EDL outnumbered by anti-fascists in Manchester
About 200 to 300 supporters of the racist English Defence League (EDL) were bussed in to Manchester’s Albert Square today (Saturday). They held a rally inside a police kettle. Meanwhile around 500 anti-fascists gathered in Piccadilly Gardens for a rally organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and other groups. This was followed by a brief march around the city centre. […]
Climate change has revolutionary potential
Tabitha Spence discusses how the movements against climate change open up a space to wider radicalisation
Tory cuts hitting FE hard
Mark Keating, a lecturer in a London college, discusses the cuts that are hitting the further education sector hard The Tories delivered another body blow to the further education (FE) sector when they announced swingeing 24% cuts to the Adult Education budget at the end of February. This kind of cut would have been greeted […]
Putin’s enemies within
Last Sunday, Nestor Bakunin joined a demonstration in Moscow in memory of the murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. Here he discusses the politics of the demonstration – one of the largest in recent years – and what it reveals about the current state of opposition to Putin’s regime in Russia. At least 50,000 people marched […]
From democracy to neoliberalism – from Poland to Ukraine
Following recent waves of labour struggles in Poland, Jan Ladzinski reflects on the contradictions of movements for democracy that result in neoliberal reforms and suggests possible lessons from the Polish experience for Ukraine. This is a year of strikes in Poland. From the very first days of January, 20% of GP practices in the country […]
Video: Capitalism vs the climate
In the run up to Saturday’s Time to Act demonstration, Jonathan Neale spoke in Carlisle about climate change and revolution.
Dancing the Dabke to beat Israeli Apartheid
London Palestine Action organised an all singing, all dancing, bubble blowing Dabke flash-mob to ‘cleanse’ Covent Garden cosmetic shops selling Israeli goods or using stolen Palestinian ingredients.
An alternative to austerity is growing in Merseyside
Clara Saraiva shares the experiences of an anti-austerity conference bringing together grassroots activists across Merseyside. 100 people took part in the “No Austerity Conference” February 14 in Liverpool, with participation from representatives from trade unions, community organisations, leftist parties. The conference was conceived in November 2014, following the victory against the attempt at closure of 11 libraries by […]
On the murder of Boris Nemtsov
Tens of thousands demonstrated in Moscow and other cities around Russia today against the murder of Boris Nemtsov on Friday night. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was a prominent critic of president Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. He had been due to lead today’s demonstration in Moscow against the war, marking a year since […]
Thanet demonstration against UKIP
Colin Revolting reports on a demonstration in Thanet rejecting UKIP in its supposed heartland. A grassroots campaign against UKIP is being built across Thanet in Kent and today saw a buoyant march of between 750 and 1000 people flowing along the Margate seafront from the train station to the Winter Gardens. The Thanet Stand Up […]
Pictures and reflections from FBU strike
Steve Eason reports from the strike rally organised by the FBU earlier this week. It was clear from local reports most striking firefighters were making their way to the National rally in London. My train carriage was full of uniformed firefighters on their way to Westminster. Outside the hall groups of strikers from all over […]
Malcolm X in the Midlands
On the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, Zakir Gul examines a visit he made to a small town near Birmingham, and his enduring legacy.
We need to be honest about what is happening in Greece
Jonathan Neale adds his view to the debate on events unfolding in Greece. We need to be honest about what is happening in Greece. The leadership of Syriza said during the election that under no circumstances would they leave the euro. But if they won the election, they would be able to persuade the governments […]
Demanding the right to breathe
David Renton continues the debate about events in Greece, discussing the agreement between Syriza and the Eurozone, and considers the options facing the movement in Greece. If there had been any doubts about the meaning of the agreement reached by Syriza and the Eurozone, they were resolved by the publication on Tuesday morning of Greece’s […]
Thanet activists prepare for protest against UKIP conference
Dan Swain spoke to members of Thanet Stand Up to UKIP about their campaign and the demonstration this weekend against UKIP’s spring conference. On Saturday activists in Nigel Farage’s target seat of South Thanet will be joined by others from across the country in protesting against the UKIP Spring Conference, which they have chosen to […]
Struggles, but not yet a movement: Response to Graham Campbell
Ruth Lorimer responds to Graham Campbell‘s article ‘The Assault on London Housing Rights,’ arguing the current struggles need to be expanded and deepened to see real results. Graham has raised some important points in his article ‘The Assault on London Housing Rights’, but there are a few assertions I disagree with and would like to […]
Real free speech is subversive, not about defending the status quo
Colin Wilson discusses recent controversies about freedom of speech. The last few months have seen a number of discussions about “free speech”. After the Charlie Hebdo killings, the magazine’s supporters frequently justified its publication of Islamophobic and racist cartoons by reference to free speech. When protesters in January opposed Marine Le Pen speaking at the […]
A national NHS campaigners’ convention: A view from the inside
Sophie W, a medical student in rs21, interviews Joanna Adams from 999 Call for the NHS , a grassroots campaigning organisation, in advance of their national convention on Saturday 28 February. The NHS is in the midst of a deep crisis. While politicians and political parties talk of their visions for its future, health campaigners are […]
The Assault on London Housing Rights
Graham Campbell reports on two local struggles to defend council housing in London, and draws some conclusions about the social significance of the Coalition’s assault on social homes. February 14th to 23rd is designated by Radical Housing Network as Housing Action Week, and it certainly has been. Leading up to the actions of the past […]
Protest against expanding Campsfield Detention Centre
John Walker reports from a protest against Campsfield Detention Centre yesterday. Around 35 people attended a picket of Cherwell District Planning Committee called by Oxfordshire Trades Council yesterday. They were demanding that the planning committee turn down a government request for permission to dramatically expand the size of Campsfield Detention Centre. Campsfield Detention Centre is […]
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale reply to Colin Wilson’s comments on ‘What gender does’
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale continue a discussion on their article What gender does, responding to comments from Colin Wilson To situate our response to Colin, it is useful to see that there are now broadly three schools of approach to gender in rs21. We think it will be healthy for all three approaches to […]
A reponse to Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale’s “What gender does”
Colin Wilson responds to Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neal’s discussion of What gender does in ISJ 139. Nancy and Jonathan’s response to Colin will be published tomorrow. The oppression of women has become a central political topic worldwide. Part of what revolutionaries have to say about women’s oppression is straightforward – that we oppose all […]
“I will continue serenading happiness.” Arab revolutions four years on
The conference Arab revolutions four years on: Revolution, repression and resistance was held at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 13 -14 February.
Letter from Samos: part 2
Part 2 of Chris Jones and Sofiane Ait Chalalet‘s open letter to Dimitri Sevastakis, the newly elected Syriza MP for Samos. Part 1 can be read here. The first part is available here. There is much which unites people on Samos not least the love of its beauty and nature. We live in what could be a […]
The toxic hate behind the Chapel Hill murders
Nicole Colson looks at the background of bigotry behind the killing of three Muslims. This article was originally posted on the US website socialistworker.org. On the evening of 10 February, Craig Stephen Hicks murdered three of his neighbours in Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Yusor’s sister, Razan Mohammad […]
Letter from Samos: part 1
Chris Jones and Sofiane Ait Chalalet live on the Greek island of Samos. This is the first part of their open letter to Dimitri Sevastakis, the newly elected Syriza MP for Samos, in which they talk eloquently about their hopes for what might be achieved under the new government. Part 2 is here. Dear Dimitri, Congratulations on […]
ISIS, sexual violence and killing gay men
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale look at the evidence for widespread rape and homophobic attacks in Syria and Iraq. This post was originally published on their Sexism Class Violence website. There are now many press and internet reports of rape by the Islamic State (ISIS). There are also reports of ISIS killing gays. These reports […]
Autonomy! Autonomy! Autonomy! – Students occupy in the Republic of Macedonia
Over a thousand students have occupied university faculties in the Republic of Macedonia in protest against planned education reforms, reports Nick Evans Students took over SS Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje yesterday (11 February), declaring it an ‘autonomous zone’ under ‘student control’. This is the latest phase in a growing student movement: there have […]
Precarious Work, ‘Compression’ and Class Struggle ‘Leaps’
Kim Moody, author of In Solidarity, continues the discussion begun by Ian A and continued by Kevin Crane about the nature of work and workplace struggle today In his response to Ian A, Kevin Crane raises a number of serious issues concerning the work of socialists in trade unions and the workplace. The heart of his […]
Reject the deal – restart the strikes
Mark Boothroyd, a nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital, on why health workers should restart the strikes for the sake of the NHS. This was originally posted on Mark’s blog. See also the Health Worker leaflet: Reject this rotten offer. Last week UNISON and UNITE’s leaderships voted to call off NHS strike action in response to an offer from the government. The […]