Memoirs of a revolution: Portugal 1974
On the 25th April 1974, against every expectation, a revolution broke out in Portugal. On the 40th Anniversary, Brian Parkin recalls what it was like for a young British engineering worker, arriving in the midst of a city in the process of revolution, where momentarily everything seemed possible. Lisbon. An imperial city. A city as […]
Baltic Pride – not parliament – has the potential for LGBT liberation in Estonia
Civil partnerships for LGBT couples could be recognised in Estonian law from July. But William Cleary argues that the Baltic Pride festival, which will be held in Estonia’s capital in June, will be more significant for LGBT liberation. Estonian legislators are preparing a civil partnerships bill for the parliament, the Riigikogu. The bill is in […]
Debate: What should socialists say about the EU?
As UKIP’s popularity continues to rise, we asked Nick Evans and Hanif to discuss what arguments socialists should be making in the run up to the European elections this month. Continue the discussion in the comments section. If you’d like to write a longer piece on the debate, please email us at rs21.submissions@gmail.com Nick: NO […]
UK a tax haven for Big Pharma
Sophie Williams, a medical student at Imperial College London, discusses how low tax rates in the UK make buying out AstraZeneca an attractive deal for US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer US-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has begun a bid to buy-out the UK-registered AstraZeneca. Both companies are the in top-ten most profitable pharmaceutical industries, generating a combined […]
Indian elections: fears for the future
Voting continues in the Indian general elections, with Modi likely to come out on top. Patrick Ward, a writer for Project-India.com reports from India on the largest elections that the world has ever seen. Everyone has an opinion on the general elections currently underway in India. From the wealthy inhabitants of the luxurious, gleaming […]
The evolution of the Scottish independence question
Historian and socialist activist Neil Davidson’s responds to questions about his article ‘Yes: a non-nationalist argument for Scottish independence’ about how his position on Scottish independence has developed.
Post-16 fightback
NUT member Despina M discusses the attacks on post-16 education and fightback against them The post-16 sector has been at the sharp end of government cuts, but has also seen some of the most impressive fightbacks. Whereas – in theory – funding for five to sixteen year olds has been ‘protected’, the Tory coalition has […]
Fighting homophobia: “the best day of my teaching career”
An NUT rep in Manchester explains how he organised a day that celebrated diversity, and tackled homophobia, in his school with truly astounding results. Stonewall completed two reports in 2007 and 2012 about the level of homophobia within schools. The reports give ample evidence that homophobia is an acute problem within both primary and secondary […]
University staff should reject a 2% rise
Amy Gilligan is a researcher and UCU member at Cambridge. This article originally appeared at the Labour blog Left Futures. (pic: UCU strike at Manchester Metropolitan University.) UCU and EIS members in higher education are currently voting in a ballot whether to accept the employer’s “full and final offer” in the pay claim. I’ve voted to […]
UKIP and the deadly truth about construction jobs and safety
by Anindya Bhattacharyya and Brian Parkin “EU policy at work. British workers are hit by unlimited cheap labour. Take back control of our country. Vote UKIP 22 May.” A picture of a white, presumably British, construction worker begging for small change. But the real picture in construction is pretty much the opposite of this UKIP election […]
Who was Blair Peach?
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the killing of Blair Peach by the police. David Renton looks back at Blair Peach’s life as a poet, trade unionist and committed antifascist. Blair Peach was a 33 year old teacher killed on a demonstration on 23 April 1979 at Southall against the National Front. He is one […]
Inoculation against bosses’ lies
Ian Allinson discusses how his workplace gained confidence through exposing their bosses’ lies In 2003 I went on strike for the first time. We wanted improved sick pay, increased pay and equal pay. There had been no strikes at my workplace for maybe 20 years. Some of us had supported other people’s strikes. None of […]
Panic on the streets of Birmingham?
Andrew N, Birmingham NUT executive member (personal capacity), argues that the left needs to stand against Islamophobes and reject media scapegoating Photo: Paul Clarke If you were to believe the headlines in certain Tory papers recently, you would think that schools in Birmingham were being seized by Muslim radicals on a daily basis.”Gove declares war […]
Having no job is a daily grind in itself – on unemployment.
Mary Turner writes about her son struggling to find work. My son is shy and does not always mix well with other people. He lacks certain social skills, but he is a lovely person and sensitive to other people’s needs. He has been unemployed for some time, and there is pressure on him from all […]
UKIP – just another bunch of control freaks.
The recent successes of Nigel Farage and UKIP should leave anti-racists, anti-homophobes and workers concerned with their rights worried. However the ideological pillars of UKIP are rotten. Their claims to liberty and freedom are topsy-turvy, founded on the vilification of migrants and taking away their liberty. Luke Evans rips apart Farage’s hypocrisy, and the flawed thinking he relies on. […]
Big business and the NHS: Awkward bedfellows
Gill George discusses how drug company greed means the government has wasted millions on stockpiling medicine that doesn’t work Private companies exist to make a profit for their shareholders. The NHS exists to keep people healthy and look after us when we’re sick. When the two get entangled, the NHS tends to lose out. The […]
The dullness of work
A university admin worker writes about their job. My job is boring. I’m an admin worker at a popular university in Northeast England. I’ve done the same job for several years. There have been developments and things I do differently, but mostly the job is the same. I answer email queries, update spreadsheets, navigate clunky […]
A response from Venezeula
Dan Gent, writes from Venezuela having witnessed the events surrounding the opposition riots. It is offered as a comradely response to Mike Gonzalez’s Letters from Venezuela. This piece was originally published on the Comrade Markin blog where there are more photos that Dan has taken in Venezuela. Opposition protests have rocked Venezuela for over a […]
How I learnt about solidarity
An IT worker explains how she learnt about solidarity. In 2007 employees at my site were on strike. The company was attacking us on pay, union recognition, and any other agreements they wanted to bin. I hate public speaking. But fellow strikers twisted my arm and I grudgingly agreed to accompany a colleague to speak […]
Constructing Lads mags – Playboy to Nuts
Estelle Cooch looks at the demise of Nuts and asks what the competition of original porn mags Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler, can tell us about lads mags today. A decade on from its launch, the owners of sexist “lads mag” Nuts announced this week it was due to close, after sales plummeted from 300,000 at […]
The hanging of Derek Bentley: a miscarriage we shouldn’t forget
It took decades to win some sort of justice for Derek Bentley – but the fight eventually won.
Syria: March 2011 – March 2014 – Solidarity is essential
Jacques Babel and Joseph Daher report on the campaigns to mark the third anniversary of the start of the Syrian revolution, both within and outside Syria.
rs21 Political Weekend: What is revolutionary leadership?
Caliban’s Revenge discusses a session at the rs21 political weekend on the question of the role of ‘leadership’.
Surge in support for fascists in French elections
Iris Cohen analyses the background to the the recent gains made by the far right in France in advance of today’s second round of voting.
The upturn/downturn debate: an introduction
Ian A summarises a debate on the development of capitalism since 1968, and how this has impacted the working class and its struggles, in a attempt to address the question of what revolutionaries should do.
Interview: Spies, surveillance and Cambridgeshire police
Cambridgeshire police tried to recruit an activist to spy on Unite Against Fascism, UK Uncut and Cambridge Defend Education, according to video evidence which came to light in November last year.
Social reproduction – what it is and why it matters
Reproduction involves more than just the creation of human beings – it involves the reproduction of the “capital relation” itself – the worker and the capitalist.
Ukraine: four points in response to Chris Nineham
Acknowledging Russia’s imperialism has consequences for our understanding of national liberation movements.
The Kosovo War – 15 Years On
15 years ago today NATO forces began bombarding Serbia with high-tech bombs. For Blair and Clinton the Kosovo War was their ‘humanitarian’ intervention. However, as James B writes, the actuality of that conflict, and the legacy, is anything but. Fifteen years ago Europe was at war. The Kosovo conflict has been eclipsed in the popular […]
Policing the system: racism, violence and the crimes of the cops
Studies carried out in the aftermath of the riots confirmed that large numbers of rioters took to the streets for revenge – against a political system that marginalised them.