With the latest issue the Socialist Appeal journal in Britain
has gone fortnightly. It will be published twice a month for the duration of the
war and its immediate aftermath. This is an important step forward for the
forces of Marxism in Britain. It is a clear indication that Marxist ideas are
getting a wider echo in the British Labour movement. To mark this occasion, we
are publishing the Editorial of the first fortnightly edition.
According to the Sunday Times, two British service men were
sent home from the Middle East after refusing to fight in the war against Iraq.
The two face a court martial and up to two years in jail for disobeying orders.
The dramatic resignation of
Robin Cook, until yesterday the Leader of the House of Commons was a
devastating blow to Blair and represents another nail in the coffin of Blairism.
The prospect of war has shaken British politics to its foundations. There is no going back for Blair now.
Sooner or later his days as Labour leader are numbered.
Tony Blair’s drive towards war with Iraq is producing convulsions
throughout the Labour movement. With the threatened resignation or sacking,
which ever comes first, of Cabinet Minister Clare Short, after her attack on
Blair’s policy on Iraq as “reckless”, the whole edifice of New Labour is
threatening to come crashing down.
Without doubt, things are coming to ahead at home and
abroad for Tony Blair’s government. The unprecedented Parliamentary revolt, in
which 121 Labour MPs defied the Labour leadership to vote against war, was the
biggest ever against any government. This bombshell reflects the groundswell of
opposition within the party and the country.
Labour Councils are being forced to choose between cuts in services or
increases in the Council Tax. But the resources are there. Proof of that is
the huge amount that has been set aside for the war against Iraq. In
Southampton we have the courageous stand of Labour Councillor Perry McMillan who
has refused to vote the increase in the Council Tax. Steve Jones explains what
has been happening.
Despite all their lofty promises about the
priority of "education, education,
education", and their pledge that there would be no top up fees, Blair and co
intend to pass the bill for higher education once again onto students and their
parents, making it yet more difficult for students from poorer backgrounds to
get to university.
As we put this article online, the Blair government has launched a new
offensive against the firefighters. Deputy Prime
Minister Prescott has announced his intention to change the law to take direct
control of the fire service and impose a settlement on the firefighters. This
would mean the imposition of the Bain proposals, the derisory pay offer of 4%
and thousands of job cuts, resulting in the closure of fire stations and the
undermining of the fire service. Such measures are a threat to the entire labour movement, and
must be answered by the movement as a whole.
In January Roy Jenkins, a Liberal Democrat Lord passed away. In the
1960s and 1970s he was right at the top of the British Labour Party. After his
recent death the
bourgeois press were full of praise for his achievements, the reason being that
as of 1979 he had worked strenuously to destroy the Labour Party! No longer able
to control the ranks, who were moving radically to the left,
especially after the defeat in the 1979 elections, he attempted together with
others to build the Social Democratic Party.
Two Motherwell (Scotland) train drivers refused to move a freight train
carrying ammunition believed to be destined for British forces being deployed in
the Gulf. This militant and courageous stand was reminiscent of the actions
against General Pinochet back in the 1970s and the Jolly George incident in
1920. Railway managers cancelled the Ministry of Defence (MoD) service after the
crewmen, described as "conscientious objectors" by a supporter, said
they opposed Tony Blair’s threat to attack Iraq.
Socialist Appeal is the Marxist voice of Labour and youth. We stand for the socialist transformation of society. Get in touch today and join us in the fight for socialism.