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The Deficit, the Councils, the Unions and the Tories

It was only a few months ago that public anger against the banks and an
unprecedented crisis of capitalism seemed to have an almost
revolutionary tone. Public consciousness and official opinion seemed to
have shifted decisively to the left. Yet this rage seems not to have
effected any political change at all and somehow the public debate
(i.e. the editorial line of the press and the rest of the media) has
swung far to the right. But the anger and opposition to bank bailouts
has not disappeared.

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Youth unemployment – nearly at the million mark

Figures published today (Wed) show a continuing rise in UK unemployment,
hiting 2.47 million as at the end of August. This figure is supposed to
be lower than expected – indicating that the recession is coming to an
end – but for those involved it is still high enough – not least for the youth!

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A nasty Turner for the worse

Lord Adair Turner is head of the UK’s Financial
Services Authority, the body in charge of regulating the banks and other
financial institutions. Some weeks ago, he was interviewed
by Prospect magazine, a small mouthpiece of the Blairite wing of New Labour.  In that interview, Lord Turner blurted out a
telling truth about finance capital that its proponents did not want to
hear. The reaction  from
financiers has been apoplectic.

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Ireland: Wilted Greens and Lame Duck

The
Green Party in Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to support the new proposals that
their leadership has negotiated with Fianna Fáil. As we explained
recently, the reality is that the new programme offers nothing
substantially different from what was on offer before, merely a few
tiny reforms to the programme that FF set earlier. Its a cold plate of
lame duck with wilted greens!

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Greece: A historical defeat for the bosses party – mass shift to the left!

The recent elections in Greece saw a
massive shift to the left in Greek society, with a total of 56% of the
electorate voting for the left parties. The PASOK alone received almost
44%. This is a vote that rejects the austerity measures of the outgoing
conservative ND government. The problem is that the PASOK leaders are
promising more of the same. For the workers this vote was a victory –
but they did not vote for more cuts. This now opens up the prospect of
renewed
class struggle in the coming period.

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Leeds: Pictures from the picket line

Leeds refuse workers strikers have been out for nearly a month now.
Rubbish is piling up and the dispute has started to hit the national
headlines with reports in the main daily papers and on BBC Breakfast
(which noted that the strike has strong local support). Socialist
Appeal supporters in the Yorkshire area have been involved in giving
support to the strikers and have been visiting the various picket lines.

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Limited primary school places open new market for solicitors

As the current economic
climate worsens the government and county councils are targeting education as a
means of saving money. Privatisation, redundancies and funding cuts are
tarnishing the education system that so many other countries strive for. Now, with tuition fees on
the increase – the yearly cap of £3,200 soon to be lifted – competition to get
into what remains of higher education is becoming progressively biased towards
only the more privileged members of society.

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75th anniversary of the Asturian Commune

Yesterday (Monday 5th Oct) marked the
75th anniversary of the
Asturian Commune. The mining and industrial region of Asturias in Spain
witnessed one of the key revolutions of the 20th century. We want to
bring to the attention of our readers an article by Ramon Samblas
written in 2004 for the www.marxist.com website and Socialist Appeal.

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Lisbon Treaty referendum: Yes vote wins, but its cold comfort for Cowen

Ireland: The Lisbon Treaty Referendum has resulted in a
victory for the Yes camp by 67.1% to 32.9%. The result was in part due to the
enormous resources of the Yes campaign which had the support of big business,
Robbie Keane, the Bishops, Seamus Heaney and of all the government and main
opposition parties. The outcome was a dramatic reversal of the last referendum
with swings of more or less 20% in many constituencies.

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