Communist Party of Britain and Morning Star

The Morning Star and its political masters at the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) continue with their formal opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. But is becoming more and more obvious that this “opposition” has nothing to do with defending Ukraine’s right to self-determination. It is just a calculation that the invasion was an “error of judgement” on Putin’s part. In an editorial on Friday 13 May, the Morning Star repeats its refrain that the invasion was an ill-judged but understandable response to Nato’s expansion. Finland and (probably) Sweden joining Nato “illustrates just how the...

In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Morning Star gave extensive and enthusiastic coverage to China’s response, which did indeed appear to be impressive. A piece entitled “The Planned economy vs the coronavirus” (republished on 30 January 2020 from the US Stalinist paper People’s World ) noted: “The World Health Organisation is praising the Chinese government’s quick response to the crisis… The scale of that commitment is now ramping up in a massive way - showcasing the ability of the country’s socialist state to marshal resources rapidly and efficiently in the service of public...

London bin workers protest in support of Ukraine After much prevarication, ambiguity and double-speak, the official “line” of the Communist Party of Britain (and therefore also the Morning Star ) on Ukraine has gradually emerged. The main report delivered to the party’s political committee last week (published in edited form in the Morning Star of 20 April), states that: • “fascism is embedded in the Ukrainian state.” • “US and British politicians continue to spout the myth of a winnable war...” • “What is needed is... a ceasefire and negotiations for a peaceful settlement that respects...

Outside of the foetid recesses inhabited by red-brown figures like George Galloway and Chris Williamson, few political figures in Britain openly support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Even Putin’s admirer Nigel Farage has been keeping a low profile since the invasion. Much more numerous — particularly on the left — are those who claim to oppose the invasion but also oppose Ukraine obtaining arms with which to fight the invaders. This is the stance of the Stop the War Coalition, the Communist Party of Britain / Morning Star and the SWP / Socialist Worker . The argument comes in various forms, e...

The Morning Star keeps telling us that it opposes Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and up to a point that’s true. The paper and its political masters at the Communist Party of Britain (or, at least, the majority of them) do oppose the invasion — but only because it’s been a tactically “maladroit” move that has resulted in “temporarily uniting Nato” (editorial, 4 March). This “opposition” should not be mistaken for support for Ukraine’s right to national self determination, still less any support for its right to fight the invader. Time and again, the paper has counselled against arming Ukraine...

Having spent the whole of January and most of February pouring scorn on the idea that Russia might invade Ukraine, the Morning Star performed a screeching 180% u-turn when it actually happened and announced that it opposed the invasion. But that opposition was, at best, half-hearted, reflecting the stance of the paper’s political masters in the Communist Party of Britain (CPB). Whilst formally condemning the invasion, all their fire has been reserved for NATO (which is blamed for making the war “all but inevitable”, in the words of CPB general secretary Rob Griffiths, quoted on 14 March) while...

Last Thursday the executive council of the big union Unite met and passed a resolution on the war in Ukraine. The resolution “unreservedly condemns Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and stands in full solidarity with the millions of victims of the attack. Unite calls for an immediate cease-fire and a withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine.” It congratulates union members “such as those at the Stanlow refinery – who refuse to unload Russian oil from any ship regardless of the nationality of the vessel that delivers it, and Unite repeats the call on the UK government to close the loophole that...

Having spent the whole of January and February dismissing the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine as western propaganda, driven by warmongers, the Morning Star performed a screeching u-turn on 25 February and declared in its editorial: “Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe with horrific consequences in that country and beyond.” But not everything had changed. Some favourite old themes remained. The same editorial claimed “Ukraine is not the ‘front line of democracy.’ Britain, like the US and EU, connived at the violent overthrow of its elected government in the Maidan coup...

Did the Morning Star believe Putin’s denials of plans to invade Ukraine? Here’s a brief synopsis of the paper’s repeated claims that Russia was seeking a peaceful resolution and that fears of invasion were down to Western propaganda. 19 Jan: “Western countries say an armed build-up in Russia’s west could be preparation for an invasion of Ukraine, something Moscow rejected as ‘total disinformation’” (report by “Foreign Desk”). 20 Jan: “Russia... called for the US to ‘end hysteria over the Donbas issue,’ referring to frequent claims being made that Russia is about to invade... ‘We stress again...

Until recently the Morning Star would occasionally criticise Vladimir Putin. The Russian Communist Party is the largest opposition group in the Duma and makes criticisms of Putin’s domestic policy. But when it comes to Ukraine, the Russian CP is a very loyal opposition and differs with Putin only by being more belligerent — for instance calling for formal recognition of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The Morning Star ’s coverage of China (which the paper unhesitatingly describes as “socialist”) has long been no more than Chinese Communist Party (i.e. regime) propaganda...