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In Southern Ireland the
economic miracle is well and truly over. As we have predicted and explained for
some time now, the Celtic Tiger phenomenon did not mean that capitalism had
solved any of its contradictions. Now in the context of a declining world market
the only road open to the bosses to protect their profits will be an assault on
workers living standards.

The cornerstone of a freedom established almost 800 years ago is now
under threat from a Labour government. The latest reactionary piece of
legislation hands power to the Home Secretary of the day to hold those
he claims to be suspected terrorists under house arrest indefinitely.

Thousands of workers gathered in Coventry (UK) at the end of November
to protest against the closure of the Jaguar plant in Brown’s Lane with
a projected loss of 1150 jobs. From the December issue of Socialist
Appeal.

The ongoing conflict between the management of An Post (the Irish state
run postal services) and the Communication Worker’s Union (CWU) may end
up with 1,450 workers losing their jobs, the reduction of workers’
incomes, and the subcontracting of deliveries of mail in rural areas,
if the CWU doesn’t stand up against these attacks.

Following the announcement of an unprecedented offensive by the
government on its own employees in the civil service the PCS (Public
and Commercial Services Union) is mobilising its entire membership to
take the government head on.

The Blair government is putting the lessons it has learned in Iraq to
good use in attacking workers at home. They have unleashed a campaign
of shock and awe against their own workers in the civil service.

GM Europe makers of Vauxhall (Opel) announced this month that they are
planning to cut 12,000 workers across the continent – the equivalent to
20% of the European workforce. They are carrying through these attacks
to put them back into profit.

The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) held its first rally last
night at this year’s Labour Party Conference in Brighton attended by
some 250 activists. This successful event marks an important milestone
in the challenge to Blairism and the campaign to reclaim the Labour
Party. Alan Woods was among the speakers.

Alan Woods was invited officially to speak at the LRC rally. Here we provide the text of the whole speech.

The Blair government is facing serious difficulties. It cannot convince
the trade unions that its pro-big business policies, its continued
privatisation of public assets are in the interests of the working
class. Brown tried to make up for this by hinting that in some way he
might be “old Labour”. In reality there is no fundamental difference
between the two.

Has British capitalism finally overcome what used to be called the
British disease: slower growth, higher inflation, continual currency crises
and a falling behind in living standards compared with the US, Europe and
Japan? Growth figures actually disguise a far more diseased system that the
media would like us to see.

The Annual Conference of the SSP (Scottish Socialist Party) meets this weekend
to discuss a draft manifesto for the European elections and debate other issues
against the background of the recent events in Spain. Despite the successes over
the past period there is a growing unrest in the party over the reformist and
nationalist drift of the leadershp. The road of nationalism and reformism offers no way forward for the working
class in Scotland or elsewhere. The struggle for socialism is international or
it is nothing. We must learn the lessons of the past so that we may prepare for
the future