Jeffrey Donaldson – until recently the leader of the largest Unionist party in the North of Ireland, a Privy Council member, and a knighted darling of British imperialism – has been found guilty on 18 counts of child sexual abuse. This will deepen the long-term crisis of the Unionist establishment.
‘I attended an anti-racist counter-demonstration last Saturday, by myself. All I had on me was The Communist and some leaflets. But I was able to stand out from the moralism of the main organisers, and won over a group of young people to communist ideas.’
Since the local elections in May, the Greens have been running into difficulties where they have been elected. Implementing a radical-sounding manifesto is evidently not so easy without a programme to break with capitalism, and mobilise the masses.
In Birmingham, workers and youth outnumbered Britain First five-to-one. But this victory came in spite of the left’s leadership. Meanwhile, anti-racists successfully disrupted Tommy Robinson’s Oxford Union appearance. In both places, the Communists took bold initiatives.
Last week, a Scottish man went on an anti-Muslim rampage in Edinburgh, injuring five people as he ranted about “protecting our country from these fucking Muslim bastards”. We cannot trust politicians or the police to protect our communities from racist violence.
Having desperately clung onto power for months, Keir Starmer is finally going. But his likely successor, Andy Burnham, offers no real solutions. Rather than sowing illusions in this careerist, the left should fight for a clear revolutionary alternative.