The decision this week by the UK Border
Agency (UKBA) to revoke London Met’s Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) status
for international student visas is a symptom of the wider economic
crisis and of a government far removed from the lives of ordinary
people.
“What did Marx mean by the contradictions of capitalism?” asks Samuel Brittan, the right-wing economist writing in the Financial Times. “Basically, that the system produced an ever-expanding flow of goods and services, which an impoverished proletarianised population could not afford to buy. Some 20 years ago, following the crumbling of the Soviet system, this would have seemed outmoded. But it needs another look, following the increase in the concentration of wealth and income.”
Ben Peck takes a closer look at Labour MP John McDonnell’s new document on the alternative to the Tory programme of non-stop cuts
200 people packed into Lords Hill Church in Southampton recently, to
protest at plans by the new Labour Council to close Oaklands swimming
pool with the loss of dozens of jobs.
Fred Weston, editor of the ‘In Defence of Marxism’, talking at the ULU Marxist Summer School on ‘What will Socialism look like?’
Fred Weston, editor of the ‘In Defence of Marxism’, talking at the ULU Marxist Summer School on ‘What will Socialism look like?’
Comrade John Dunn, ex-miner, speaks at the recent ULU Marxist summer school in London about the 1984-5 miners’ strike and the lessons for today.
Ireland: The formation of a left tendency in the Labour Party is a welcome
development. After 18 months of coalition government it’s clear that
Eamon Gilmore’s claim to defend working people by working with Fine Gael
was not worth the paper upon which it was written.
News that in the previous quarter the British economy experienced its
biggest contraction since 2009 is just one statistic amongst dozens
forming a backdrop to this new age of austerity. The Governor of the
Bank of England, Mervyn King, summed up his perspectives for the economy
saying that “a black cloud hangs over investment” whilst he announced
that predictions for growth in 2012 are close to zero.
UNISON members employed by Northumbria Healthcare Trust took strike
action today in response to the decision of the Foundation Trust to
slash mileage rates from 47p per mile to 24p. The workers concerned are
Community Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Technical Instructors and
Social Workers, who are required to use a car for work, because they
work in the community covering large distances to meet the needs of
vulnerable, often elderly patients.
One year after it was announced that employers in the construction
industry were looking to break workplace agreements and implement savage
cuts in pay and conditions, and one year after the magnificent rank and
file campaign was launched in response, site activists from around the
country met in London to plan the way ahead.
With increased borrowing, exports falling and the British economy in
recession, the Tory-led Coalition is heading for a major showdown with
the working class.
The Tories have already launched their attack on “lazy British workers”,
who need to be taught a hard lesson in hard work. They have branded
British workers “the worse idlers” in the world and said that we should
emulate the work ethic of Asia. In other words, we need to stop shirking
and work harder and longer for less pay and pensions. However, for us
to “compete” with Asia – on the same pay and conditions – means a race
to the bottom.