After dominating Welsh politics for over a century, Labour’s support has collapsed drastically in the Senedd elections. Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are the main beneficiaries of Labour’s decline, but both parties are going to come under enormous pressures in the coming period.
Terrified by the growing strike, the TUC general council decided that the only way to calm things was an unconditional surrender. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, they went to Downing Street hat-in-hand, prepared for any humiliation to keep the situation from running out of their control.
Dark clouds began to gather on 11 May, as the strike entered its eighth day. At noon a government spokesman stated that “without being unduly optimistic, the tide has turned.” They knew that, with the connivance of the TUC leaders, the strike would soon be over.
While ordinary households are once again being forced to foot the bill for capitalist chaos, the ruling-class parasites are making a killing through speculation and profiteering. We include a letter on the crisis facing Birmingham Jewellery Quarter.
Only now, on the seventh day of the General Strike, did the TUC leadership bring out its “second line” of workers, who came out enthusiastically. For the TUC leadership, the movement was threatening to move far beyond their control.
Determination remained high among the workers on day six of the General Strike. The same could not be said for their weakening leadership. The TUC was now actively working with the government to call off the strike, but the miners were refusing to accept defeat.
Nationalists. Populists. Insurgents. Independents. None of the above. These were the assorted winners of yesterday’s May elections. The losers? Labour, the Tories, and the two-party system. We are entering into a new era of heightened instability: economically, politically, and socially.
On day five of the Strike, Prime Minister Baldwin gave the first emergency radio broadcast to the country, where he warned: “I am a man of peace… but I will not surrender the safety and the security of the British Constitution”. This pressure was acutely felt by the TUC leaders.
In this issue’s installment of ‘bastard bosses of the week’, readers of The Communist discuss organising in the charity sector, corner-cutting managers, William Hill redundancies, and more!
The fourth day of the strike saw the trade union leaders continue their attempts to do secret deals with the government to end the strike. While the TUC appealed for calm, the workers were left to lead the struggle themselves.
Last weekend, the RCP held its Third Congress: a milestone for the party, filled with vibrant political discussion. This inspirational event will set the tone for our next step forward, as we strive to reach 1,500 members in our ‘wipe out the Epstein class’ campaign.
By the third day of the General Strike both sides had started to accept the reality of the struggle. Workers could feel their strength, and could see that the government was at its wits’ end. But their leaders were desperate to reach a settlement.