In the second part of our article on the 1944 apprentices’ strike, we publish a short question and answer session between Socialist Appeal supporters and Bill Landles, dealing with the Worker’s International League and its involvement in the apprentices’ strike, and the trial which followed.
26th October 2013 marks the 89th birthday of comrade Bill Landles, a longstanding supporter of Socialist Appeal whose activity goes right back to the days of the Revolutionary Communist Party during the Second World War, where he played a role in the apprentices’ strikes. To celebrate Bill’s birthday, we are publishing (in two parts) a transcript of a speech by Bill on the apprentices’ strikes of 1944.
The recent announcement by Ed Miliband that Labour would freeze energy prices for 20 months if elected in 2015 has clearly struck a chord with ordinary people. Adam Booth looks at the facts behind the energy companies in Britain and examines whether Labour’s latest policy commitment is enough to tackle the problem of unaffordable energy.
Michael Noonan’s Budget 2014 will take a further €2.5bn out of the Irish economy; in other words a figure of around €600 for every man, woman and child in the state. It is evident also that as anticipated the losers are the old, the sick and the young unemployed. Tony Healy reports on the latest round of austerity in Ireland.
The bosses at Grangemouth oil refinery have taken the decision to close the petrochemical plant plant in the face of workers resistance to their blackmail attempts. This attack must not be taken lying down. Tam Burke discusses the background to the Grangemouth closure and the resultant estimated 800 job losses.
We publish here a letter from John Dunn, former miner and current supporter of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, who – in light of news that the police lied in the “Plebgate” saga regarding comments made by Andrew Mitchell MP – explains the case of the miners at Orgreave in 1984 that were far greater victims of false police allegations.
With probation officers in England and Wales last week voting to strike over plans to privatise the probation service, we publish here an article by Steve Brown of the Northumberland UNISON, Police and Justice Service Group (personal capacity), written before the strike vote, which analyses the issues behind the strike.
We publish here an article by Stamatis Karayannopoulos, member of the Communist Tendency in SYRIZA in Greece and member of the SYRIZA Central Committee. This article was written before the arrests of the leadership of Golden Dawn. However, the analysis it contains regarding the Golden Dawn – a neo-fascist organisation in Greece – has been absolutely confirmed by the subsequent events.
Keith Henderson, Essex Labour Party member and former Regional Organiser of the GMB Union, was dismissed from the GMB last December. Keith has always believed that the real reason for his dismissal was because of his socialist beliefs and the manifestation of his beliefs, something that has recently been proved in an Employment Tribunal.
For 16 days, the world waited with bated breath as the US government was shut down and teetered on the brink of default. At the eleventh hour, a deal was rammed through both the Senate and the House and signed by Obama, thus averting the immediate crisis. What is the meaning of all this? What are the ramifications for American politics and the capitalist system itself? John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA reports.
Students coming to London this year face an unprecedented attack on their education. Ever since the Tories and Liberals trebled fees to £9,000 in 2010, we have seen university funding continually rolled back and the costs of student living soar. Guy Howie of the UCLU Marxists looks at the encrouching privatisation in student life.
The strength of feeling among teachers can be seen in the magnificent turnout for the regional strikes that took place this month on October 1st and 17th. Teachers in the NUT and NAS/UWT, representing 90 per cent of teachers, have come out en masse, with the result that thousands of schools have been closed for the day. John Pickard of the Essex NUT looks at the issues behind the latest strikes.