Solidarity 443, 30 June 2017

Grenfell: the powerful are still not listening

So far all 95 tower blocks which have had their cladding tested since the fire at Grenfell in Kensington, west London, have failed fire safety standards. These buildings are potentially as dangerous for their tenants as Grenfell was. Many hundreds of buildings are still to be tested. Tenants have been evacuated from tower blocks in Camden while cladding is removed; Sheffield council is removing cladding and says it cannot afford to re-clad buildings. Cladding is being removed from tower blocks in Brent, Hounslow, Lambeth, Manchester, Islington, Doncaster, Merseyside, Oxford, Plymouth...

Brexit: fight for free movement!

As the UK-EU negotiations on Brexit begin, the political landscape in Britain is in flux. The general election result was widely interpreted as a riposte to the Tories’ push for a hard Brexit. Now senior Tory critics of a hard Brexit, and indeed of Brexit per se, are becoming bolder. Some, for instance Broxtowe MP Anna Soubry, even advocate the maintenance of free movement from the EU. More senior Tories have hinted at that too. Meanwhile polls suggest public opinion is shifting. A new YouGov/Times poll says that 58 per cent of people believe that trading with the EU is a higher priority than...

Yes, Labour should scrap Trident!

Comments Corbyn has made to Glastonbury festival founder Michael Eavis have caused some controversy. Following Corybn’s appearance at the festival a Q&A with Michael Eavis was published in a local paper. Corbyn told Eavis he believed he would Prime Minister in six months and that he would scrap Trident “as soon as possible”. Denials were issued shortly afterward and Corbyn said that Eavis was just paraphrasing. The Labour Party again reiterated their support for Trident renewal. Corbyn is well known for personally opposing nuclear weapons and has accepted that the refusal of the Labour Party...

The right to be cool

June 2017 was the hottest June for 176 years. Across Europe temperatures went up to 38°C, and groups of school children and workers defied instructions and wore skirts to school and work to try and keep cool. In Nantes, France, a group of bus drivers asked their employer for permission to wear shorts. When this request was denied they decided to wear the only item that was authorised in hot weather — a skirt. One worker told the Guardian “Our bosses’ offices are air-conditioned, which isn’t the case with the majority of our vehicles. To spend more than seven hours in a vehicle in 50°C...

Shot for being black and sick

On 18 June Seattle police shot and killed Charleena Lyles after she reported a burglary. Charleena was pregnant, and was shot in the presence of her three children aged one, four and 11. The police claim when they arrived at her apartment she drew a knife, so they shot her. Audio recordings of the shooting show police started shooting very soon after entering the apartment — 15 seconds after shouting for Charleena to “get back”. Questions have been asked about why police did not try other approaches before shooting. Charleena’s cousin said, “What is the reason to use such lethal force? There...

Chicago dyke march kicks out LGBTQ Jews

On 24 June, a group of LGBTQ Jews were asked to leave Chicago’s annual Dyke March. The group, including Laurel Grauer from A Wider Bridge (an NGO that links with LGBTQ organisations in Israel), were approached by a group of activists asking about their intentions in carrying Pride flags with a Star of David imposed on a rainbow. After a conversation ensued between the organisers and those carrying the flags, they were asked to leave due to their “Zionist” and “pro-Israel” views. In their statement, the organisers have not made clear what these “offensive” views are — they could have been views...

Northern Ireland abortion win

To avoid defeat on a House of Commons vote, the government has said women from Northern Ireland will be able to get abortions on the NHS in England. Women are not able to get abortions in Northern Ireland except when there is a risk of death or serious damage to physical or mental health. A woman can obtain an NHS abortion elsewhere in the UK, but only if she can pay. This anomaly has caused untold suffering over the years which, until now, has been ignored by many politicians, even those who are otherwise pro-choice. An amendment brought by Labour’s Stella Creasy on the issue had been...

School cuts cause school week cuts

A number of UK schools have decided to shorten the school week to deal with budget crises. A primary school in Leicestershire is the latest to announce it will end the school week on Friday lunchtime. A Essex secondary school has decided students will get an hour less teaching a week and is considering cutting back subject time for PE and PSHE. Instead of squeezing top pay, schools are cutting the number of staff. Cutting subjects allows them to get rid of teaching posts. Teachers in other subjects have more lessons squeezed into their week — which means an increased workload. Shortening the...

The Scottish left: the strongest nationalists

“The Labour Party in Scotland has been wiped out.” That was the verdict of the Socialist Party Scotland (SPS) on the 2015 general election. The next step was: “The trade union movement must now prepare to build a new mass party for the working class.” In alliance with the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the SPS had stood ten candidates in Scotland under the ‘Trade Union and Socialist Coalition’ (TUSC) banner. Their votes ranged from 0.2% to 0.7%, and amounted to only 1,772 in total. But that did not constitute a “wipe-out”. The slump in the Labour vote in 2015, explained the SWP, demonstrated...

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