On 9-10th March, junior doctors across England went on strike for the third time this year, taking action for 48-hours in defence of their terms and conditions – and the wider NHS also. The task now is to broaden the struggle. The labour movement leaders need to turn this into a fight aimed at bringing down the Tory government.
Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – discusses the significance of the Sanders movement, the political earthquake in American politics, and the radical change that is taking place in the consciousness of workers and youth in the USA.
After being initially denied membership of the Labour Party, two of Britain’s left-wing trade union leaders have been allowed to join the party this month. This is indicative of the shifting balance of power within the party, which is bolstering Corbyn’s position. Nevertheless, deep divisions in the party still remain.
The changes to junior doctors contracts are the result of the crisis of capitalism that dramatically came to the surface in 2008 and that has not been resolved since. NHS staff are now at the forefront of the fight against the cuts. Only through united action across the board can we defend the NHS and end austerity.
Jeremy Corbyn’s statement in favour of the decriminalisation of prostitution last week once again brought the wrath of the Parliamentary Labour Party against him. Right-wing female Labour MPs have hypocritically used this issue as another opportunity to strike a blow against Corbyn.
In her campaign to receive the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, Hillary Clinton has tried to portray herself as a defender of women’s rights. Many young women and men in the U.S., however, can see right through the smoke and mirrors, and recognise Clinton as a member of the increasingly hated establishment.
8th March marks International Women’s Day, originally founded over a century ago by socialists to remember the struggles of working class women. Today, we are still a long way from achieving equality between the sexes in the workplace; and with the onset of the crisis in 2008 things have only gotten worse.
In advance of the latest round of strike action by the junior doctors, we publish here a letter by NHS staff and students who call for maximum unity in the fight against the Tories’ attacks. In addition, we publish a motion calling on the Labour Party to show their full support for the junior doctors’ struggle.
Mass enthusiasm and interest in the Bernie Sanders campaign has swept the entire planet. The political pendulum, which had swung so far to the right, is beginning to swing dramatically in the opposite direction, reflecting the deep-seated discontent that has been slowly but surely percolating beneath the surface.
Over 500 students have pledged to join the indefinite rent strike declared last month by 150 students at University College London. The extension of the strike increases the amount of rent withheld to over £1,000,000, a figure set to rise as students continue to sign up to the strike.
This year’s Young Labour conference comes in the wake of the transformation in the Labour Party that began with the election of Jeremy Corbyn. The overall picture of the conference confirms that there has been a shift to the left in the Labour Party and its youth organisation. Now is the time to put socialism back on the agenda.
In the fifth and final part of his series looking at the Marxist view of history, Alan Woods explains the significance of the Russian Revolution as the first attempt of humanity to break free from class society, and outlines the possible futures for society: socialism or barbarism.