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July 2003

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The death of Dr Kelly – Britain rocked by political crisis: It is time to transform the Labour Party

We live in an epoch of sudden and sharp turns. On Thursday night, as Tony Blair
slept aboard a Boeing 777 bound from Washington to Tokyo, he was rocked by the
news of the death of Dr David Kelly. In a single instant the whole situation was
transformed. The magnitude of these events signifies the
inevitability of resignations at the highest level, so the Prime Minister is
frantically looking around for friends prepared to fall upon their swords in
order to protect their Lord and Master.

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‘History will forgive us’ or Mr. Bush’s Poodle Barks again

As the summer break draws near, the thoughts of politicians, as those of
ordinary mortals, turn to sunny beaches where one can forget the travails of
life and relax in pleasant company. For the British and American soldiers
sweltering in temperatures of 50 degrees, dodging Iraqi bombs and bullets, this
pleasant prospect is further away than for most of us. And for Tony Blair,
besieged by an ever more hostile press and public, the holiday season cannot
come quick enough.

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Britain: The Death of Dr Kelly

As we were preparing for publication, the news came through of the sudden
death of Dr David Kelly. Dr Kelly had been publicly named as the source of a
report by BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, that exposed the manoeuvres of the
Blair government to justify the war against Iraq.

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Britain – PCS Left sweeps to victory!

We have reported in many articles the inexorable shift to the left that has
been taking place in the British trade unions. Last year’s move to the left in
the AEEU (engineering workers) general secretary elections has probably been the
most striking episode in this general process. Equally significant was the
change in the TGWU (transport workers) where again the left took the position of
general secretary. The latest development among the civil servants is another
striking example of how deep the process is.

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Britain – Amicus conference: shift to left continues

The MSF and AEEU held their conferences last
week as part of the process of fusion into one union, Amicus. A steady move to
the left is taking place. The next step is the battle of the left to win the
executive, after last year’s victory that saw the candidate of the left, Derek
Simpson, elected to the position of General Secretary of the AEEU.

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Britain – The Great Pensions Robbery

Why are pensions being cut or not paying out money that was promised? All over
Europe pensions are under attack. Everywhere workers are being asked to retire
later, to give up on the idea of a guaranteed state pension and to look to the
private sector for a pension. British Socialist Appeal looks at the real reasons behind the pensions crisis.