Uncategorised articles from The Communist archives.
This latest of Ken Loach’s films is well crafted and well
thought. It has been thoroughly researched and really gets under the surface of
the processes and the events that helped shape the current situation on the island of Ireland.
On the eve of Unison Conference we are publishing here articles from
the latest edition of Socialist Appeal which deal with some of the
questions facing delegates and activists. Unison has a vital role to
play in the struggle to defend pensions, against the attacks launched
by the government on the welfare state (and the NHS in particular), and
for socialist policies in the labour movement. The conference will also
discuss solidarity with Venezuela, an issue being raised by members of
Hands Off Venezuela in the union.
Thirty delegates and visitors from the national conference of the
Communication Workers Union attended the very first Hands Off
Venezuela fringe meeting, held on Monday lunchtime in windswept
Bournemouth. The day before, the 250,000-strong union, which organises
both postal and telecommunications workers in Britain, had unanimously agreed to
support the Venezuelan Revolution and also affiliate nationally to HOV.
In Blackpool over the May Day Bank holiday, the British shop workers’
union USDAW, representing some 330,000 workers, passed a resolution
unanimously supporting the Venezuelan Revolution and affiliating to the
Hands Off Venezuela Campaign.
This year’s rally was bigger than usual with thousands of workers taking part from many different unions, but there was a contradiction between some of the moderate speeches of the leaders and the real problems faced by the workers facing the onslaught of the bosses.
A successful meeting was held at the University of East Anglia on March 27, where Fred Weston outlined the ideas of Socialist Appeal and Marxist.com. Many of those taking part showed a keen interest in finding out more about Marxism and getting actively involved.
We publish this article by Alon Lessel in Israel on the recent suspension of Ken Livingstone by the unelected Adjudication Panel. Since writing this article last week, the High Court has blocked Livingstone’s suspension allowing him time to prepare his appeal.
PUBLIC MEETING: Tuesday 28th February @ 7.30pm, Posties Club, Brunswick Street (Off Leith Walk). Speaker: Rob Sewell, National Steering Committee of Hands Off Venezuela and Editorial Board of Socialist Appeal. All Welcome to a public debate about the Venezuelan Revolution and Socialism in the 21st Century and what it means for socialists here in Edinburgh. CONTACT US BY E-MAIL TO scotland [(at]) socialist.net or to SA PO BOX 17299, EH12 1WS, Edinburgh