Why does Michael Gove hate Blackadder?
Today marks the 100th anniversary of Britain declaring war on Germany in the the First World War. Cameron, Gove and others want us to remember it as “just war”. But Matthew Cookson argues that cultural representations of the war are an explicit condemnation of our rulers’ justifications for it, and often an implicit critique of […]
Duggan family launches fresh appeal for witnesses on anniversary of Mark’s death
The Justice for Mark Duggan family campaign is launching a fresh appeal for witnesses to Mark’s death at the hands of police three years ago today. The only independent witness to the shooting to come forward so far was “Witness B”, who described Mark’s killing as an “execution”. The Justice for Mark campaign hopes a […]
Malevich: new art for a new world
Lois JC (Brixton) reviews the Tate Modern’s new show Malevich: Revolutionary of Russian Art at the Tate Modern is the first retrospective of the Russian avant garde artist Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) in 25 years. The exhibition illustrates, beautifully yet subtly, the contours of a time of revolutionary upheaval: from his early influences and the formation of […]
Lenin: Yes! Leninism: No?
A discussion article by Ian Birchall, historian and author of Tony Cliff: a Marxist for his time It is currently a commonplace on the left and not-so-left to announce that Leninism is dead. Indeed, one might wonder why it is necessary to keep repeating the point. Nobody is writing articles to explain that alchemy or social […]
A bluffer’s guide to boycotting Israel
A handy one-stop-shop for all the arguments you’ll need to argue for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israeli apartheid
Review: The Muslims are Coming!
Hsiao-Hung Pai reviews Arun Kundnani’s latest book The Muslims Are Coming!: Islamophobia, Extremism and the Domestic War on Terror (Verso, 2014) In a period when racism is on the rise and the far right is growing across Europe, ethnic minority and migrant communities are feeling increasingly under attack. This timely and important new book by […]
Review: Playing the Whore
Becky Gardner reviews Melissa Gira Grant’s book “Playing the Whore” (Verso, 2014). This review was originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the rs21 magazine. In her new book Playing the Whore, journalist Melissa Gira Grant brings the voice, experience and politics of sex workers into the current debates about the sex industry. In […]
Netanyahu: Wanted for War Crimes
Israel has been bombing Gaza for three weeks now. Over a thousand Palestinians are dead, including many children.
World War One: The main enemy was at home
Karl Liebknecht’s burning words of opposition to the imperialist slaughter of World War One.
Antifascists arrested at Oxford demonstration against the National Front
Police arrested four anti-fascists at a demonstration against the National Front in Oxford on Saturday. The National Front had called a national mobilisation against “Asian grooming” and antifascists had gathered to prevent them from marching through Oxford. Two of the arrested antifascists are now facing charges. Sophie Williams and Nick Evans report. (pic of anti-NF […]
Video: Barnaby Raine and Mona Dohle comment on the Gaza solidarity movement
Two rs21 activists have appeared on TV in the past 24 hours discussing the situation in Gaza and how best to deliver solidarity to Palestinians under attack from Israel.
Save Our Surgeries: how communities and GPs are fighting NHS cuts in east London
An in-depth report by Daniel Smith on the Save Our Surgeries campaign in London’s East End – and its implications for the wider battle to reverse a decade of privatisation in the NHS. Up to a thousand people joined protests in east London earlier this month against the threat of GP practice closures. The rallies […]
Review: Skylight
Jack Farmer looks at the current revival of David Hare’s political play. It’s perhaps unsurprising that David Hare’s Skylight has been revived now, 18 years after its debut. At its heart, this is a play about inequality and the political values that excuse or condemn it. But Skylight is also a play about love, in […]
‘See Them Ah Come, But We Nah Run’ – Part Two
Colin Revolting remembers being a punk school kid and getting involved in anti-fascism
The end of Nazi Nick Griffin
Anindya Bhattacharyya looks back at the years of campaigning that led to Griffin’s downfall. So it’s good riddance to Nazi Nick. He was declared bankrupt in January and kicked out of his Euro seat in May. Now Nick Griffin has been booted out as leader by what’s left of the fascist British National Party. Griffin’s replacement is Adam Walker, a former teacher with a record of violence, bigotry and […]
Singin’ in the rain
Ritzy workers went out on their eleventh strike today against Picturehouse Cinema’s refusal to pay the Living Wage. It was also the first time Picturehouse have decided to keep the cinema open to try to break the strike. Ritzy management were planning to screen Monty Python Live from the O2, but even Monty Python star […]
Manchester protest occupies high street shops for Palestine
Around 200 people took part in protests in support of Palestine on Saturday in the centre of Manchester.
Isolate Israel to end this horror
We are seeing a huge wave of protest around the world, in many cases involving direct action to an extent we have not seen before.
Gaza demonstration – rolling coverage
Reports and updates from today’s #GazaJ19 demo in defence of Gaza. 5.30pm – And at long last, after many complaints, here’s the BBC report. 4.40pm – Palestine Solidarity announces next protests are at 5.30 on Tuesday at the Israeli Embassy, and then next Saturday from Whitehall. 4.30pm – Thousands have marched through Glasgow in the […]
Playing the Odds: How fractionals at SOAS organised and won
Today the SOAS Fractionals for Fair Play campaign announced that 95% (on a 63% turnout) had voted to reject a contract offer which fell well short of their demands. They also announced a 25% increase in the fractional population taking out a full UCU membership in July. The UCU branch is now committed to considering industrial action […]
Join the national demonstration for Palestine
National Demonstration in solidarity with Gaza, Saturday 19 July, assemble Downing Street 12 noon and march to the Israeli Embassy.
Marxism 2014 in review: “There are no new ideas”?
Rob Owen reviews the largest conference of the revolutionary left this year. Marxism 2014, the annual political festival organised by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), maintained its place as the largest Marxist conference in the UK. Although at 2600 registrations it was slightly smaller than in 2013 and half the size of previous years. The […]
Anger spills out onto London’s streets in run up to Saturday’s Palestine solidarity demo
Ahead of Saturday’s demo, thousands gathered outside the BBC in London to protest against the BBC systematically ignoring and downplaying Palestinian suffering in the name of being ‘neutral’.
4 Things We’ll Remember David Willetts For
The odious Tory ideologue who masterminded the Higher Education reforms has been shuffled off.
‘We save people not banks’: FBU pensions fight continues
Amy Gilligan spoke to Cameron Matthews, FBU Cambridgeshire Brigade Secretary on the picket lines at Cambridge fire station about the strike and supporting victimised FBU member Ashley Brown.
“Anyone could be a target”
Areej Ali-Al-ashhab is a full-time field coordinator at the Gender Initiative Program at the United Nations Relief Works Agency and a part-time English teacher at AMIDEAST (America-Mideast Educational and Training Services) in Gaza City. In late 2008/early 2009, her university, the Islamic University of Gaza, was partially destroyed in the 22-day Israeli assault dubbed “Operation […]
Living Workers, Dead Wages
by Luke Evans “And, it must be confessed, that although the adoption of the enlarged machinery, in that state of our commerce which the country once boasted, might have been beneficial to the master without being detrimental to the servant; yet, in the present situation of our manufactures, rotting in warehouses without a prospect of exportation, […]
Hitting Hamas hard
Estelle Cooch takes a brief look at the origins of Israel’s latest assault on Gaza and argues there is more to it than humanitarian crisis Amidst the flood of Israeli propaganda that has polluted the papers and news channels this week, few comments have been more revealing than that by the chief spokesperson for the Israeli military, […]
Gaza solidarity from Salford to Sydney
Estelle Cooch reports: Many were astonished by the size and speed with which the Gaza protests emerged last week. The recent crisis has been a turning point for media coverage of the conflict. The New York Times ran on its front page last week a photo of assaulted Palestinian American teenager Tarek Abu Khdeir, shocking […]