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Labour and the unions
RMT rejects Labour affiliation – now step up the fight for workers’ political representation
Editorial of the Socialist issue 998: The special conference (special general meeting – SGM) of the RMT transport workers’ union on 30 May was an important milestone in the battle to re-establish a political voice for workers after the bleak years of Tony Blair’s New Labour
RMT special conference debates political strategy
Delegates to the RMT transport union’s special general meeting (SGM) have voted to maintain the union’s current political strategy and not to affiliate to the Labour Party.
Socialist Party news and analysis
The official NHS England budget deficit is almost £1 billion – with some analysts putting the real figure closer to £4 billion. The ongoing NHS crisis shows no sign of slowing down.
#NorthernFail: 250 rail services cancelled
Nationalise rail – don’t delay!: Northern rail cancelled more than 250 trains entirely on 29 May. Where trains run at all they have been up to two hours late.
Socialists defend Lush ad campaign against spy cops
Soap shop Lush dropped a bath bomb on 31 May with storefront displays highlighting abuses by undercover police.
International socialist news and analysis
Italy’s political crisis is reverberating through Europe
Three months after the general election of 4 March, Italy has a government again. On 1 June, the ‘yellow-green’ government was officially installed.
Donald Trump, in rebooting his presidential campaign slogan to “Make America Great Again” is attempting to do this on the backs of the rest of the world, by introducing tariffs on US imports.
Jordan: Workers and youth remove prime minister and demand end to austerity
A general strike and huge demonstrations of an unprecedented scale have shaken the Jordanian kingdom, against the backdrop of a steep rise in the cost of living and government corruption.
Workplace news
Congress shut down by staff walkouts
The UCU congress should have been a council of war for the struggle to come.
PCS union launches strike ballot on pay
Workers in the PCS union, representing civil servants across all government departments, have voted overwhelmingly to ballot members for strike action.
West Midlands firefighters vote to strike in massive numbers
West Midlands firefighters have voted by 90% to take strike action against exploitative conditions for new fire service workers. They are being introduced by the Labour-led West Midlands Fire Authority (WMFA).
East London housing workers fight privatisation of pay
Tower Hamlets Unison members started strike action for fair pay on 4 June.
‘Made in Dagenham’ strike 50 years on
‘Made in Dagenham’ Ford machinists pay strike 50 years on
This year, 7 June marks the 50th anniversary of the start of the strike by women sewing machinists at Ford Motor Company’s Dagenham plant in east London. We look back at the strike, at how to fight for equal pay today and review the ‘Made in Dagenham’ movie.
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Liverpool meeting remembers 47 councillors who fought and defeated Thatcher in 1980s
Three decades since the House of Lords surcharged the Liverpool 47 councillors, the Liverpool 47 group organised this event on 25 May in Liverpool city centre to remember the heroic anti-cuts struggle
Yorkshire 1,000 for issue 1000
Thinking out loud about how to celebrate the forthcoming 1000th issue of the Socialist, I told the editors I thought the Yorkshire region of the Socialist Party could sell 1,000 copies of that issue
People’s Assembly event lacks understanding of task facing Corbyn
The People’s Assembly met for its annual conference on 2 June, with a series of workshops and rallies, but with no democratic decisions being made.
200 years since the birth of Karl Marx – come and walk in his footsteps!
2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, who shaped much of 20th century history.
Opinion
Alt-right gains exposure – but tedious clichés betray lack of ideas
Nonfiction – 12 Rules for Life: an Antidote to Chaos: The publication in January of Jordan Peterson’s ’12 Rules for Life’, with recent appearances on British and international television, represent an advance for tired but dangerous arch-conservative ideas.
Rich, raw tale of financial crisis’s impact on rural Ireland
Fiction: The Spinning Heart: I have only recently caught up with Donal Ryan’s wonderful, inventive 2012 debut novel about the brutal and shattering effects on a rural Irish community following the financial meltdown of 2007-08.
Letters to the Socialist’s editors including jailed TUSC agent Chris Fernandez and the shallow liberal press.
