Saturday 26th July saw another wave of protests in Britain against the military aggression of the Israeli state, who have continued their criminal attacks on the innocent people of Gaza. We publish here brief reports of two of the demonstrations in the UK from Socialist Appeal supporters in London and Newcastle.
Once again, the whole British Establishment is mired in deep scandal. Whilst the most vulnerable in society are under attack from this millionaire’s government, the Establishment has been able to get away with murder, safe from prying eyes. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal looks at how, under capitalism, there is one law for the rich and another for working class people.
On Saturday 19th July, tens of thousands gathered outside 10 Downing Street and marched to the Israeli embassy in London to protest against the Israeli government’s military attacks on Gaza, which escalated last week with a ground invasion by the Israeli military. The mood amongst demonstrators was one of emotion and militancy, reflecting the intense feelings of anger and injustice towards the criminal attacks of the Israeli army.
The High Court this week ruled that proposed Tory cuts to legal aid are unlawful and discriminatory. The scale of austerity needed to keep capitalism afloat can barely be carried out within the framework of bourgeois democracy. Even bourgeois judges are being forced by the basic principles of bourgeois democracy to oppose the Tories’ attempts to make the poorest pay for the crisis of capitalism.
The July 10th public sector strike will be a significant step forward for the labour movement in Britain, with possibly up to two million workers participating. It has been dubbed by the press as a “mini general strike”. The task for the labour movement now is to ensure that the continued fight back against the hated coalition government is united throughout Britain.
Teresa May, the Tory Home Secretary, has announced that there will be a government inquiry into the possible political cover-up of child abuse in the 1980s. But no amount of inquiries or investigations will be able to repair the public’s trust in the Establishment, which has reached rock-bottom levels after years of seemingly endless scandals amongst those at the top of society.
Converted garden sheds, industrial outbuildings and domestic garages are now common features in London’s housing market. They are the symptoms of London’s housing crisis, demonstrating that capitalism exploits every angle and turns a profit out of the most soulless conditions.
By all accounts, Labour should be miles ahead in the opinion polls as more and more people turn against this coalition government of the rich. But Labour is now only a few points ahead of the Tories with just ten months to go before the next general election. Without a bold socialist programme, Rob Sewell argues, Labour are heading for disaster.
The phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World (NotW) newspaper brought to the surface the real state of things within the British establishment. Ben Gliniecki discusses the verdicts for Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks that, three years later, have only further highlighted the web of scandal amongst the papers, police, and politicans.
Why is it that, in recent times, many young Muslims are turning towards a radical and political version of Islam? This apparent growth in religious fervour is a reflection of the deep-seated political disaffection of Asian Muslim communities in Britain and Europe – a result of the state of political siege in which many Muslims find themselves.
Conor Burns, a backbench Tory MP, has attacked the charity Oxfam for being too “political” its criticism of government austerity policies and the poverty they have created. Ben Gliniecki looks at the contradiction of charities, which on the one hand were to be a vital part of the Coalition’s “Big Society”, but which on the other hand are being pushed to draw radical conclusions due to the conditions in society.
UKIP-mania has swept Britain, or rather, its chattering classes. UKIP are being presented as a new “fourth force” in British politics. But, as Daniel Morley explains, Farage’s party are riddled with contradictions that will lead to its support falling as fast as it has risen.