Solidarity from Carlisle to Greece: eyewitness report
Stephen, Hazel and their two year-old daughter, left the UK back in April in order to travel to Greece on a three-month solidarity trip. Stephen resigned from his permanent job in order to travel to Greece; Hazel took an unpaid sabbatical from work. They doubled the length of their mortgage term so that they could […]
London Pride: a chance to challenge the neoliberal LGBT agenda
London Pride is taking place this Saturday and in the run up has been hitting the headlines. Colin Wilson argues that the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners’ contingent on this year’s march provides a crucial opportunity for radical voices to be heard. As soon as the Pride Committee published the order in which groups […]
Five things you should know about what’s happening in Greece
While the Greek crisis can appear confusing, it boils down to a few fundamental points which suggest both great possibility and danger, writes Roderick C. It has been five years since the Greek banking system was bailed out by international financial institutions after the outbreak of the sovereign debt crisis. During that time, Greece has […]
Strategies for the radical left: realistic, but visionary
‘Strategies for the radical left today’ is an excerpt from a talk given by Estelle Cooch at They Don’t Represent Us on 16 May 2015.
Labour leadership: continuing Blair’s poisonous legacy
The leadership election seems certain to take Labour even further to the right. Mitch Mitchell doesn’t try to hide his contempt for the whole process.
No return to the thirties: an eyewitness warning
Jean Edmond looks back to the poverty and defeats of the 1930s, and warns against them returning. This article appeared in Issue 10 of the Northern Star, a Leeds based publication. My name is Jean Edmond. I was born on 19th March 1921 in Bootle near Liverpool, the daughter to a struggling housewife and an […]
Green Party: the place to start rebuilding the left?
The Green Party vote last month was four times higher than 2010. How should the left relate to the Greens? Ollie V from Sheffield argues that building the Greens is the best way of cracking the neo-liberal consensus. The Green surge took off as it became clear that Labour wouldn’t present a thematic alternative to austerity and racism, and at […]
Notes from the new world of Scottish politics
Neil Davidson analyses the historic election results in Scotland. If the SNP is to face an opposition from the left, rather the racist right, then unity of both purpose and organisation will be required.
Britain and Europe after the general election: An interview with John Palmer
John Palmer was a leading member of the International Socialists from 1959 until 1975. He later worked in Brussels as the European editor of the Guardian. With a referendum on the EU looming, we interviewed him on its history, institutions, and the truth behind the Tory bluster. rs21: Could you say something about the terms […]
#GE2015: Was Labour too left-wing?
Barnaby Raine takes on the battle for interpretation over Labour’s failure. David Cameron possesses a deeply irritating ability to win. He performs as an archetype of his class; arrogantly he assumes victory, then the country expresses its tentative disgust with him and then he ‘rolls up his sleeves’, acts the worker bee for 30 seconds, […]
The shape of Baltimore’s segregation
In an article from the Chicago-based red wedge website, Alexander Billet sees racism and capitalism combine in Baltimore’s history When it was announced some months ago that the city of Baltimore would start cutting off the water of poor residents, the comparison became inevitable: Baltimore is the next Detroit. It was, and is, still a prescient […]
Despair in England – hope in Scotland
rs21 first reaction to the UK General Election results. This is just the beginning of ongoing analysis. We hope readers will send in comment and pieces in the coming days. Against all predictions, the Tories have won a majority, and David Cameron will be Prime Minister again. This will feel like a punch in the stomach […]
Twelve reasons why the Lutfur Rahman judgment should worry you
The mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London was removed from office last Thursday by an election court on multiple charges of election fraud.
Platform for Renewal emerges from Irish anti water charges movement
Shane Fitzgerald, a socialist based in Dublin, who will be speaking at They Don’t Represent Us, reports on the emergence of the Platform for Renewal from the water campaigns in Ireland This Friday in Dublin, the five trade unions involved in the Right2Water campaign in the south of Ireland are hosting a May Day Conference […]
Why do earthquakes kill?
We can’t predict earthquakes. We’re not going to when and where exactly a fault will break, but we can prepare for them, and try to mitigate the effects when they do occur.
A tree without roots
Zakir Gul argues that the axing of ‘community languages’ at A level reveals the government’s contempt for Britain’s ethnic minorities and their heritages. White just got whiter. Examination boards AQA and OCR have decided to axe several essential languages at A level. The list includes Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Polish, Turkish and Persian. The British government’s […]
I wish there was a secret army of fish
by Miriyam Aouragh I wish there was a secret army of fish with magical powers near Lampedusa that saved our brothers and sisters when drowning. I wish there were ghosts springing from these dead-underwater bodies that first fly to EU politicians and border police to sprinkle horrific pain on them and then past Katie Hopkins […]
#BBCdebate: a political earthquake is about to happen in Scotland
Neil Davidson continues analysis from last night’s debate and argues that the coming election is a question of whether Labour are going to be either totally annihilated or just completely crushed in Scotland.
#BBCdebate: win for the Nationalists and Greens, demolition for Miliband
Jonas Liston shares his thoughts coming out of tonight’s leader’s debate 1) Farage was isolated and snowed under by the dominance of the left in the debate. However, even though his central, racist focus on migration as the cause of every social problem (housing, NHS, etc.) got outdone in the debate, that and his sheer […]
“Are you like wearing mascara?”
As part of rs21’s ongoing series on trans liberation, Sølvi, a teaching assistant in a London secondary school, tries to grapple with what it means to be non-binary when working in education.
Stealing the election
Dan Swain argues we can’t let the Tories steal another 5 years Who’s going to win the General Election? The simple answer is nobody. Under the first past the post system, to really ‘win’ a party has to secure 326 seats in Parliament, which makes it impossible for them to be outvoted even if all the […]
Unison National Executive elections – vote for Reclaim the Union candidates
A Unison Branch secretary recommends that Unison members vote for Reclaim the Union candidates in the National Executive elections. Unison members are voting this month and next for the union’s national executive, and in almost all the contests voters face a very clear choice between supports of the present leadership and activists who want change. […]
Volunteers
David Cameron has announced staff will have the right to three days paid leave from work to do volunteering. Richard Linsert, who works for a charity, explains why it won’t work. The Tories tell us that they love volunteering. They can’t resist the idea, it seems, of delivering public services like libraries without paying staff […]
Housing and the right to the city
The right to the city is just as important as the right to housing, argues Ruth Lorimer This article originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine. Housing is one of those everyday issues that don’t seem that ‘political’ until they come under attack. Pretty much everyone now agrees there is a […]
Labour – what are they good for?
Amy Gilligan asks what it means for people to support Labour today and what is happening to this support? This article was originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine One of my earliest experiences of political activity was going canvassing for the Labour Party. I was, I should probably say, about […]
Cat’s credit crunching: why are house prices so high?
Serious Sherrl asks: Interest rates have been at a record low for many years. But nobody in London can afford to buy even a tiny flat. Why are house prices and rents rocketing in London? What are banks and building societies doing with all that money? Who is benefitting from all this? Dear Sherrl Keeping interest rates low […]
Bollocks to the Poll Tax
Colin Revolting remembers the day 25 years ago when one of the biggest marches ever turned into a mass riot which sunk the Tory flagship Poll Tax policy and took Prime Minister Thatcher down with it.
Cruel incompetence: Tories continue assault on disability benefits
Naomi Care discusses new tory plans to axe billions from the welfare budget, continuing the attacks on some of the most vulnerable people in society It is rare that a news article scares me, but the leaked documents from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that the BBC published details of yesterday made my […]
Troubles mount for beleaguered Tories
Anindya Bhattacharyya looks at the weaknesses on the right of British parliamentary politics. This article first appeared in Issue 3 of rs21 magazine. The big picture here is of a slow burning crisis in the British ruling class, which impacts on both the state as the instrument of its rule and the Conservative party as […]
On decolonizing education and the perils of speaking good english
Racism is both material and ideological, reaching even into the heart of language, thought and memory. Annie Teriba asks how education and minds can be decolonized. This piece was originally published on blackgirlspeak.wordpress.com When asked about the legacy of colonialism, I point out that we must still speak a colonial language in order to be […]