The new French labour law will be adopted in the National Assembly by 22 July, after final feedback from the Senate. The “Socialist” government has won this battle. Jérôme Métellus of the French Marxists, Révolution, analyses the strengths and weakness of the massive movement against this law seen in France over the past months.
As we have reported previously, over the past few months a number of Socialist Appeal supporters have been expelled from the Labour Party by the Blairite bureaucracy of the Compliance Unit. We publish here a letter from Tomasz Pierscionek, one of the expelled comrades, who outlines the scandal surrounding these manoeuvres.
MPs yesterday voted to renew Trident. This vote was not only used by the Tories and the Blairites to prove their reliability as representatives of the ruling class, but also as an opportunity to strike a blow against Jeremy Corbyn. But rather than discrediting Corbyn, these political attacks have only served to make him stronger and highlight the deep divisions that exist within the Labour Party.
From 11 to 15 July, during a vital period for the entire labour movement, Unite the Union’s policy conference met in Brighton. Most significantly was the enormous endorsement given to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party by this conference – that of Britain’s biggest union, representing 1.5 million members.
On 17-18 July, 1936, General Franco began his military uprising in Morocco, a prelude to the fascist uprising throughout Spain. The workers responded in a spontaneous fashion. Rob Sewell and Alan Woods discuss the revolutionary events of the 1936 Spanish Civil War.
Last Saturday, Davey Hopper – the General Secretary of the Durham Miners Association sadly passed away, only one week after overseeing his 32nd Durham Miners’ Gala. We publish here a tribute to Davey by a Socialist Appeal reader in Durham.
Dramatic events shook Turkey on Friday as armed troops moved onto the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. They closed down the main airports and bridges while military jets were roaring very low above the cities. Nevertheless, this coup as a whole was defeated quickly and Erdoğan has used it to re-consolidate his powers.
As another Labour leadership contest begins, Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – discusses the rapidly changing political situation in Britain, which finds its most acute expression in the civil war that has opened up within the Labour Party.
The Labour Party is locked in a civil war of historic proportions, following the biggest parliamentary failed coup in modern history. The decision to put Corbyn on the ballot for the leadership contest has dashed the hopes of the party’s right wing. However, their dirty tricks are not over yet. It is time to complete Labour’s transformation by kicking out the Blairites.
As of yesterday, Britain has a new Prime Minister. In another proud day for the venerable British parliamentary system, the “robotic” Theresa May will now lead a nation of 64 million people thanks to the votes of 199 Tory MPs. But what does May’s leadership signify? And what are the interests and policies that she represents?
Earlier this week, Bernie Sanders formally endorsed the Democratic establishment candidate Hillary Clinton for president. In doing so, Sanders has disappointed many of his supporters, who saw in him a refreshing and radical break from the status quo. What is the way forward for revolutionaries in America now that the race is between Clinton and Trump?
We are living in a period of sharp and sudden changes. The decision by Labour’s National Executive Committee to allow Jeremy Corbyn on the ballot for the leadership contest represents another important turning point. The situation in the Labour Party, Alan Woods writes, is now almost certaintly heading for a split.