The radicalism of Shelley
Artists are creatures of their time, and Jacqueline Mulhallen’s new political biography of Percy Bysshe Shelley captures this. His poetry is a true expression and celebration of love, beauty and the human spirit.
The secret life of the NHS – new rs21 magazine out on Saturday
The January 2016 issue of the rs21 magazine will be out on Saturday. Order your copy or subscribe here. Below, Rob Owen gives an overview of the new edition. Issue includes: The secret life of the NHS, the life of a junior doctor, by Sophie Walton Joe Sabatini and Tabitha Spence looking at climate politics from […]
Why public transport is broken
As rail users are once again hit by fare increases, with one season ticket topping £10,000, Tom Haines-Doran discusses the damage that privatisation continues to do to public transport and the examples of resistance we can look to You might think public transport has largely escaped austerity, particularly if you live in London or have heard […]
Long read: What do Syrian and Lebanese activists think?
Miriyam Aouragh introduces interviews with activists Syrian and Lebanese that aim to cut through the confusion that has clouded much of the British left in recent months. The activists’ responses to questions about the nature of Daesh, the role of sectarianism and whether class can still be a source of analysis in the uprising, how we should regard the Kurdish […]
“You can’t organise a riot”: racism, riots and arrests in 1981
In memory of John “Brad” Bradbury of the Specials who topped the charts with Ghost Town whilst Britain burst into flames of riots and racism in 1981 – Colin Revolting remembers how anti – racists danced to the Specials and fought against racism and unemployment. January A fire at a house party in New […]
Cuts and climate change bring floods to Rochdale
If you want to know what a warming world and climate chaos looks like then take at look at the videos of Rochdale town centre.
Calais and the refugee crisis: building solidarity and thinking through the politics
Mitch Mitchell from London2Calais looks back at six months of activism to deliver aid to refugees trapped in northern France.
Kellingley: two days in the death of three centuries of coal mining
On Friday 18 December the last shift at the last colliery in the UK cut its last tonnes of coal. Brian Parkin, former research officer for the National Union of Mineworkers, was at the pit top at Kellingley colliery to welcome to the surface the last of the country’s miners as they ended their final […]
rs21 Readers and Writers Recommend, Part2…
What to get a friend who’s committed to the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist mode of production and its zombifying culture industry, but still deserves a present for Christmas (even if that friend is yourself)? Following on from the excellent suggestions in Part 1, there are a whole lot more great ideas below…
New radical website launched – Review of African Political Economy
A new website Review of African Political Economy has been launched and is a great resource for socialists says Leo Zeilig.
rs21 Readers and Writers Recommend, Part 1…
With 2015 near done and dusted, rs21 readers and writers share their favourite books, films and theatre performances. From old classics with renewed relevance to innovative and unorthodox work from contemporary artists, or just good telly: there should be something for everyone. If not, share your own highlights in the comments!
Campaigning for Climate Justice at COP21
For the last fortnight the COP21 climate summit has taken place in Paris. Alongside the official event, campaigners for climate justice took to the streets in a Paris still under a ‘State of Emergency’ following the murders last month. Three rs21 members – Sam O’Brien, John Walker and Colin Barker who were in Paris report on the events. Sam O’Brien […]
A homosexual Christmas in 1905 Berlin
Colin Wilson rediscovers a forgotten chapter of LGBT history in this account of a “uranian” Christmas, written by a leading campaigner over a hundred years ago. Magnus Hirschfeld was a doctor and a leader of the German LGBT movement from the 1890s to the 1930s.The text translated here is an excerpt from one of his earliest books, […]
Review: She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry
This documentary aims to celebrate the women’s movement of the 60s and 70s. But, argues Kate Bradley, it does little to offer inspiration to feminists today. “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry resurrects the buried history of the outrageous, often brilliant women who founded the modern women’s movement from 1966 to 1971.” So claims the website […]
France: How close is fascism?
Already stressed by economic stagnation since the onset of the banking crisis in 2008, and by the interminably threatened, but repeatedly averted, collapse of the Euro, Peter Fysh asks can the French political system survive racist exploitation of the refugee crisis and the shock of deadly terrorist attacks at each end of 2015? In the […]
Eyewitness: Carlisle floods mean learning what it is like to be on the front line of climate change
Joe Sabatini reports from Carlisle, where floods devastated the town. He discusses what it means to be on the front line of climate change. Climate change has just slapped into Cumbria. For the third time in 10 years the county has suffered from a major flood, leaving thousands devastated – many hit for the second time. […]
Video: Naomi Klein and Jeremy Corbyn call for climate jobs
Last night in Paris Jeremy Corbyn and Naomi Klein spoke to 800 people about trade unions and climate change, writes Jonathan Neale. For me, the best moment was when Jeremy started his speech by saying “I want to hold this document up. It’s called One Million Climate Jobs.” The meeting was sponsored by Trade Unions […]
International statement: We fight dictatorships, imperialist aggression and Daesh. We reject the politics of “national security”, racism and austerity. It’s time to mobilise!
Over recent months, people across the Middle East have been hit by an intensification of conflict in Syria and Iraq. That escalation has been sponsored both by global imperialist powers – chiefly the USA, Russia and European countries – and regional imperialist actors including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Iran. These conflicts are the product […]
Boris wants to team up with Assad and Putin to rain more bombs down on Syria
Ministers in the UK, France and Spain are now calling for the West to work with Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Anindya Bhattacharyya takes on Boris Johnson’s arguments Today’s Telegraph contains a thousand words from Boris Johnson about why Britain should ally with Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin over Syria. Wade through his gollygosh prose if […]
Fascist success in the French elections: what will it mean for the refugees?
There has been a growing hostility to the refugees in the Calais camps, particularly since the Paris killings. Mitch Mitchell reflects on what the electoral success of the Front National in the French regional elections will mean for the refugees.
Don’t mention trade: leaked document reveals EU plans for the COP21
A leak from the EU’s shadowy Trade Policy Committee reveals officials charged with determining EU’s climate policy vowing to keep trade regulations out of the COP21 climate change talks, reports Nick Evans. A recent article on this website argued we need to pay attention to the arcane world of international trade law. Cloaked in bureaucratic […]
Festive action targets Israeli apartheid
Sherrl Yanowitz reports on the first of a series of festive pickets of the Israeli owned soap shop Sabon in London’s Covent Garden.
MPs vote for bombing – join the protests this weekend and the 12 December demo
Charlie Hore reports from the protest outside parliament on Wednesday night, as MPs voted to bomb Syria. “Tonight, as I put my seven year old to sleep, somewhere in Aleppo or Homs there is a seven year old, waking up to the sound of airplanes.” That Facebook comment from an American friend echoes the sense of […]
“Important Speech on why we should go to war, just released”
Michael Rosen reports on an “Important Speech on why we should go to war, just released”. “We can drop bombs through the eye of a needle. We can’t always find the needle. But we drop the bombs anyway. And they land very accurately. On..er…whatever’s there. Which is good, isn’t it? “There will be civilian casualties. That’s […]
Saving Lewisham’s Libraries
Libraries across the country continue to be under threat. A Lewisham Library Union Rep reports that staff and campaigners are coming together in South East London to defend this much needed service. Lewisham library workers and library campaigners are organising a lobby of Lewisham’s Mayor and Cabinet on Wednesday 9th December at 7pm Civic Suite, Catford, […]
Why I’m cycling to Paris
John Walker explains why he’s setting off on his bike to the COP21 in Paris. Along with around 130 other people, I will be cycling to join the demonstrations around COP21, all the way from London to Paris. We will be taking five days, cycling from London to Brighton on Sunday 5 December, taking the ferry from […]
Thousands protest against Cameron’s War, solidarity needed with Assad’s victims
Nick Evans reports from last night’s protest in London against the bombing of Syria Today, the House of Commons will be asked again to vote on bombing Syria. The UK is already bombing Iraq, and Syrians are already being bombed by the Assad regime, by Russia, by the US, by France. The UK has also […]
Don’t Bomb Syria
Cameron intends to take Britain to war – again – with the support of Labour MPs who would rather back him than Jeremy Corbyn. A recent rs21 leaflet argued against war, racism and repression following the killings in Paris. Huge numbers oppose the war. Every socialist should be piling pressure on MPs to vote against […]
Over 50,000 march in London to demand climate justice ahead of COP21 summit
Nilüfer Erdem, Steve Eason, Amy Gilligan and Kate Bradley report Tens of thousands of people marched through central London this afternoon as part of global protests for climate justice, on the eve of the COP21 summit in Paris. Organisers estimate over 50,000 people took part, making it one of the largest climate demonstrations that has […]
Unite shifts left over Trident, opposes war on Syria and launches its industrial strategy
The Unite sector conferences were organised over three days this week. They give reps an opportunity to debate industrial issues relating to each sector with a view to developing industrial strategy for the next 2 years. This year the conferences took place against the backdrop of the Tories’ anti Trade Union Bill, the recent victory […]