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.
London protesters show solidarity with Ferguson, bringing traffic to a halt
Amy Gilligan reports from last night’s #LondonToFerguson rally Around 2,000 protesters – young, black and white, people of all genders, lead by women – raced through the streets of central London last night to demand justice for Michael Brown and show solidarity with demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri. The London protest came in the wake of Monday’s decision against indicting Darren Wilson, the police officer who […]
Ferguson solidarity protests across the US: Photos and videos
After the decision not to indite Darren Wilson, people across the US people have taken to the streets to demand justice for Michael Brown. Join the protest tonight in London, 7pm, outside the US Embassy, organised by London Black Revolutionaries, NUS Black Students campaign, BARAC and Defend the Right to Protest. Washington DC: The protest […]
Radical Independence Conference – hopeful, energetic, impressive
Three thousand people took part on Saturday in the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow. Christine Bird reports from an inspiring event, part of the renewal of the left in Scotland.
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 […]
Thousands take part in London masked march
Colin Revolting reports Up to 5000 people, mostly in Anonymous/Guy Fawkes masks, gathered in Trafalgar Square last night following a call to protest against austerity, surveillance and a range of other issues. On the base of Nelsons column protesters chanted “One solution: Revolution”, “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “who killed Mark Duggan? Police killed Mark […]
Rooftop protest at Cambridgeshire Sodastream offices
A protest just outside Cambridge highlighted that Sodastream is profiting from generous tax breaks and grants from the Israeli government.
Picturehouse proposes redundancies at The Ritzy just six weeks after dispute ends
Six weeks after voting to accept a pay offer from Picturehouse Cinemas, workers at the Ritzy are being faced with over 20 potential redundancies. Arjun Mahadevan reports. Update, 2 November: Ritzy management have since withdrawn the threatened redundancies. On Thursday 23 October staff at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton, South London were called into a meeting […]
Tens of thousands join parade of the labour movement
Amy Gilligan reflects on Saturday’s TUC demonstration. The large TUC demonstration on Saturday saw tens of thousands of trade unionists march through central London. Branch banners from across the country were visible in many of the union blocks, and groups from outside of the capital made up a substantial proportion of those marching. The demonstration was […]
Fighting back against victimisation
Pat Mollins is a private sector care worker who ended up victimised by management for union organising in his workplace. Here is his story of how they fought back – and won. This piece originally appeared in the Autumn 2014 issue of the rs21 magazine. There were many reasons why we began to orgasnise in our […]
First NHS pay strike for decades gets a great response from the public
by Sophie Williams (Midwives’ picket line at North Manchester General Hospital – photo by Sam O’Brien) Yesterday saw the first national NHS pay strike for 32 years, and the first strike in the 133 year history of the Royal College of Midwives. Picket lines were upbeat and received a lot of support from passers-by. In Harrow, […]
Public sector strikes: a guide to who’s on strike when and why
Next week will see groups of workers from across the public sector taking industrial action in defence of pay and services. The week will culminate with trade union demonstrations in London and Glasgow on Saturday. Amy Gilligan rounds up who’s taking action when. UPDATE, 10 October Two of the strikes were called off yesterday. An RMT statement […]
GMB members strike at TSSA
Adam DC reports Management at the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) have written to of the union’s organisers indicating they do not have an assured role in their new organisation. 30 staff out of a total workforce of 50 in total are being told they will have to go through an assessment in order to […]
Hong Kong protests two weeks on
As another week begins in Hong Kong, people are still blockading the streets in several areas of the city. There are talks about talks, but the protesters say they are not giving up their positions without something much more substantial than what the government is offering. Sue Sparks reports. Two weeks into the protest one of […]
Thousands attend Hong Kong solidarity protest in London
Charlie Hore reports from the protest outside the Chinese embassy on Wednesday 1 October. The organisers hoped for three to four hundred people, I was told, but at its height, there were up to 3,000 people outside the Chinese embassy in London on Wednesday night, showing their solidarity with the struggle in Hong Kong. The demonstration […]
10 things you need to know about the protests in Hong Kong
The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong continue. Demonstrators have set a deadline of midnight tonight for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive to resign. German revolutionary magazine Marx21 interviewed Sophia Chan from Left21, Hong Kong about the background to and prospects for the mass protests taking place. The interview in available in German here. 1. When did the protests start and why? What […]
Mass protests grow on the streets of Hong Kong
Sue Sparks reports on the protests growing on the streets of Hong Kong. The mass protests on the streets of Hong Kong over the past few days have been inspiring. The protests started with university students holding class boycotts and then public lectures in central Hong Kong. These led to an occupation of Civic Square, […]
Worldwide protests against climate change
Olivia Arigho Stiles reports on the People’s Climate March. Around 30,000 people marched from Temple to the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday on the People’s Climate March. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and actor Emma Thompson addressed the assembled crowds. Thompson asserted the need for boycotts as a mechanism of protest against polluting businesses. The […]
The class divide is clear to see over the Scottish independence referendum
Hanif Leylabi gives his impressions of #indyref day The energy and debate generated by the referendum was clear from the moment my train pulled up at its first Scottish stop. The sheer volume of campaign stickers tells you that this referendum has engaged and involved huge swathes people, including those who have never voted before. What was also immediately […]
Huge turnout as Scots head to the polls
Graham Campbell reports from Glasgow George Square last night was like Glastonbury. 10,000 people filling the square and a joyous party atmosphere: mostly, but not exclusively younger people. Bands and pipers played, reels were danced. Today’s voting has been amazing. The turnout is so high at Alexandra Parade, Dennistoun there was a queue akin to […]
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 […]
Autumn rs21 magazine out now
The new edition of the rs21 magazine is out now. Since the last issue of the rs21 magazine came out there has been an explosion of protest globally in response to Israel’s latest assault on Gaza. In this issue a series of authors attempt to grapple with the question of what imperialism means today and […]
Antifascist demo in Cricklewood sees off squad of racists – pictures
(pictures and captions by Steve Eason) Some 130 protesters from North West London United and the Anti-Fascist Network easily outnumbered a crew of 18 fascists who called themselves the South East Alliance. The only repeatable comment from the fascists was: “We’ve only been in Cricklewood five minutes and we don’t like it.” The crowd on our side included local UAF activists, workers in the RMT […]
The politics behind the ice bucket challenge
The ice bucket challenge has gripped people across the world and apparently raised more than $80 million for motor neurone disease, but asks Dominic Jones, what does it say about the state of medical research that it relies on people emptying water over their heads for funding The past few weeks has seen the ice bucket […]
Nine years since Hurricane Katrina: has anything changed?
Nine years on from the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Lois JC, who visited New Orleans last year to see how the city had changed, writes on the lasting impact of the disaster.
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.
Assata Shakur: the world’s most dangerous woman?
Estelle Cooch reports on a lively launch of Assata Shakur’s autobiography at the recently opened Black Cultural Archives in Brixton It may be forty years since Assata Shakur, still the FBI’s most wanted woman, went on the run and sought asylum in Cuba, but the debates and controversy that surrounds her arrest doesn’t look to […]
Boycott Kedem: how Palestine activists are taking on an Israeli firm in Manchester
Kedem Cosmetics is a franchise based on King Street in Manchester. It exclusively stocks produce from the Dead Sea, an area from which Palestinians are barred and whose resources they cannot access.
London protesters stand in solidarity with Ferguson
At the London vigil those attending chanted “hands up, don’t shoot”, following Ferguson protesters.
Why support an academic boycott of Israel?
The idea that you should boycott Israeli universities has been one of the more difficult arguments within the Palestine movement. Here a member of the University and College Union national executive, Trish McManus, tackles the key questions. In 2004 a small number of intellectuals and scholars launched the Palestinian Campaign for an academic boycott of Israel […]