Future shock for the left: Review of Paul Mason’s PostCapitalism
Rich Belbin reviews Paul Masons recent book, PostCapitalism: A Guide to our Future Paul Mason has become a familiar figure on our TV screens, from his reports on the collapse of Lehman Brothers through to his ’embedded’ interviews with those at the frontline of struggles, from China through Scotland to Greece. His enthusiastic reporting has […]
Zero hours calling
Shanice McBean reports on the impact of zero hours and agency work on organising call centres Organising in a call centre was difficult mainly because of the so-called ‘flexibility’ of work. Our caller workforce was split into those working for an agency (who were on probation) and those working directly for the company (who were the experienced […]
Seventeen years of struggle – deaths in custody campaigners keep fighting for justice
The United Friends and Families Campaign fights for justice for those killed in police custody, prison, immigration centres or in psychiatric detention. Graham Campbell reports from their 17th annual remembrance demo. The United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC) Injustice Demo on Saturday in London was an amazing and inspiring show of strength and unity among victims’ families seeking justice. Sheku Bayoh’s […]
Radicalising the rank and file
The following comments are extracted from a very lengthy and detailed discussion which rs21 members Anindya Bhattacharyya and a Unite rep recently conducted with the US Marxist labour historian Kim Moody. A former member of Students for a Democratic Society and the US International Socialists, Moody served on the editorial board of the journal he […]
Black Dissidents interview: “Real power comes from collective fights for liberation”
Black Dissidents were formed earlier this year and since then have been involved in fights against oppression from migration struggles to resisting evictions. Tomorrow they’ll be taking part in the UFFC Annual Remembrance Procession, 1pm, Trafalgar Square, London. Jaz Blackwell-Pal caught up with Shanice McBean from Black Dissidents to discuss the politics of the group, […]
Climate change: it’s going to take a revolution
Watch rs21’s video on why the obstacles to solving the problem of climate breakdown are intrinsic to our capitalist system.
Fighting for fair tips
Nilüfer Erdem reflects on organising the unorganised in restaurants and hotels The ‘Fair Tips’ campaign, led by the Unite Hotel Workers’ and Restaurant and Bar Workers’ branch, over the tips policy in big restaurant chains has seen many successes. The campaign targets large chain companies, which take money from staff tips – a so-called ‘administration […]
Our existence is not up for debate: A reply to Germaine Greer and her defenders
Activists at Cardiff University started a petition a week ago to cancel a talk by Germaine Greer on the grounds of Greer’s transphobic hate speech. Greer has since cancelled, but not before many liberal and left commentators came to her defence. Sølvi and Shanice argue that with violence against trans people at appalling levels, solidarity with them should be […]
SOAS is shut down in protest at union rep’s suspension, cuts and marketisation
Nilüfer Erdem and Will Searby report from SOAS where students and workers have shut down the campus in central London in response to management suspending Unison rep Sandy Nicoll and £6.5million of cuts. Valerie Amos, former advisor to Tony Blair and current interim director at SOAS, has accused students and staff of bullying and intimidating […]
Saving jobs at Dulwich Picture Gallery
Olivia Mansfield, describes the joys of a collective victory against redundancies Being told by your employer, most likely a person who earns substantially more than you, who has weight and seniority, who has their own job security and power, someone that you may have trusted to have your best interests at heart, who may be […]
Migration FAQ: why now?
Nick Evans answers some common questions around the migration crisis Why now? More people around the world were forcibly displaced in 2014 than ever before in recorded history. Of those 59.5 million people, 19.5 million were classed by the UN as refugees. The overwhelming majority of those refugees were hosted in developing regions, but unprecedented numbers have […]
Refugee Solidarity Summit hears of racism and injustice, pledges to fight back
Campaigners from the TUC, the Green Party and many migrant organisations gathered in London on Saturday to discuss how to fight the government’s racist policies and scapegoating. Amy Downham reports. Saturday’s Refugee Solidarity Summit, hosted by london2calais, involved around 100 people – a diverse mix in terms of race, age and gender, including many young women […]
Right to Strike: Infographic
Download this infographic as a pdf here Join the TUC lobby of parliament and the day of action against the Trade Union Bill on 2 November Infographic design by Arjun Mahadevan
Frantz Fanon: The Militant Philosopher of Third World Liberation
Leo Zeilig‘s biography of Frantz Fanon, The Militant Philosopher of Third World Liberation, is out on 5 November. Here are a few teasers from the book with introductions by the author. In 1953 Fanon moved to Algeria to work in the small town of Blida, about 50 miles from the capital Algiers. He applied for a […]
Will the NHS survive another winter?
Mark Boothroyd, co-ordinator of the Four-to-One campaign which is calling for the introduction of nurse-to-patient ratios in the NHS, discusses the crisis in the NHS and what might result without a campaign against cuts and demoralisation. This article was originally published on OpenDemocracy. Over fifteen thousands of doctors marched down Whitehall last weekend, in protest at the imposition […]
Five books you should read on China
Charlie Hore offers some suggestions to help understand what is happening in the world’s largest country China has hardly been out of the headlines in the last few months. In August, the second stock market crash in two months sent shockwaves around the world financial system. China’s government had taken panic measures after the first […]
South African students win on fees: an “extraordinary moment”, but the movement may go still further
After widespread student protests against rises in tuition fees, South African president Jacob Zuma announced on Friday afternoon that the government is backing down – there will be no rise in fees next year. Voices are now being raised to continue the movement, with demands for free education – free both financially and in terms of ideas. […]
South Africa: an “amazing country-wide revolt” is fighting student fee increases
Not enough has changed since the end of apartheid, say South African students, as fee increases threaten to stop many black students from going to university. Protests continue across South African universities against plans to raise tuition fees by up to 11 percent. The protests began last week in Johannesburg, and have spread around the country. […]
Understanding Ankara: why many see blood on the hands of the Turkish state
The bombing in Ankara was the deadliest in modern Turkish history. In a country where the state regularly uses violence against protesters, and with an election approaching, much of the left argue that the government bears much of the blame. Phil Buyum Jackson explains the background to the attack and describes events since the bombing. 106 people were […]
Eurostar protest shuts shit down in solidarity with refugees
Peter Norman reports from Friday’s action at London Eurostar terminal in solidarity with refugees in Calais. As I walked around Kings Cross station on Friday evening, alongside but separate from other small of groups of demonstrators, I wondered what on earth was going to happen. Twenty minutes later, 300 people, nearly all young, many BME, […]
Syd Shelton Rock Against Racism exhibition highlights contrasts and conflicts of the 1970s
A collection of anti-racist activist and photographer Syd Shelton’s work from Rock Against Racism is currently on display at the Autograph ABP gallery in London. Is this exhibition, and book, a nostalgic trip to the bad old days of 1970s racial conflict or does it have something to offer a new generation fighting the changing […]
Thousands of junior doctors tell Hunt and the BMA that they are prepared to strike
Big protests by junior doctors are unprecedented. An NHS activist reports from the demo in central London on Saturday against proposed government changes to their contracts. The demo was really big, with attendance at between 15,000 and 20,000. Those present included medical students alongside doctors, and senior doctors as well. The crowd was extremely diverse, with women […]
Protesters gather in Dover to demand open borders and migrant rights
Roderick C and Mitch Mitchell report on Saturday’s Open Dover demo on the Kent coast (Open Dover demonstration in support of migrants – photo by Steve Eason) Around 500 protesters turned up on a rainy afternoon in Dover yesterday to stand in solidarity with refugees trapped in the camps in Calais. The protest was organised […]
Making live and letting die: ‘refugees’, ‘migrants’ and Fortress Europe
Chloe Haralambous reports on the refugee crisis from the Greek island of Lesvos and examines the function of the division between ‘refugees’ and ‘economic migrants’.
Manchester “Time to Act” conference connects climate and social justice campaigning
Rick Lighten reports Over 200 people came together for a conference on tackling climate change on Saturday 10 October. The conference, titled “It’s Time to Act”, was organised by a coalition of climate groups along with trade union and radical left activists. Groups involved included Campaign Against Climate Change, Friends of the Earth, Stop TTIP, […]
This story of a trans life is a step towards imagining real liberation
Sølvi reviews Trans: A Memoir by Juliet Jacques (Verso, £16.99) When Juliet Jacques started writing her Transgender Journey blog in the Guardian, I’m reasonably sure I didn’t even know what transgender was. I wish, in hindsight, I had. Perhaps it would have explained some aspects of my life. The fact that Jacques’ blog was the first […]
Labour and the left after #jezwecan: An interview with Ben Sellers
Ben Sellers is a member of Red Labour and was one of the organisers of the social media team that underpinned Jeremy Corbyn’s successful campaign for the leadership of the Labour Party. rs21: You’ve written a piece explaining the roots of Jeremy Corbyn’s social media campaign in Alex Craven’s Facebook page Red Labour, which you and […]
Solidarity demo counters Zionist mobilisation at London Palestinian Mission
As the number of Palestinian deaths in recent weeks continues to rise, Sherrl Yanowitz reports from last night’s protest at the Palestinian Mission to counter a Zionist mobilisation. A Palestine solidarity demonstration has been called for this Saturday (17 October). Israeli armed forces have murdered at least 30 Palestinians in the last two weeks. The dead […]
Hands Off Our Forth: 2000 protest against unconventional gas extraction
Mike A and Pete C report on the communities in Scotland organising against the growing threat of fracking. Around 2,000 people joined hands across the Forth Road Bridge on Sunday in a protest against plans for unconventional gas extraction. Organised by grassroots anti-fracking campaigns across Scotland, Hands Over Our Forth was an uplifting event that […]
Migration in the age of Imperialism’s four horsemen: part 3
For over three decades neoliberalism has run rampant at the expense of the working class and poorest of the world. But such a dismal interpretation of the world just will not do. The point is to change it. This requires us honestly to recognise the scale of the crisis while identifying those symptoms of resistance […]