News and analysis

The economic
crash following the so-called ‘credit crunch’ has caused property prices to
nose dive since their peak in 2007. This has led to property developers and
house builders to “retard” their construction projects. The colossal drop in
land prices has served to further irritate this problem because house builders,
who bought land during the peak, have chosen not to build on them yet until,
when they hope, property prices rise again. Also they do not wish to sell the
land due to the massive reduction in its value. 

Workers at the Lindsey Oil refinery site have been demonstrating
over redundancies and sackings made by Total, the multinational company that
owns Lindsey, and contractor Shaws. Nearly 650 workers were given their cards
by a management determined to break the union. In a show of equal
determination, workers on other sites around the country have been coming out
in solidarity.

The
unprecedented European and local government electoral advances for the BNP in
the north of England has seen many on the British Left thrown into disarray,
anger and disgust. Whilst all these responses may seem understandable, similar
emotional reactions can be seen present in the organised left’s response to the
BNP, which are characterised by an abject failure to understand the nature of
the BNP or to answer it politically in a meaningful way. As the initial
reaction dissipates it is time that those who are serious about stopping the
BNP recognise the failures of the recent campaign and the need for a response
based around the mobilisation of the working class; it is now clear that we can
rely on no one but ourselves to smash the forces of the far right.

The political crisis in Britain that emerged through the MP expenses
scandal has accelerated the crisis in the Labour party. Last week
ministers resigned from Gordon Brown’s cabinet, severely undermining what
little authority New Labour had left. In the european elections New Labour
has suffered it’s worst election result in history, losing areas like
Wales and Scotland for the first time since 1918. The BNP has emerged with
2 MEPs. Hear more at these meetings