Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century
 
Revolutionary
Socialism in the
21st Century

Articles >

coronavirus

Exposing the far-right conspiracy theorists

Pat Stack on the rise of the far right conspiracy theorist The Light newspaper

CASWO banner and placards

Care workers clap back: strikes, unions and the exodus from care

A care worker activist explains the issues they face and calls for solidarity

Back on the streets in China

After a weekend of widespread protests across China, rs21 member Charlie Hore explains the movement’s significance and looks at what might come next.

Covid – forgotten (by governments) but not gone

Governments have failed to defend us from Covid, but it remains a key issue.

Inclusion and equality matter: Why are they missing from our approach to Covid?

Zero Covid Scotland activist Hannah Hassan outlines the many ways in which Covid policies discriminate against people with disabilities and intensifies existing inequalities.

Image shows a red-filtered photo of a laundrette, empty except for one woman in the background.

The double shift: talking childcare and gender in the pandemic

As many nations re-enter lockdown, Kate Bradley interviews two rs21 members on their experiences with childcare, work and gender during Covid lockdowns.

The Downing Street parties

rs21’s Graham Checkley argues that the fallout from the parties scandal is an opportunity for the left to turn up the pressure outside parliamentary politics. 

Omicron – circuit breaker now!

Johnson and Javid must stop prevaricating and introduce an urgent set of measures to dramatically reduce contacts. Every day of delay in introducing a circuit breaker to cut transmission is magnifying the crisis ahead of us.

COVID Omicron: The case for vaccine justice

The new Omicron variant is the result of the racist and profiteering vaccine policy of the Tory government, writes rs21 member Graham Checkley.

23/12/2020. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson Brexit Deal.The Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his office in Number 10 with his key members of staff as they wait for a response from President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen after they spoke on the phone a few minutes earlier with a possible Brexit deal in sight. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Johnson’s Tory party: how it started, how it’s going

Colin Wilson surveys the resignations, U-turns and scandals of Johnson’s two years in government, the position of the conservative party, and what this means for the left today.

Covid crisis in schools: we need safety measures now

The way to keep children safe and stop the disruption is not to abandon mitigation, but to go for a strategy to stop Covid ripping through schools.

After Hancock, Tory corruption is here to stay

Beyond the headline-grabbing kiss of the Tories’ latest scandal is a series of personal relationships which the former Health Secretary turned into lucrative professional appointments and government partnerships. Gus Woody writes that this type of corruption is isn’t going anywhere while the Tory party remains in power. 

Empty seats on a British train carriage

The Great British fob off 

The recent announcement of a new public sector body called ‘Great British Railways’ to co-ordinate all rail services has been hailed by many as a victory, but these plans in fact set the stage for increases in fares and job cuts for rail workers. 

Relatives carry a woman who fainted after seeing the body of her husband at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India

Turning a profit from death: Modi’s pandemic response in neoliberal India

The recent upsurge of Covid across India has laid bare the Indian state’s utter failure to protect its population.

Image shows red graffiti on the wall of a train track reading 'QMUL No Evictions!'

Queen Mary University of London – stop evicting students now!

A statement from the QMUL Rent Strike Campaign from early April 2021 opposing evictions from Queen Mary University of London student accommodation.

Image shows an internal chamber of the Seimas, the seat of Lithuania's parliament in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Civil partnerships and reproductive rights in Eastern Europe: an interview with Laima Vaige

rs21’s Leslie Cunningham interviews Dr. Laima Vaige, a feminist and LGBTQ activist from Lithuania, on same-sex partnerships in Lithuania, abortion rights in Poland, and LGBTQ people’s experiences across Europe during the Covid crisis.

Image shows picketing workers at Go North West with a anner that reads Our Key Workers Deserve Better.

Ten strikes that need your solidarity

As strike activity ramps up again, rs21 brings together ten strikes you should know about this month. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic there was a short period where no strikes happened anywhere in the UK, perhaps for the first time in decades. This was due to several factors: balloting companies were unavailable, there […]

Image shows a row of workers in Ritzy Strikes Back shirts holding bright yellow and red flags and banners on the picket line.

Tactics of resistance: what’s the point of pickets?

In part two of a series looking at differing tactics for winning battles in the workplace, Derek Fraser looks at picketing, and how it can be used successfully in the current context.

Boris Johnson visiting Alexandra Palace Hospital during the 2019 General Election. Keywords: Government Tories NHS privatisation privatization privatising privatizing privatised privatized

Are the Tories really reversing NHS privatisation?

The Tories’ new proposed health reforms grab more power for ministers – but that doesn’t mean an end to health privatisation.

A photo of a train moving fast beside a mainly empty London Underground platform. Keywords: Section 44 workplace safety unions

Combatting unsafe workplaces: an interview with Janet Newsham

Every workplace is a Covid frontline, as employers try to force workers into unsafe situations. We interviewed Janet Newsham of the Hazards Campaign, which is fighting back.

Books in a school library. Keywords: school closures closed NEU National Education Union strike

Next steps in the fight for safe schools

The government’s retreat on school closures won’t last forever. Education workers need to go on the offensive.

An image comparing £30 worth of food with a meagre basket of food provided by a Tory-linked private firm to children entitled to free school meals.

Let them starve – food and class in Tory Britain

The Tories and their cronies will let working-class children starve. We don’t just need food for all – we need to take over the food system.

Image shows the text 'We will not be victims: no going back' on a background of a Jackson Pollock painting

Agitating with Art: the Artivists at Work story so far

Artwork – not just ‘great art’ but cartoons and doodles – can add life and vibrancy to political messaging, and give people a mirror in which to recognise their own hopes and frustrations.

Picture: A screenshot of the Universal Credit application page on the gov.uk website. (Keywords: UC applications poverty welfare benefits)

A Universal Credit inquiry | Part 1

Millions of people out of work due to Covid are experiencing the cruelty of the Tories’ reformed welfare system for the first time.

Keywords: Pfizer BioNTech vaccine Big Pharma

Big Pharma: saints or sinners?

Free-market ideologues claim that ‘Big Pharma’ has saved the day with its Covid vaccines. But pharma companies don’t drive innovation – they simply hoard its benefits.

Image of a school with coronavirus images superimposed

NEU: preparing for the fight of our lives

Supporting teachers to refuse unsafe work is the NEU’s immediate and overwhelming priority, but we also need to learn the lessons from last June and ballot for strike action.

Covid vaccine bottles. Photo: Daniel Schludi / Unsplash

Behind the spin: how effective are the vaccines?

Looking at the science behind the Covid vaccines provides real grounds for optimism – but we can’t pin all our hopes on a single silver bullet.

Why schools must prepare to run remotely until half term

The government’s mass testing plan will not make schools Covid-secure. Schools cannot fully reopen safely until case numbers have been brought down.

lockdown mental health government Tories

A psychologist’s view: Tory blame games hurt our mental health

The government’s blame games and their failed Covid strategy have helped to turn the pandemic into a full-blown mental health crisis.

Scotland: education workers move towards strike action

Workers at all levels of Scotland’s education system are preparing to fight for workplace safety and job security.