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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
We can defend jobs without supporting nuclear weapons
We reprint this article from last September in solidarity with everyone marching today for a missile free future In the wake of recent statements by Len McCluskey, an Aerospace Unite rep argues that unions should support those arguing for a future beyond nuclear weapons. The destruction of the world is not a job creation scheme Len […]
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 […]
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 […]
Don’t Bomb Syria
Cameron intends to take Britain to war – again – with the support of Labour MPs who would rather back him than Jeremy Corbyn. A recent rs21 leaflet argued against war, racism and repression following the killings in Paris. Huge numbers oppose the war. Every socialist should be piling pressure on MPs to vote against […]
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 […]
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 […]
We can defend jobs without supporting nuclear weapons
We reprint this article from last September in solidarity with everyone marching today for a missile free future In the wake of recent statements by Len McCluskey, a Unite rep, argues that unions should support those arguing for a future beyond nuclear weapons. The destruction of the world is not a job creation scheme Len McCluskey’s […]
Video: Old jumpers – New politics?
What does Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party mean for the wider movement?
The De-commissioned Army
Carlisle rs21 put forward a revolutionary perspective on the Corbyn victory Jeremy Corbyn’s victory is a milestone in the fight for a better society. It was a day when people who had been silenced by austerity found their voice and bellowed. We witnessed the death and burial of the Blair project. We got the conclusion […]
3 ways to build the social movement in Britain after Corbyn’s victory
Jonny Jones discusses how Jeremy and his supporters, whether they are inside or outside the Labour Party, could help to build a social movement that can challenge the Tories and point towards serious social transformation. Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader has been met with astonishment and celebration from many, ridicule and fearmongering from others. While […]
Not doing a Jay-Z
Jonas Liston is delighted by Jeremy Corbyn’s victory. But he’s not going to join the Labour Party. Whilst on the one hand today, I became the dickhead working on a roof in this ghastly torrential rain, who every passer-by pities, on the other hand, I’m delighted by the space Corbyn’s leadership election victory has opened […]
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 […]
And so the radical vagina was most patriarchal of them all
Annie Teriba has had enough of a style of identity-politicking that delivers nothing for most women, but beats the war drum against Jeremy Corbyn, This summer, the trajectory of the Jeremy Corbyn surge has been mirrored by the most fascinating but also irritating brand of identity-politicking. After frequent reminders of Yvette Cooper’s radical vagina, comment pieces about how […]
A quarter of a million voices for change
Jeremy Corbyn has been elected by a quarter of a million people – but the Labour right is already on the attack, writes Colin Wilson. How do we defend Corbyn and seize this opportunity for the left? An era has ended, and I can actually remember how it began, or at least the moment when I […]