Solidarity 279, 20 March 2013

The crisis in the SWP: how not to argue

Some ridiculous things have been said during what passes for debate inside the now much-degraded and damaged Socialist Workers Party (SWP). For example, in their drive to crush internal opponents, the leadership denounced them as “feminists”. The opposition have, apparently, been “contaminated” with ideas from the movement around them, including nasty feminism. From a distance, the AWL has watched supporters of the SWP Central Committee argue something along the lines of: “I used to be a feminist, but then I realised the SWP was right, and what we really need is a socialist revolution”. How...

Can't place demands on M5S

I was puzzled, and indeed rather shocked, by Hugh Edwards’ concluding paragraphs in his article “What is the 5 Star Movement” ( Solidarity 277, 6 March) in which Hugh argues: “M5S has to widen its demands, political, economic and social”. This makes the assumption that M5S is broadly analogous to a social democratic formation or perhaps a heavily bureaucratised trade union; in short, a body rooted in the workers’ movement on which we can place demands either in the hope of pushing it further left or, perhaps, in order to expose its leaders in the eyes of their own rank and file. In the Italian...

Don't exaggerate the UKIP threat

British parliamentary contests are described as first past the post for a reason, and the reason is that coming second does not get you a seat at Westminster. Yet somehow UKIP is basking in a spectacular degree of favourable publicity through the simple expedient of losing the Eastleigh by-election. One factor at work is that many rightwing pundits have a vested interest in bigging up UKIP’s “triumph” — if one wishes to call it that — by way of a weapon in what they see as a war to recapture the Conservative Party for Conservatism. The parallel that immediately springs to mind is Roy Jenkin’s...

Make solidarity on May Day

Would you like to build support for your dispute or campaign? Why not send a message to trade union and socialist activists by placing a May Day message in Solidarity ? On Wednesday 1 May, we will be publishing the May Day issue of our paper. We hope you would like to see your trade union logo and message printed there, amongst those of a variety of other trade union and campaigning organisations. Our prices and instructions: 2 columns — £15 (78mm x 84 mm, 10-30 words) 3 columns — £25 (78mm x 174mm, 50-70 words) Please do not send us artwork but a copy of your logo or graphic you would like to...

Reporting rape and police lies

“Police Sapphire teams strongly encourage women to drop rape cases... Police failed to believe victims”, reported the BBC news at the end of February. The report was linked to the case of a woman who reported a rape to Southwark police but was encouraged to drop the charges, the man later went on to murder his two children. A truly shocking case, but the many other times rape cases get dropped and police fail to believe victims do not make it into the mainstream news. It is a reality which won’t be unfamiliar to many women who have experienced reporting rape cases to the police, or who have...

Labour backs Tory unpaid labour scheme

Labour MPs helped get the coalition off the hook over the “workfare” scandal that saw three appeal court judges rule that the work-for-free-or-lose-your-benefits schemes to which over 200,000 unemployed workers have been subjected are unlawful. The February ruling meant that the government could have had to pay £130 million in benefits rebates to up to 231,000 people, but a new law, rushed through Parliament on Tuesday 19 March, overturns the appeal court’s decision and prevents similar appeals being made in future, in order to “protect the national economy”. Most Labour MPs abstained in the...

Gove's got to go

On Wednesday 13 March, NUT members marched to the Department for Education to tell Gove he’s “got to go”. Around 600 education workers battled blizzards to be there and were joined by members of PCS who left their department offices in solidarity. Teachers gathered to protest against the privatisation of the education system, the fixing of exam results, the proposed changes to the curriculum and attacks on our terms and conditions. These changes are felt as cynical attacks on teachers and the comprehensive state education system so many us are proud to work in. Chants of “Gove must go”...

Public health, not private profit

The government is continuing its attempts to formally privatise the National Health Service by stealth. It was forced into a climb-down on implementing Section 75 of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, which would have forced “commissioners” to open up every aspect of healthcare provision to tender by private companies. But widespread opposition, including from Labour MPs, forced the government to redraft the law. But the new version, due to come into force on 1 April, is described by the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign as “the same wrecking ideas spruced up, cowardly repackaged.” Shadow...

Defend Don McDonald

On Saturday 16 February, Michael (Don) MacDonald took part in the 1,500-strong anti-cuts march in Newcastle. Don has been a key activist in organising this and other protests opposing the £100 million budget cut to services. He is a local resident and a youth worker, facing 100% cut to youth and play services. At the end of the demonstration at the rally point in the city centre, the Council Leader Nick Forbes walked past and Don approached him to challenge him on what he thought about the cuts. Nick Forbes and his partner threatened to call the police saying they knew who Don was and where he...

“One Barnet” on trial

“One Barnet”, Barnet Tories’ plan to privatise most of Barnet Council services (probably in two contracts worth up to £1 billion to Capita), is being scrutinised in the High Court this week. Disabled resident Maria Nash has made an application for a Judicial Review. Day one on Tuesday 19 March involved her barrister, Nigel Giffin, outlining the lack of consultation of residents over the plan. Maria is also bringing her case because she worries that if One Barnet fails to deliver promised savings, council services she relies on will be cut even more severely than at present. Her fears have...

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