George Osborne and the Tories are pushing for local councils to join together to form regional combined authorities, which will be given powers and responsibilities for budgets, investment…and for cuts. Darrall Cozens, President of the Coventry Trades Council, analyses the real interests that lie behind these latest Tory plans.
The vote on the Tories’ welfare reform bill, which would see £12 billion cut from the welfare budget, has revealed the depths of servility to which the Blairite leaders of the Labour Party like Harriet Harman are prepared to stoop. At the same time, it has highlighted the contrast between the Blairite leadership candidates and Corbyn.
The UNISON Labour Link National Committee meets on July 29th and will discuss the Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections. This is an important meeting, which will determine the way in which one of Britain’s most important unions fights back against the Tories and austerity.
After a week of frothing at the mouth, the New Labour acolytes have finally called forward their Messiah to try and push back the surging Corbyn tide. But so hated is Blair, that his intervention will have the opposite effect to that intended, pushing more voters towards Jeremy’s anti-austerity campaign.
Unite’s recent rules conference marks a step forward for the union, which voted to support Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader and to back illegal action taken by workers fighting against the cuts. Luke Wilson of Unite London ITC branch explains the challenges ahead for Britain’s largest union.
On Monday, a massacre took place in the district of Suruç in southern Turkey. A massive blast ripped through a meeting of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) gathered at the Amara Culture Centre. We offer our deepest solidarity to the socialist youth of Turkey, who are courageously fighting against reactionary forces in the region.
A grotesque humanitarian disaster looms large as the conflagration and mayhem ravages the Middle East. The number of people fleeing the civil war just in Syria has now surpassed four million, according to the UN refugee agency. Only a socialist revolution can cleanse the region of all violence, imperialism, sectarianism and reaction.
Last week, the long-awaited nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers was signed. This brings to an end more than three decades of harsh economic sanctions imposed on Iran by US imperialism and marks a complete defeat of the US strategy of intimidation, blackmail and coercion of Iran.
To the shock and surprise of the Blairites, Jeremy Corbyn has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to become the next leader of the Labour Party. The right-wing are now hell-bent on doing everything they can to prevent Corbyn from winning. These professional politicians are completely out of touch and cannot understand why Jeremy’s anti-austerity message is so popular.
Lawyers of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) this week voted in favour of industrial action that will effectively bring the court system to a standstill. This is the latest move and a significant escalation in the fight against government cuts to legal aid, amounting to 8.75% – enough to put many small firms and self-employed barristers out of business completely.
The bankers and capitalists of Europe have stamped their iron heel down on the people of Greece. Even the representatives of capital now recognise the revolutionary mood that is developing across Europe. The latest events in Greece prove above all else that there is no way out of the crisis on a capitalist basis. The only alternative to austerity is socialism.
A new Tory Government was never going to mean a new era of peace and harmony, especially under the social and economic conditions prevailing today. The new anti-union legislation, announced by Tory business secretary Sajid Javid, represents a full frontal attack on the labour movement. The trade union leaders must begin the fight back against the Tories now.