‘These cuts will not heal’ – student nurses march for bursaries
On Saturday 9 January, thousands of student nurses and their supporters marched on Downing Street to protest the government’s proposal to replace current bursaries with loans.
#bursaryorbust: student nurses fight to defend the NHS
Today thousands of student nurses will march through London demanding that the NHS bursary should not be scrapped. Emma RC discusses the campaign she’s been part of at King’s College London and argues the #bursaryorbust campaign is part of a wider fight in defence of the NHS. Like most years since its birth, it has […]
Why public transport is broken
As rail users are once again hit by fare increases, with one season ticket topping £10,000, Tom Haines-Doran discusses the damage that privatisation continues to do to public transport and the examples of resistance we can look to You might think public transport has largely escaped austerity, particularly if you live in London or have heard […]
Greenwich teachers celebrate victory!
Teachers at John Roan school in Greenwich won a victory this week in their fight against excessive work loads. We reported on their first day of strike action on 10 November. Below we publish their letter to supporters and the official National Union of Teachers statement on their successful dispute. Picket line outside John Roan. Photo: […]
Autumn statement: Tories retreat under pressure, prepare new offensives – and show signs of weakness
The Tories have backed down over tax credits, junior doctors and workfare, writes Colin Wilson. Meanwhile they are on the attack over benefits, education and health – but they have real weaknesses that campaigns can target. The autumn statement showed us two things. First, the Tories retreated on several fronts where campaigning has put them under pressure. […]
Greenwich teachers: on strike for respect and fighting to win
NUT teachers at John Roan School in Greenwich took strike action on Tuesday, 10 November over their working conditions. In their words, they have “an unsustainable workload alongside excessive monitoring and scrutiny of our work”. A local trade unionist reports from the picket line. “It’s important we take this action as I’ve seen the effects at other […]
Dismantling the NHS is turbo-charged neoliberalism: Review of How to Dismantle the NHS in 10 Easy Steps
NHS activist Gill George reviews Youssef El-Gingihy’s book How to Dismantle the NHS in 10 Easy Steps The NHS is a milestone in history – the most civilised step any country has ever taken The quote above is what Aneurin Bevin told the first NHS patient ever to be treated, back in 1948; and that’s how Youssef […]
Lecturers to strike over pay and in defence of access to education
Mark Harding, a lecturer and UCU member in London, looks at the uncertain future of the further education sector and the Tuesday 10 November strike in colleges in England. Lecturers working in further education colleges in England are to strike on Tuesday 10 November for their UCU union’s demand of £1 an hour extra pay […]
New deal for junior doctors: still #notfairnotsafe
Medical student Sophie W explains that the much trumpeted new offer to junior doctors still means a big pay cut and unsafe hours. Jeremy Hunt’s offer to junior doctors is spin, and doesn’t address the initial concerns about the fairness or safety of the contracts. The new offer includes: An 11 % pay rise on […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Rolling coverage from Manchester anti-austerity demo
At least 85,000 people took part in today’s anti-austerity protest at Tory Conference in Manchester, called by the People’s Assembly and the TUC.
#NotFairNotSafe: Doctors and medical students take to the streets
Medical student Ellie R reports on Monday’s demo to protest against proposed junior doctors’ contracts that put patients’ lives at risk. Photos by Steve Eason. If one were to rank professions in order of likelihood of taking to the streets demanding more power for their unions, doctors probably wouldn’t come terribly far up the list. There […]
Junior doctors’ contracts: not fair, not safe
Patient safety will be jeopardised by new contracts for junior doctors, argues Sophie W, a medical student, London. That’s why she will be demonstrating tomorrow (28 September) outside Methodist Central Hall in London. Junior doctors are to be balloted on industrial action, almost a year on from when union representatives walked out of contract negotiations […]
Colourful march continues East London housing fight
James B and Colin Revolting report: The Focus E15 Mothers housing activists led a march of around 500 people through Stratford, East London on Saturday 19 September to mark the second anniversary of their campaign. The ‘March against Evictions’ was loud, colourful and restated the determination of campaigners to win their battle. The broad range […]
Kids Company – the politics of charity
David Cameron praised Kids Company as part of his “big society”. After the organisation’s collapse last week, Richard Belbin asks what attitude the left should take to charities. The closure of Kids Company has been met with a mixed response from many in the media and indeed from other workers within the voluntary sector. Whilst no […]
Social Housing, Not Social Cleansing: Focus E15 Campaign’s Victories
The mothers of the Focus E15 campaign are beacons of resistance for all of us fighting austerity. Since being served eviction notices in August 2013, they have organised demonstrations, council sit-ins and a hugely successful occupation of the Carpenters Estate. Joy Macready visited the campaign’s weekly Saturday stall outside Wilkos on the Broadway in Stratford […]
The crisis in homecare
By civilised standards people living longer should be something to celebrate. But in the twisted logic of neoliberalism it is regarded instead as a burden – a “demographic time-bomb”. Here, former Edinburgh care worker Marlyn Tweedie explains the reality of the growing crisis in social care. This article was originally published in the Leeds publication […]
Ideology drives maintenance grant cut
Amy Gilligan argues that neoliberal ideology is at the heart of the Tories’ cutting of student maintenance grants A report this week from the Institute of Fiscal Studies shows that the government’s plan to scrap maintenance grants for students from the poorest households will mean that 40% of students will graduate with debts of over £53,000. […]
Stop this college closure: support the occupation
Lewisham Southwark college plan to close their Camberwell site and sell it for £5 million. Police have threatened to evict occupiers trying to save the site. We share here a video report by Alex John for Radical Assembly South East London and Left Unity. Ian from the Radical Assembly explains the campaign to save the Camberwell […]
Echoes of eugenics in Osborne’s budget
Eugenics is alive and well – in the Tory budget. Nicholas Cimini explains why. Last week we saw the first all-Tory budget in almost two decades and with it the introduction of a “two-child policy” that cuts tax credits and housing benefits for families with more than two children. This means new claimants will not […]
The rise of the GERM: how is education messing with our minds?
With the neoliberal assault on education seemingly unending, Andrew Stone, a teacher and NUT rep in south London, considers the role of education today and how we can fight back “Anorexia is increasing among primary-age children. Self-harm was reported as a direct response to the pressure of SATs [national tests taken at ages 6-7 and 10-11] […]
London FE colleges hit by six strikes
UCU members in Further Education report on strikes that took place across London yesterday Seven London Further Education colleges took coordinated strike action yesterday against course closures and massive job cuts. Members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) have been campaigning since the election in May against draconian cuts to college budgets, most notably […]
Colossal cuts for further education
With colossal cuts looming, Barbara Jeffery and Mark Winter outline the devastating impact that the Tory plans for further education will have on colleges At the onset of their second term, the Government outlined their plans for adult further education. Excluding funding for apprenticeships, the budget for 2015/16 will be […]
1915 Glasgow Rent Strike: how workers fought and won over housing
One hundred years ago the workers and housewives of Glasgow forced the government to place on the statute book the first-ever Rent Restrictions Act.
Glasgow Homeless Caseworkers strike: defending services against austerity and a Labour council
Homeless Caseworkers in Glasgow have been on strike for ten weeks for decent pay. Austerity is forcing working-class people in the city out of their homes. But, as Christine Bird reports, Glasgow’s Labour council seems more concerned about imposing Tory cuts than providing services to homeless people. Last Friday, after they had been on strike for nine weeks, the council made […]
It IS racist to worry about “foreign” nurses – a reply to Dr Max Pemberton
The problem isn’t nurses from abroad – it’s understaffing, pay reductions and bureaucracy, writes Mark Boothroyd, himself a nurse. Max Pemberton’s Daily Mail comment piece “It’s NOT racist to worry about foreign nurses” is a truly shameful article of writing. Using the deranged actions of a single individual who happens to be Filipino as an […]
Manchester protests against austerity
Mikhil Karnik and Ian Allinson provide pictures, interviews and a report from today’s anti-austerity demonstration in Manchester. During the afternoon around 1000 people took part in a static anti-austerity demonstration in Piccadilly Gardens. It brought together people from a wide variety of campaigns along with a significant number protesting for their first time. Speeches focussed […]