Britain

A report of the Socialist Alliance Conference on December 1st which started with words of unity and ended up with the Socialist Party splitting off.

In the aftermath of September 11, governments around the world have been attempting to rush through legislation which undermines democratic rights, in the name of fighting terrorism. In the UK, Blair is trying to introduce a new law which will allow among other things indefinite imprisonment without trial of foreign nationals.

Report of the demonstration against the war in Afghanistan held in Trafalgar Square on Sunday Novemeber 18.

The demonstration against the war called by the CND on Saturday 13 October in London was much bigger than expected. According to the police there were about 20,000 demonstrators on the march, but this is a gross underestimation. The organisers claimed around 50,000 participated. When the head of the demonstration had reached Trafalgar Square (about three miles away) the tail of the march had not yet left Hyde Park.

The Editorial of next month's Socialist Appeal deals with the economic
effects of the current crisis and the build up to a war against
Afghanistan. It also explains how the right wing leaders of the labour
movement are using the pretext of the "war against terrorism" to
prevent any criticism of their policies regarding privatisation with
the curtailing of the TUC and Labour Party Conferences. This is also
the pretext for the introduction of ID cards and other measures against
civil liberties.

The events in Oldham have hit the national headlines. Similar explosions of racial conflict have taken place in other towns in Britain. This has brought the BNP and the danger from far-right groups back into the spotlight. Bryan Beckingham, Secretary of Oldham National Union of Teachers, and Alan Creear in Oldham describe the background to these developments.

This statement by the Editorial Board of the
Socialist Appeal
analyses the situation in Britain today. It looks at Britain within the
context
of world economic and political developments and
analyses how these affect the British trade union movement, the
Labour Party, the youth and outlines the
perspectives for the coming period and poses the tasks of Marxists
today.

Over the past weeks the news has been dominated by the story of
yet another crisis in farming. The rapid
spreading of the food and mouth epidemic in Britain is a direct
consequence of capitalist farming
methods.

We hear a lot about the Third Way these days. But
does this represent anything new or
is it just the socialdemocrats recognising that there is no
longer any room for manouvre?
Barbara Humphries looks at where these ideas come from
and what do they really mean.

This is supposed to be, as the media are forever telling us,
the people’s game, our World
Cup, etc., etc. But we have little or no say in it. We generate
the passion but all the
officials see are the buckets of cash. The governing bodies
of football, both national and
international, are remote, out of touch and above all
travesties of democracy. So long as
big business and the multi-nationals control the game and
shape it in their interests,
this will continue to be the reality of things. The fightback
should start now, starting
with the grassroots supporters groups, to ensure that fans
have a say in the game,
alongside the players and coaches, and that big business is
given the red card.