What the Junior Doctors strike tells us about how to organise in the public sector
Rick Lighten looks at the lessons that other public sector workers can take from how the Junior Doctors have organised and discusses how a strike in a site of ‘social reproduction’ might be different to one in an industry that makes a profit. Today Junior Doctors are taking strike action against the attempted imposition of […]
The secret life of the NHS
As junior doctors prepare to strike tomorrow, Sophie Walton uncovers the reality of a working life that has driven doctors to breaking point. The rs21 leaflet supporting the strike can be downloaded here It’s 8.00 am Monday morning, and we’re in the handover meeting. There are printed lists in the centre of a large, boardroom […]
‘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.
The secret life of the NHS – new rs21 magazine out on Saturday
The January 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. Issue includes: The secret life of the NHS, the life of a junior doctor, by Sophie Walton Joe Sabatini and Tabitha Spence looking at climate politics from […]
Cuts and climate change bring floods to Rochdale
If you want to know what a warming world and climate chaos looks like then take at look at the videos of Rochdale town centre.
Eyewitness: Carlisle floods mean learning what it is like to be on the front line of climate change
Joe Sabatini reports from Carlisle, where floods devastated the town. He discusses what it means to be on the front line of climate change. Climate change has just slapped into Cumbria. For the third time in 10 years the county has suffered from a major flood, leaving thousands devastated – many hit for the second time. […]
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 […]
Fascist success in the French elections: what will it mean for the refugees?
There has been a growing hostility to the refugees in the Calais camps, particularly since the Paris killings. Mitch Mitchell reflects on what the electoral success of the Front National in the French regional elections will mean for the refugees.
Don’t mention trade: leaked document reveals EU plans for the COP21
A leak from the EU’s shadowy Trade Policy Committee reveals officials charged with determining EU’s climate policy vowing to keep trade regulations out of the COP21 climate change talks, reports Nick Evans. A recent article on this website argued we need to pay attention to the arcane world of international trade law. Cloaked in bureaucratic […]
Festive action targets Israeli apartheid
Sherrl Yanowitz reports on the first of a series of festive pickets of the Israeli owned soap shop Sabon in London’s Covent Garden.
Over 50,000 march in London to demand climate justice ahead of COP21 summit
Nilüfer Erdem, Steve Eason, Amy Gilligan and Kate Bradley report Tens of thousands of people marched through central London this afternoon as part of global protests for climate justice, on the eve of the COP21 summit in Paris. Organisers estimate over 50,000 people took part, making it one of the largest climate demonstrations that has […]
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 […]
Nuclear nightmare, gas fracking free-for-all and fuel poverty: Tories unveil UK energy policy
As the world COP21 Paris summit on climate change nears, governments internationally are burnishing their environmental credentials for what will evidently be yet another failure in really getting to grips with global warming. Demonstrators around the world, including in London, on 29 November, and during the COP itself, will be holding governments to account for […]
Junior doctors vote for strike
Sophie W, a medical student in London, looks at what you can do to support the junior doctors strike 27,741 Junior doctors have voted to take strike action in the face on proposed contract changes. More than 76 % of the 37,155 junior doctors took part in the ballot, with 99.4 % saying they would […]
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 […]
Protesters gather in Dover to demand open borders and migrant rights
Roderick C and Mitch Mitchell report on Saturday’s Open Dover demo on the Kent coast (Open Dover demonstration in support of migrants – photo by Steve Eason) Around 500 protesters turned up on a rainy afternoon in Dover yesterday to stand in solidarity with refugees trapped in the camps in Calais. The protest was organised […]
Manchester “Time to Act” conference connects climate and social justice campaigning
Rick Lighten reports Over 200 people came together for a conference on tackling climate change on Saturday 10 October. The conference, titled “It’s Time to Act”, was organised by a coalition of climate groups along with trade union and radical left activists. Groups involved included Campaign Against Climate Change, Friends of the Earth, Stop TTIP, […]
Solidarity demo counters Zionist mobilisation at London Palestinian Mission
As the number of Palestinian deaths in recent weeks continues to rise, Sherrl Yanowitz reports from last night’s protest at the Palestinian Mission to counter a Zionist mobilisation. A Palestine solidarity demonstration has been called for this Saturday (17 October). Israeli armed forces have murdered at least 30 Palestinians in the last two weeks. The dead […]
Hands Off Our Forth: 2000 protest against unconventional gas extraction
Mike A and Pete C report on the communities in Scotland organising against the growing threat of fracking. Around 2,000 people joined hands across the Forth Road Bridge on Sunday in a protest against plans for unconventional gas extraction. Organised by grassroots anti-fracking campaigns across Scotland, Hands Over Our Forth was an uplifting event that […]
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.
Corbyn: What Next? Issue 5 of rs21 magazine
Rob Owen writes on the political context around the launch of our new magazine. Issue 5 will be available on the demonstration outside the Tory party conference in Manchester this Sunday. The world around us has changed. When our last issue went to press the English (and Welsh) radical left was still bruised from the […]
#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 […]
Magnificent response in Bristol to Calais Refugee Solidarity Campaign
Linda Nunn reports on the magnificent response to the Calais Refugee Solidarity Campaign in Bristol The Calais Refugee Solidarity Campaign in Bristol was set up just 6 weeks ago by 7 people. We now have 5500 members on Facebook, and have five sub groups covering Campaigning, Media , Fundraising, Volunteers and Collection of stuff for the […]
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 […]
Turnout drops in Greek elections as Syriza is returned to government
Colin Wilson takes a look at the results of Sunday’s general election in Greece Greece held a general election on Sunday called by prime minister Alexis Tsipras in the wake of his Syriza government’s capitulation to the European Union’s demands for austerity. Syriza was returned to power with a slightly reduced number of seats on […]
Fife residents meet to discuss solidarity with refugees and migrants
There has been a wave of support for people caught up in the migrant crisis. While the authorities have attempted to secure the gates to the fortress, people across Europe have started to organise mass campaigns of support and solidarity, participating in what Abdul Bostani from the Scottish Refugee Council describes as “active citizenship … […]
Two stories from Calais
On Saturday 19 September, members of the London2Calais took part in a demonstration of solidarity with the refugees at the camp in Calais, known as “The Jungle”. Here are two stories they brought back with them.
Red Portcullis: Straight questions as Corbyn challenges Cameron at PMQs
Red Portcullis reports from inside Westminster on Corbyn’s first Prime Ministers Questions as Labour leader I just managed to get squeezed in by one of the door staff (it really does pay to be friendly to staff and share a pint with them) to what was probably one of the most eagerly awaited, though probably […]
Teeside workers fight racism with solidarity
Brian Parkin reports For over a year construction workers on Teesside have been protesting about the rising numbers of migrant workers being employed at the former ICI Wilton site, where a new energy from waste plant is being built. But don’t despair. Unlike such previous disputes, this one is different. This time the protesters are […]