News and analysis

British Gas delared record £571m profits this year. Regulator Ofgem has
claimed the energy giants are making £9 billion in windfall profits. As
soon as the government talks about a windfall profits tax or even
suggests these monster companies do something about ‘fuel poverty’ they
threaten to cut investment in clean energy. As Julia Finch (Guardian
5th March) says "Their audacity knows no bounds." Do we control them or
do they control us and the government? The case is overwhelming. We need
to take back the fuel companies into public ownership. Then we’ll pocket
the profits

The government has finally been forced to nationalise Northern Rock after months of dithering. They have wasted more than £55 billion of our money – to no purpose. The ‘geniuses’ who ran the Rock as a capitalist bank made a total hash of it and lost billions of pounds of other people’s money. It’s not just the bank’s management who stand indicted. The whole capitalist system is shown to be based on swindling and gambling.

This British perspectives draft document (2008), agreed on February
3rd, has been issued by the Socialist Appeal editorial board as part of
a wide-ranging discussion about the likely development of events in
British society. Such a document is not a blue-print, but an attempt to
understand the underlying processes at work in Britain today, and how
these will be reflected in the class struggle. The document will be
discussed at the Socialist Appeal conference at the end of April. Part 1. Part 2.

Spongers, Scroungers and
Scum. These are just three of the many words used by the tabloids in describing the 2.7 million people on incapacity benefits. Recent figures show that 1.2 million of the 2.7
million people on incapacity benefits are unable to work due to mental health
problems. The rising number of claimants who suffer from mental disorders is a
reflection of a service-dominated economy.

This British perspectives draft document (2008), agreed on February
3rd, has been issued by the Socialist Appeal editorial board as part of
a wide-ranging discussion about the likely development of events in
British society. Such a document is not a blue-print, but an attempt to
understand the underlying processes at work in Britain today, and how
these will be reflected in the class struggle. The document will be
discussed at the Socialist Appeal conference at the end of April. Part 1.

This British perspectives draft document (2008), agreed on February 3rd, has been issued by the Socialist Appeal editorial board as part of a wide-ranging discussion about the likely development of events in British society. Such a document is not a blue-print, but an attempt to understand the underlying processes at work in Britain today, and how these will be reflected in the class struggle. The document will be discussed at the Socialist Appeal conference at the end of April.