Staff at the British
Library (BL) have voted to accept a 3 year pay offer that is significantly
below the cost of living. The trade unions (PCS & Prospect) finally
received an offer from BL management after a delay of 9 months, due entirely to
management’s decision to postpone all pay talks until the outcome of
the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).
Food prices have gone up worldwide by 75% since 2005. Since Gordon
Brown became prime minister (not that long ago) milk prices have gone
up by 17%, eggs by 28% and bread by 34% in this country. Other items
have shown even sharper increases. There’s no sign of any letup. In the same way as we seem to have seen
the end of cheap oil, this could be the last of cheap food.
The 27th
April marked the 40th anniversary of the coming into force of the
1967 Abortion Act that led to the saving of thousands of women’s lives. The Act
allowed women in England, Wales and Scotland access to safe abortion on the NHS
in a government approved hospital when 2 doctors agreed to the procedure within
the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. We must not turn the clock back by
criminalising women who find themselves in the position of needing an abortion.
We must join the lobby of parliament today to protect the
right to choose and not allow religious bigotry to put women back to the unsafe
abortions of the pre 1967 Abortion Act where thousands of women put their
health and even their lives in danger.
Following on from the disastrous election results of New Labour last Thursday, those left groupings who were hoping to capitalise on Labour’s difficulties also found themselves in a mess. As Ted Grant explained, the working class always ignore the sects and in times of struggle always turn towards their traditional organisations.
Britain’s second-largest bank, the Royal Bank of
Scotland, which owns NatWest and has recently bought Holland’s largest bank
ABN-Amro, has announced that it lost £4bn in the last three months as a result
of the world’s great credit crunch. RBS says that it must write off £5bn in
loans and debt securities that it had on its books as worthless. And it now must ask existing shareholders to
stump up more money – as much as £10bn – to buy new shares in the bank so it
does not go bust.
The Tory victories in the local elections on May 1st
mean that the Conservatives will almost certainly go on to win the next general
election and form the next government. Theoretically the Labour leadership
could turn the situation round, but they seem incapable of changing their
disastrous course. New Labour is in meltdown.
Iceland and Ireland had some of the highest GDP rates in Europe over a 15 year boom: so-called “Nordic and Celtic tigers.” Both diversified into software, biotechnology and financial services, and a property boom, but Iceland built up a trade deficit of 16% of GDP in 2007 (U.S was 5%, Spain 10%); all unsustainable. Now the boom`s over, Iceland faces a currency collapse and attacks by speculators, as the Krona has lost 36% against the Euro in 2008 alone (April), inflation is over 5%, housing`s unsold, central bank interest rates are over 15%, and private debt is astronomical. The problems […]
Lenin is probably the most slandered individual of the 20th century. As
leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917, he has been attacked by
bourgeois academics, Tory, Labour and Liberal politicians as well as
Establishment figures internationally. His ideas have been distorted
and twisted. His actions have been vilified. So what did Lenin
really stand for? And are his ideas still relevant today?
A
thousand people gathered in London on Thursday’s 2008 May Day to march through
the streets of the capital in celebration of International Workers’ Day. In
light of recent and threatening developments in Bolivia, different campaigns came together
to organise a joint meeting after the demonstration. The
energy and enthusiasm of the meeting boldly reflected the impact that Latin
American revolutions are having on people here in Britain demonstrating that the May Day spirit
is very much alive and kicking.
On 4th May 1919 Chinese people marched to end backwardness in China and
humiliation by the imperialist powers. They were led by Chen Duxiu. Chen realised that the modernisation of China could only be carried out by
the working class and founded the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. For a
hundred years the Chinese have engeged on the long and tortuous march to
modernisation.
Present-day economic
conditions demand that the working class fight back. The interests of the
ruling class and the working class are irreconcilable. The bourgeois are
screaming, "more cuts, more cuts" and the workers shout back
"Enough is enough". The stage has been set for a "Hot
Spring" in Europe.