The Labour Party: changing faces, shifting bases
Jon Anderson charts the historic shifts in the demographics of the Labour party, from the PLP to its activist and electoral bases, and the changing relationships between them.
Liverpool is Corbyn-land: 10,000 rally in support of Labour leader
On 1 August, there was a 10,000 strong rally in support of Jeremy Corbyn in Liverpool.
Revolutionaries and Labourism
Jonas Liston discusse the relationship between revolutionaries and the Labour Party.
I joined the Labour Party – maybe you should too
Activists Alison and Adam, who recently joined the Labour Party, put arguments for socialists joining Labour.
I hope Corbyn wins, but I’m not going to join the Labour Party
There is a danger of people devoting most of their energies to struggles inside the Labour Party.
Owen Smith versus Jeremy Corbyn – slick politicians versus the people
Seb Cooke comments on the battle for the Labour leadership.
Britain’s political shakeup
Jonny Jones assesses the state of play in the Tory Party following Theresa May’s assumption of the leadership and the challenge to Jeremy Corbyn’s position as Labour leader.
Unite conference backs Corbyn and mandatory reselection of MPs
Ian Allinson gives a second update on Unite Policy Conference which took major decisions on migration, industrial strategy, backing Jeremy Corbyn and mandatory re-selection of MPs, fracking and climate change.
Unite Against Trident
Brian Parkin and Raymond M have written a new rs21 pamphlet taking on the arguments about Trident, the arms industry and diversification into socially useful production. The issue of Trident has proved to be massively divisive within the UK labour movement and beyond. Undoubtedly Trident was one of the issues around which the right of […]
Video: Jail Tony Blair
The much anticipated, and much delayed, Chilcot Inquiry is due to be published today. Jasveer Singh on why why rebuilding Iraq must start with jailing Tony Blair.
After the Brexit vote we have to expect the unexpected
Mike Haynes reflects on the results of last week’s EU referendum Do you have a clue where we are going and what position to take? Did you see it coming? The imploding Labour Party? This is the world of the unknown unknowns. The Brexit vote has ripped up their rule book. It is having the […]
After Brexit: Keeping our heads when all around are losing theirs
By Rob Owen June 24th was a dark morning. Colleagues at school arrived shell shocked at a result no one expected. Friend after friend asked in worried tones what the result would mean. Meshed with disbelief were two common fears: that Britain had crashed into economic chaos and that a previously hidden, racist and narrow […]
With Corbyn, but beyond Parliament
Andrew Stone argues that movement around Corbyn has created great potential for socialists to organise and debate about how fundamental change can be realised. The co-ordinated post-Referendum resignations from the Shadow Cabinet to unseat Jeremy Corbyn will have come as a surprise to few. Indeed, they closely follow the plan leaked to the Daily Telegraph […]
Five reasons why everyone should get behind Jeremy Corbyn right now!
Seb Cooke lays out the importance of the battle to keep Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party. 1. Anti-Racism. Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the Labour opposition in the UK Parliament. What he says makes news and has a big impact on the left and to a lesser extent society in general. It matters […]
‘Movin’ on up?’ – extended review of Richard Seymour’s ‘Corbyn: the Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics’
Jonas Liston reviews Richard Seymour’s latest book, Corbyn: the Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics, and gives his own thoughts on the movement around the Labour leader, the history of his party, and the future of the left. The book is available directly from Verso’s website for £9.09.
Reclaiming the future – new rs21 magazine out on Saturday
The Spring 2016 issue of the rs21 magazine will be out on Saturday. Order your copy or subscribe here*. Below, Rob Owen gives an overview of the new edition. Part of the union? What should socialists argue in the EU referendum? Our hot topic section lays out the different anti-capitalist arguments around how to approach the referendum. […]
London elections: good riddance to Goldsmith, but Khan not the answer
Duncan Thomas reflects on the election of Labour’s Sadiq Khan as mayor of London. “How do you feel about the election results?”, people asked me after Sadiq Khan’s landslide victory over Zac Goldsmith. “Not actively unhappy” was all I could really muster by way of response. It’s strange, from a radical left perspective, to write […]
Welsh Labour keep going, UKIP breakthrough
Seb Cooke reports on the results of the Welsh Assembly elections, which saw UKIP gain seven seats. He argues that the task for socialists has to be to build a stronger radical left that can relate effectively to issues such as steel, fight racism and utilise Corbyn over anti-austerity The Welsh Assembly is made up of […]
A grudging vote for Labour in the London mayor elections
Anindya Bhattacharyya explains why to humiliate Zac Goldsmith in tomorrow’s London mayoral election, a grudging vote for Sadiq Khan is needed. There are elections across Britain tomorrow – for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, various councils in England, among others. London will be voting for its mayor – with Labour candidate Sadiq Khan the favourite […]
Antisemitism row – the real target is Jeremy Corbyn
The media is full of claims about antisemitism in the Labour Party. Jewish members of rs21 set out our view. Naz Shah and Ken Livingstone have been suspended from the Labour Party over accusations of antisemitism. Condemnation of Shah and Livingstone is part of a wider claim – that the Labour Party and the […]
Steel: from resignation to resistance
Brian Parkin of Leeds rs21 offers a detailed briefing paper on the state of the UK steel industry and a alternative strategy for preserving jobs and production. Seize the time In an illusory globalised economy of post-industrial neoliberal financialisation the Tories never expected to have to face an industrial crisis. Industrial crises were surely the […]
Building resistance – a report from the NUT conference, part 2
Andy S from Wandsworth NUT continues the report from a union conference ready to defend education.
All in this together: IDS drops the Tories in the shit
The resignation of Iain Duncan Smith exposes the deep divisions within the Tories. Now, writes Duncan Thomas, we need to bring them down.
Video: Naomi Klein and Jeremy Corbyn call for climate jobs
Last night in Paris Jeremy Corbyn and Naomi Klein spoke to 800 people about trade unions and climate change, writes Jonathan Neale. For me, the best moment was when Jeremy started his speech by saying “I want to hold this document up. It’s called One Million Climate Jobs.” The meeting was sponsored by Trade Unions […]
Saving Lewisham’s Libraries
Libraries across the country continue to be under threat. A Lewisham Library Union Rep reports that staff and campaigners are coming together in South East London to defend this much needed service. Lewisham library workers and library campaigners are organising a lobby of Lewisham’s Mayor and Cabinet on Wednesday 9th December at 7pm Civic Suite, Catford, […]
Unite shifts left over Trident, opposes war on Syria and launches its industrial strategy
The Unite sector conferences were organised over three days this week. They give reps an opportunity to debate industrial issues relating to each sector with a view to developing industrial strategy for the next 2 years. This year the conferences took place against the backdrop of the Tories’ anti Trade Union Bill, the recent victory […]
HM2015: Where is Britain going?
Joe Sabatini summarises three sessions about Britain at Historical Materialism conference. He concludes that there are opportunities for revolutionaries in the rest of Britain to follow those in Scotland, and shape debates about how we fight for reforms. This article is a report based on three sessions at this year’s Historical Materialism conference that covered the […]
Can Corbynomics Work?
Sam O’Brien discusses whether the economic ideas put forward by Jeremy Corbyn when he was campaigning for the Labour leadership could work The election of Jeremy Corbyn has continues to generate a tide of foaming comment from Telegraph columnists, Blairite hacks and Tories alike. As if his views on Palestine, Trident and tuition fees […]
Arguments for revolution
Jack Farmer argues that we need revolutionary ideas more than ever now that Jeremy Corbyn is Labour leader The unthinkable has become real: a socialist is leader of the Labour Party. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Labour’s history is littered with right-wing leaders who have betrayed the hopes of those who voted for them. As I […]
Labour and the left after #jezwecan: An interview with Ben Sellers
Ben Sellers is a member of Red Labour and was one of the organisers of the social media team that underpinned Jeremy Corbyn’s successful campaign for the leadership of the Labour Party. rs21: You’ve written a piece explaining the roots of Jeremy Corbyn’s social media campaign in Alex Craven’s Facebook page Red Labour, which you and […]