Uncategorised articles from The Communist archives.
The decision to readmit London Mayor Ken Livingstone back into the Labour Party has came as
no surprise to anybody. A third Labour victory at the next general election is no longer the certainty
many once though it was. Only through a socialist programme alongside a fighting
leadership, rather than the pro-big business bunch we have at present, can a
Labour victory be assured and the hopes of the Tories and the rest be ground to
dust.
With the media frenzy over tuition fees and the Hutton report, you can be
forgiven for not noticing the launch in the same week of a new British political
party called simply RESPECT. The launching of RESPECT, also known as the Unity Coalition, was the brainchild
of a layer of people disillusioned with Blair who wanted to form a left
alternative to New Labour.
In response to Alan Woods’ review of "Strike- When Britain Went to War",
we are publishing this article by a Comrade who played a major role in the
printers’ struggle that carried on from the miners’ strike.
Once again Tony Blair
and the Labour Cabinet are prepared to take on the wider labour movement and its
own natural supporters in imposing the unpopular policy of top-up university
fees. Will they get away with it this time?
Voters in the north of Ireland have delivered their verdict on the
Stormont Assembly. As we have consistently explained the Good Friday
Agreement, and the institutions of devolution associated with it, could
never begin to solve the problems facing ordinary working people no
matter what their background. Indeed the divide between Catholics and
Protestants has never been wider. The election result itself
demonstrates a further polarisation in the shape of Paisley’s DUP
becoming the main Unionist Party, while Sinn Fein overtook the SDLP as
the main Nationalist party.
Following last months unofficial strike action by postal workers
management seem to have been put temporarily onto the back foot. This
is in marked contrast to the period following the recent narrow
rejection of a national strike over pay and conditions. At that time,
Royal Mail management could not conceal their pleasure. Cockey
jumped-up managers all over the country engaged in a new offensive
against the workforce. Top managers were bragging that they had the
full support of the government, the DTI and Patricia Hewitt in
particular.
Socialist Appeal’s deputy editor, Rob Sewell, interviewed Mick
Rix, the former general secretary of ASLEF and instigator of the new Labour
Representation Committee, about his views and prospects of reclaiming the Labour
Party.
A recent interview in the British newspaper, The Times, with a Swiss
rail manager underlines the disastrous effects of privatisation on the
British rail system. He points out that “You have to have a central
command and control”. Blair should listen.
George Galloway, the Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin, was yesterday
expelled from the Labour Party by the three-member National Constitutional
Committee, which is in reality a kangaroo court designed to simply rubber
stamp whatever Blair wants. George Galloway took a clear stand against the
war in Iraq. This is the reason why he was expelled. They had tried to
remove him on the basis of falsified documents “found in Iraq”. As they
were not able to remove him with these, they decided another road.
The Irish Republican movement has been struggling for a united Ireland for
decades. Today it is no nearer this objective than when it was founded. Marxists
understand that a united Ireland can only be achieved on a socialist basis. So
long as capitalism dominates Ireland there will be division and strife.
Therefore it is time to take stock of the past of the Republican movement and to
draw a balance sheet. Only by such means can we build the revolutionary movement
urgently needed to prevent a further descent into sectarian chaos and achieve
instead the historic task of overthrowing capitalism and constructing the 32
county Socialist Republic.
The 2003 Labour Party Conference meets at a critical moment. After six
years of Labour government nothing has been solved for the majority of working
people who look to Labour to tackle the problems they face. Phil
Mitchinson analyses the situation. This article was also published in the
latest issue of the British Socialist Appeal.