{Video} Hicks/Holmes Press Conference
A joint press conference by Jerry Hicks and Paul Holmes was held in London on Thursday. Click here to watch a video of Jerry speaking.
Scotland: Don’t blame us, we voted Labour
It was one of the surest things in British politics: when an election
comes around, no matter the national trend, Scotland will always vote
Labour. But with the SNP managing to form a minority government,
winning one more seat than Labour in the 2007 Scottish Parliament
election, and then their shock by-election victory in Glasgow east in
2008 it seemed, to some, that the Scottish working class was switching
their allegiances.
The Cleggameron Coalition comes to power. The New Labour era ends.
David Cameron has been crowned. After days of torturous
negotiations, the Tories have finally cobbled together a “principled” deal with
the Liberal Democrats “in the national interest”. Cameron is now Prime
Minister, with Nick Clegg his ever-so-thankful Deputy PM. Five cabinet posts
are to be given to the Liberal Democrats to cement together this unholy
coalition, the first coalition in 70 years, since Churchill formed the war-time
government. Gleggameron is upon us!
Venezuela: Sharpening contradictions between left and right of the PSUV
A decisive battle has been going on within the PSUV in Venezuela, a
battle over who are to be the parliamentary candidates for the party in
the elections later this year. The left have been fighting an unequal
battle, where more right-wing candidates have had much more resources
and official backing locally than candidates who genuinely represent
the workers and poor. It is a key battle in the Venezuelan revolution.
Britain’s contradictory election results – Unstable situation opens up
As a new Tory/Liberal coalition takes office – in reality an accomodation of two capitalist parties – on a programme of austerity and attacks on the public sector, we look back at the lessons of the election and what it means for the Labour and trade union movement. (Photo – Flickr)
IRELAND: Draft Bill is a threat to the Trade Union Movement in the North
BELFAST: The
Draft Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill which is ostensibly
designed to create a framework for resolving the question of
controversial parades and demonstrations, especially during the
marching season is generating opposition from workers in the North
because of its implications for Trade union and political
demonstrations organised by the Trade Union Movement and protests
against the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as community protests
such as anti racist demonstrations like those that took place last year
on the Lisburn Road after the racist attacks in Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue.
Significant victory at Severs
Severfield Reeve workers in Yorkshire have won a significant concession in their struggle
Inequality: End Of Term Report
In 1999, the government set a target of eradicating child poverty
within a generation and of halving child poverty by 2010. Progress has
been made and (according to a government report ‘Ending child poverty:
everybody’s business’) 600,000 children have been taken out of relative
poverty, and absolute poverty has fallen by 1.8 million to less than
half the 1998-99 level. But many children still live in poverty and
this is unacceptable. (Photo – flckr)
After the election: the crisis and the tasks of the labour movement
Who has won the election? Everybody has lost. The ruling class was
quite clear what it wanted and needed. There is a crisis. They need to
unload the burden of the crisis on to the backs of the working class.
To achieve that they needed a strong majority Conservative government
ready and willing to put the boot in to jobs and public services. The
election hasn’t delivered it. Here is the editorial from the new issue of Socialist Appeal.
After The election: Government Of Austerity
The 2010 general election has produced the result that the ruling class were dreading: a hung parliament. With one seat to declare, no party has a working majority. So the dirty dealing begins…
May 6th: Election Day!
Thursday 6th May. Election Day. After weeks of campaigning the opinion
polls suggest that the result is still too close to call. Of course,
the polls could be wrong as they were in 1970 and more recently in
1992. But one thing is clear – no one is looking forward to whoever
forms the next government with much optimism.
The myth of the “lazy Greek workers”
Since the crisis in Greece has hit
the headlines there have appeared in the bourgeois media many stories
about how Greece has too many civil servants, how the working week is
very short, how people retire early on fat pensions, and so on, as if
this were the cause of the crisis. Facts and figures, however, can be
very stubborn things and they tell a completely different story.