should be free for all. Michael Chessum, one of the organisers, spoke to Solidarity. The “mainstream” seems to have forgotten free education. NUS and the LibDems have abandoned it (or their leaderships have, anyway), so it's absolutely vital that we get it back on the agenda. Part of that is about struggling against marketisation, fees and cuts at a local level, But it is also about having a national platform that can attract...

Library cuts stopped

On 1 October Wirral Council announced that all 11 of the libraries that were to be closed would now stay open. This is an important victory for the Wirral Against the Cuts campaign and shows that it is possible to win local anti-cuts campaigns. The victory was down to those of us who organised mass meetings, leafleted estates, collected petitions, demanded an inquiry, told the councillors and MPs that we wouldn't vote for them if they made cuts, organised demonstrations and lobbies and refused to go away. We were able to force a government inquiry and we co-ordinated the input into it. The...

A socialist voice in the election

As regular Solidarity readers will know, Workers’ Liberty will be standing our comrade Jill Mountford as a candidate in the next general election, in the south east London constituency of Camberwell and Peckham. We chose Camberwell and Peckham for two main reasons. First, because it is a mainly working-class area whose inhabitants face problems like unemployment, low pay and cuts in services. Second, because its current MP is Harriet Harman, Labour Party deputy leader and loyal New Labour hack. Jill is standing on a socialist program of fighting for jobs, homes and services for all; for a...

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