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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Homes for people — not for profit
Adam DC reports on the March for Homes Up to 4,000 people marched in the cold and wet from east and south London on Saturday (31 January) to demand decent homes for people living in the capital. Around 2,000 marched from Shoreditch, an area where rents have been rents ramped up massively over recent years. […]
Cambridge students boycott essays in campaign for reading week
Dan Swain reports on a new campaign by students at Cambridge University. Students at Cambridge University are campaigning for the introduction of a reading week, and committing to refuse to submit work during the fifth week of term in order to make it happen. The campaign reflects a growing awareness of the effect of stress […]
The struggle for housing
rs21 members and supporters will be joining the London March for Homes tomorrow. The march is assembling in Shoreditch and Elephant and Castle, and converging on City Hall. Below is the text of the leaflet we have produced in support of the demonstration, including a handy infographic, and an excerpt from an article by Ruth […]
Challenging the neoliberal university: Inside the Warwick occupation
A building at the University of Warwick has been occupied since last week, after Police violence broke up a peaceful protest. Martin Platais reports from within the occupation. On Wednesday 3 December, the management of Warwick University sent in police armed with Tasers, dogs, and CS-spray who proceeded to break up a peaceful sit-in being […]
Student day of action sees protests, occupations and police violence
In December 2014, a day of action for free education saw students on up to 40 campuses take part in protests, stunts and occupations.
Poverty in the UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation report
A new report on poverty contains key information about how society is changing – changes that are likely to influence the shape of struggles to come, writes Colin Wilson. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s recent report shows the government’s claimed “economic recovery” is doing little for large numbers of people – we live in a society […]
Inside the NHS: why workers are taking action
Tomorrow healthcare workers from across nine unions are taking action over defence of pay at the NHS. The strike is for four hours between 7am and 11am. The rs21 leaflet in support of the strike can be found here Mary, a student nurse at King’s College London, highlights the important of those at the start […]
Students march in London for free education
Dan Swain reports from today’s student demonstration in London. Over 7000 students joined today’s demonstration for free education in London, making it the largest student demonstration in Britain since 2011. The demonstration was organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts and the Student Assembly Against Austerity, and supported by the Young Greens. It […]
Women in science and the sexist space shirt
As space probe Philae landed on comet 67P last week, a row erupted over a sexist shirt. Geophysicist Amy Gilligan looks at the under-representation of women in science – and how it can be challenged. Last week Philae, a lander deployed by the European Space Agency spacecraft Rosetta, made contact with comet 67P. Rosetta left […]
Not ‘crazy’ as in wacky, but ‘mad’ as in ‘fuck this’
A Marxist analysis of the mental ill health epidemic has to lay the blame squarely at the door of class society, and the alienation, injustice and misery it causes.
Why a university finally stood up to misogyny
Last week the men’s rugby club at LSE was closed down for a year after producing a sexist and homophobic leaflet. Lois JC considers why the university finally took action, after years doing nothing to oppose the club’s racism and bigotry. As a former student of the London School of Economics (LSE) I was, unfortunately, […]
Secret diary of a NHS nurse
In the first of a new series that looks at what it’s like on the ground for NHS workers facing cuts and privatisation, our correspondent under the pseudonym “the secret nurse”, describes her experience applying for NHS funding and her shock at the entrance of Richard Branson into healthcare I have been a healthcare assistant and […]
Campaigners in west London mark the closure of two A&E facilities – pictures
(photo report by Steve Eason) The A&E departments at Hammersmith hospital and Central Middlesex hospital were shut down on Wednesday as part of a programme of “improvements” recommended by the Clinical Commissioning Group. To mark the closure protesters from Save Our Hospitals went first to Hammersmith hospital and then on to Central Middlesex. Speakers included campaigners from […]
NUT executive passes up opportunity to join 14 October public sector strike
Andy N, an executive member of Birmingham NUT, writes in a personal capacity on a poor decision by the teaching union’s national committee The National Union of Teachers (NUT) executive committee decided last Friday against calling its members out on strike alongside other public sector unions on 14 October. Some 1.3 million workers in GMB, […]
Ebola: protests, profits and the role of Big Pharma
Sophie Williams writes on the politics behind a deadly virus that has infected thousands. Sophie is a medical student and health activist based in London The outbreak The current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has infected and killed more people since its start in December than any previous outbreak. There have been more […]
After Rotherham – how can we protect every child?
We need a consistent and effective response to child abuse. But, writes Christine Bird, that means thinking the issues through, and rejecting racism and hypocrisy.
How the rulers of Rotherham betrayed their children
The report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham documents appalling abuse. But even more shocking is the failure of councillors, council managers and police to do anything to address a problem they have known about for the last twenty years.
Fight for your right to read
Alan Gibbons, author, organiser of the Campaign for the Book and lifelong socialist discusses the attacks that the library service is facing in Britain. He is based in Liverpool where proposals to cut eleven of the city’s nineteen libraries have recently been announced. It is the fiftieth anniversary of the public library service. This should […]
NUS executive votes to back BDS boycott campaign against Israel
(picture of #nus4bds campaigners by Aaron Kiely, NUS executive member, via Facebook) The NUS national executive committee today voted 23-18 with 1 abstention to adopt a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy against Israel. Fantastic that #NUSNEC has passed policy to support #BDS || read more about BDS: http://t.co/KHBcC1WgRm #BoycottIsrael #FreePalestine – rs21 (@revsoc21) August 4, 2014 […]
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 […]
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 […]
4 Things We’ll Remember David Willetts For
The odious Tory ideologue who masterminded the Higher Education reforms has been shuffled off.
Build in, build out, build up! July 10 strike report
Estelle Cooch writes: Over a million public sector workers went on strike today against pay, pensions and cuts. The strike was the biggest in several years and brought together unions that haven’t struck together since the two big pension strikes of 2011 – June and November 30th. It is worth recapping how the action came […]
Save Our Staff – or we’ll strike!
Shanice McBean reports from Kings College picket lines: Today UCU members at KCL were out on strike following the threat of 120 redundancies in the Health Schools. Fifty seven of these staff have now lost their jobs. Staff under threat are being targeted using arbitrary criteria, such as research grant income, to determine who gets […]
Lambeth College strike: Stage One ends, but prepare for Stage Two
by Matthew Cookson, UCU lead negotiator, EHWLC (personal capacity) Strikers at Lambeth College in south London marched back together to work today (Wednesday 9 July) after five and a half weeks of all-out action. The college lecturers have pledged to resume their strikes in the autumn term if the dispute is not resolved. The UCU […]
Review: Strike for America
Tomorrow over a million public sector workers will go on strike. Amy Gilligan reviews Micah Uetricht’s recent book Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity which looks at how teachers in Chicago organised and won. Originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the rs21 magazine The story of the victorious Chicago teachers’ strike […]