Ted Grant: The Permanent Revolutionary
We present here a video recording of the book launch of Ted Grant: The Permanent Revolutionary, in which Alan Woods gives an account of Ted’s struggle for and his contribution to the ideas of Marxism.
News and analysis
The latest news, analysis, and Marxist theory from The Communist, alongside reports of RCP activity.
Attacks on childcare expose coalition weakness
The concept of a coalition government lends itself towards instability and is somewhat problematic for the ruling class. But this becomes twofold in a period of economic crisis where the traditional party of the bosses has been unable to do its job of winning an outright majority. Rachel Gibbs looks at the latest attacks from the Tory-led government, which demonstrate the weakness of the coalition.
Will longer school hours benefit educational standards?
Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove’s latest broadside against teachers is that our children and young people need shorter holidays and longer school days. He believes that we should learn from Asian countries and promote in our schools a culture of “working harder.” But is the British educational system actually broken? And in whose interest are these proposals really being made? Sion Reynolds of the teaching union NASUWT looks at the suggested changes in education.
Bangladesh: Savar tragedy shows the real face of growth under capitalism
We publish here a recent article on the tragedy at Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building in the town of Savar in Bangladesh that housed five garment factories and thousands of garment workers, which collapsed a couple of weeks ago. At the time that the article was written, over 500 had died as a result of this collapse. Latest estimates for the death toll are now over 1,000 and the Bangladeshi army are still searching through the rubble for survivors. Adam Pal looks at the horrific effects of capitalism in Bangladesh.
Tory attack on legal aid: lawyers must organise and strike
The Tory Minister for Justice, Chris Grayling, has recently published proposals to completely re-organise the way people facing criminal investigations or allegations get legal advice and representation at police stations and the courts. If these proposals are pushed through, it will amount to the biggest attack on the rights of working class people to free and independent legal advice that this country has ever seen. Mark French, a legal aid solicitor in London, analyses the latest attack on democratic rights.
Tories divided: Lord Lawson calls for British EU exit
In an article featured in The Times newspaper recently, former Tory chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson called for Britain to exit the European Union. This adds to the mounting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron, and it reveals the deep rifts developing within the Tory party at all levels. Ben Peck analyses the latest tensions inside the Tories.
Hands Off Venezuela conference – defend the Bolivarian revolution; respect democracy!
Over 50 activists, trade unionists, youth and Latin American activists, met in London on 4th May to discuss about the legacy of Hugo Chávez and the challenges facing the Bolivarian revolution. The meeting reaffirmed our rejection of the opposition claims of electoral fraud and renewed our commitment to defend the democratically expressed will of the Venezuelan people to elect Nicolás Maduro as president.
250 march against austerity in Hull
On May 4th around 250 workers and youth marched through Hull city centre as part of Hull TUC’s May Day celebrations. The march doubled as a protest against the austerity of the coalition government, and was led by the Labour councillors in Hull who are defying the cuts and providing an inspiration to the entire labour movement. Callum Stanland reports.
University of London Union facing abolition: student movement must fight back
University of London Union (ULU), a body representing over 120,000 students from almost 20 colleges in London, is facing dissolution after a decision taken at a University of London (UoL) Collegiate Council meeting on the morning of Friday 3rd May. This attack on the democratic structures and campaigning organisations of London students must be fought.
Glasgow May Day 2013
Saturday 4th May saw thousands march in the annual Glasgow May Day demonstration. A proud tradition in the home of ‘Red Clydeside’, the demonstration brings activists together in celebration of International Workers’ Day. Rachel Gibbs and Michael Allan of the Glasgow Marxists report on the recent Glasgow May Day 2013 celebrations.
Local elections show opposition to the Coalition: Labour needs socialist policies!
With a fair number of the 2013 local election results now in, it is clear that the Tories and their partners-in-crime the Lib Dems have had another bad night at the polls. The mainstream media are focussing on “the rise of UKIP”. These election results reflect a continuing mood of opposition to the way things have been going under this government. The solution for Labour is not to pander to the anti-immigrant rhetoric of UKIP, but to put forward a bold socialist programme
Increasing tensions between nations reveal growing problems for the ruling class
The epoch of the Cold War and the relative stability between two major super powers is long gone. The capitalist crisis and shrinking markets have forced the different national capitalist classes to use each of their individual state apparatuses in a fierce competition over markets, raw materials and control of the major trading routes. But such manoeuvres do not come cheap, and it is the working class that is expected to pay the bill.