The latest news, analysis, and Marxist theory from The Communist, alongside reports of RCP activity.
While the Great and Good were busy spending our
money on the Royal Wedding, low-paid cleaners at Buckingham Palace were
fighting to increase their meagre wages to something like a decent level. Sign
the petition in their support.
The arrest
in Venezuela of Colombian political refugee Joaquín Pérez Becerra and
his hand over to the Colombian authorities by the government of
president Chávez has raised deeper questions about the strategy of the
Venezuelan revolution.
The
political landscape of Canada has changed, potentially in an irrevocable
way. The Liberal Party, formerly Canada’s “natural governing party”,
has been reduced to a rump of 34 seats, having received only 19% of the
vote. The separatist Bloc Quebecois, which has dominated Quebec since
the party’s foundation 20 years ago, has been swept aside by the NDP’s
“orange wave” and has been left with only four seats. The New Democratic
Party, Canada’s labour party, has leapt into second place with a
record-breaking 102 seats, and 31% of the vote.
“A middle-aged nonentity, a
political failure outstripped by history – by the millions of Arabs
demanding freedom and democracy in the Middle East – died in Pakistan
yesterday. And then the world went mad.” (Robert Fisk, 3 May, 2011)
As
advanced capitalist countries embark on austerity programs, cutting
spending on health care, education, increasing tuition fees, etc.
Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution has massively increased spending in
health care, created hundreds of thousands of free university places and
stood up to the pressures of imperialism. Come to the HOV conference in London on Sat 21st May.
On Friday 29 April the people of
Britain will be invited to participate in the joyful celebration of the
marriage of Mr. William Windsor and Ms. Catherine Middleton. At the same
time that the government is cutting billions from unnecessary
extravagances such as hospitals, schools, teachers, nurses, the old and
the sick, the unemployed and single parents, the Coalition has had the
good sense to spend a lot of money on something as essential to the
Public Good as the nuptials of Willy and Kate.
The Syrian revolution has taken a
significant and possibly key turn today after what has been a very
bloody week. As thousands of protesters once again took to the streets,
the regime has unleashed the most barbaric repression, no doubt gambling
on the idea that total repression can stop the movement. But cracks are
now appearing within the armed forces.
Last month a local newspaper in Rotherham published a rant from a
Tory councillor about the causes of the current crisis and Labour’s role
in all this. What he had to say doesn’t matter. What was interesting
was the flurry of letters which appeared a week later in reply. Nearly
all put the blame firmly on the backs of the Tories and their system. A
number also called for Labour to change course politically.
This
year’s national sellers conference of ‘Socialist Appeal’ was held in London on the
weekend of April 16th and 17th. Supporters from all over Britain, from Aberdeen
to Torbay, came together against the backdrop of a year of class struggle and
revolution in Britain and internationally. Without doubt, the conference marked
a new period in the development of the Marxist voice.
Saturday 26th March 2011 marked a watershed point for the modern Labour
Party. The Trade Union Congress had called for workers, students,
pensioners and all those affected by the coalition cuts to converge on
the capital. The question was: would Labour show up to the party too?
As Socialist Appeal reported in its last issue, since the call for a
National School Student Union (NSSU) was launched earlier this year we
have had quite a response and on the basis of this we helped to organise
a meeting on Friday 15th April, which was an enormous success.