The latest news and analysis from The Communist, alongside reports of our activity. For Marxist theory and history, click here.
Pat McDonald reviews Martin Williams’ first publication, Parliament Ltd – an excellent insight into the murky depths of political and institutional corruption that brilliantly exposes the true nature of what goes on behind Westminster walls.
Yesterday, on Wednesday 22nd February, RMT members on Southern rail continued their strike action against job cuts and attacks on health and safety. With ASLEF members now also rejecting a cooked up deal between the bosses and TUC leaders, we will likely see renewed joint action between RMT and ASLEF trade unionists in the coming weeks and months.
Yesterday evening, thousands gathered in cities across the country to protest once more against Trump, against his reactionary programme, and against Theresa May’s Tory government, which has cosied up to the new US President in the hope of a post-Brexit trade deal. The message was loud and clear: Donald Trump is not welcome here!
The spectre of inequality continues to loom across Britain. A new report by the Resolution Foundation notes that conditions are returning to those last seen under Thatcher. With wage freezes and austerity measures continuing to burden the poor and working classes, the gap between top and bottom is ever increasing. Capitalism isn’t working.
The Bolivarian Revolution is at one of its lowest points since President Chávez’s electoral victory in 1998. On top of the defeat in the December 2015 National Assembly elections, the aggravation of the economic situation is impacting the mass of the working people—who are the base and support of the revolution. It is time to draw a serious balance sheet.
Npower, one of the ‘Big Six’ energy companies, has recently announced that it will raise its electricity and gas prices further. Even the Tories have been forced to acknowledge that the “markets aren’t working” when it comes to energy prices. We say: nationalise the energy industry without compensation!
In just under a week, on 23rd February, two by-elections will take place in the constituencies of Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland. With no clear left alternative provided by the Labour Party, UKIP are threatening to eat away at the Labour vote, particularly in Stoke. Kelly and Joe from the Sheffield Marxists examine the factors behind UKIP’s potential success.
The resounding victory for Pablo Iglesias and his list of candidates at the recent Podemos congress, the National Citizens’ Assembly, marks an important development for millions of workers and youth in Spain. At the same time, it represents a defeat for the ruling class, who hid behind the right-wing stance of Íñigo Errejón.
The last decade has seen a sharp rise in profiteering from the building and maintenance of social housing. Although most building projects have concentrated on the upper-end of the market, there has also been some public funding made available for working-class accommodation – a source of easy profits for the private firms involved.
After years of stagnation and struggle under the “Socialist” government of Hollande in France, the establishment parties have been completely discredited and the situation has grown into a full-blown political crisis. The next presidential election, taking place in the next few months, is set to be the most unpredictable in generations.
Sarah Taylor of the Newcastle Marxists looks at a little known strike that took place in Washington, near Sunderland, a centenary ago, when over 1,000 school children took part in a strike to ensure they were provided with free school lunches. Today, school students are again on the front line in the fight against austerity and the broken capitalist system.
With around 500,000 protesters on the streets, the ongoing anti-government protests in Romania have seen the largest number of people involved since the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in 1989. These protests come after a year of rising unrest and political crisis. A mood of anger and resentment has been on the rise. But what is the nature of this movement?