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

Articles >

Thatcherism

1974 – an end and a beginning

Willie Black looks back at 1974. A pivotal year both in Britain and across the world – high points of workers’ struggles, but also the beginning of five decades of neo-liberalism

Here We Go! Forty years on from the outbreak of the Great Strike

Forty years ago today British miners began industrial action in what became the longest and most bitter strike of the twentieth century. Here Brian Parkin, a former Research Officer for the National Union of Mineworkers, gives a brief introduction to this pivotal strike.

Image shows the cover of the book Britain in Fragments, set against the backdrop of a union flag.

Review | Britain in Fragments

Satnam Virdee and Brendan McGeever bring a historic account of racism in Britain over the last century. Colin Wilson reviews Britain in Fragments.

Three police officers in riot gear stand infront of a burning building on 31st of March 1990

Revolutionary reflections | The Anti-Poll Tax Federation: ‘Mob rules’

Debates about the use of confrontational collective action in the Anti-Poll Tax Movement remain relevant for struggles today.

Police on horses facing poll tax protesters, March 1990.

Revolutionary reflections | The moral economy of the anti-poll tax movement

The anti-poll tax movement took on and defeated a Tory government at the height of its powers. Andrew Stone explores the ways that protestors developed political justifications for resistance. 

Bollocks to the Poll Tax

Colin Revolting remembers the day 30 years ago when one of the biggest marches ever turned into a mass riot which sunk the Tory flagship Poll Tax policy and took Prime Minister Thatcher down with it. 

Poll Tax Riot 31 March 1990

revolutionary reflections | The Anti-Poll Tax Federation: Organisation and spontaneity

The anti-poll tax movement was arguably the most successful social movement in Great Britain since the 1970s. In advance of the 30th anniversary of the poll tax riot (31 March 1990), Andrew Stone explores how political organisations and grassroots initiative interacted.

Homelessness: Rachmanism returns

As homelessness figures have risen yet again, Mitch Mitchell looks at the history of housing in the UK the post-war period.

Music as a force for change: an interview with Redskins’ Martin Hewes

An interview with Martin Hewes of the Redskins, to some the true inheritors of the Clash’s crown as the radical rockers

There is no revolution without love

The film Reds tells the story of John Reed and Louise Bryant’s experiences of the Russian Revolution.

Keep On Keeping On! – the Redskins and me (part 2)

In the second part of his recollections on the Redskins, Colin Revolting recalls being a revolutionary during the miners’ strike and its aftermath during the Redskins’ growing popularity, including TV appearances, being attacked by fascists and touring against apartheid with their radical rock and soul music. (To read the first part of Colin’s reflections, click […]

Striking workers outside the Ritzy cinema. Keywords: what is picketing strikes

revolutionary reflections | The Upturn/Downturn Debate: An Introduction

Ian Allinson summarises a debate on the development of capitalism since 1968, and how this has impacted the working class and its struggles, in an attempt to address the question of what revolutionaries should do. This summary was written early in 2015 and is published here for the first time. While pre-dating the failure of […]

It’s up to us to change this Town called Malice: the politics of Paul Weller, The Jam and The Style Council

John Wheeler looks back at The Jam, who became arguably the most popular and political band to emerge from the punk explosion of 1977. “We’ll all be voting Conservative at the next election.” Fanzine interview, 1977 “Imagine, if tomorrow the workers went on strike. Not just British Leyland but the whole world. Who would earn […]

Why are the Tories divided over Europe?

David Renton argues that the argument within the Tory party lies in Thatcherite politics, despite changes to the EU over the last 30 years. The way I see it, Europe is the unfinished business of the 1980s. By 1990, there was an emerging Thatcherite critique of the EU. The EU was led by a social democrat […]

LBGT organisations close in the face of Tory cuts despite claims of support

Organisations supporting LBGT people are currently closing down at a rapid rate. Colin Wilson discusses why this is happening despite the British ruling class claiming to support LGBT people. The number of LGBT youth groups in the North West has halved since 2010, reports the Guardian recently in an article headlined “Services for LGBT young people […]

Bollocks to the Poll Tax

Colin Revolting remembers the day 25 years ago when one of the biggest marches ever turned into a mass riot which sunk the Tory flagship Poll Tax policy and took Prime Minister Thatcher down with it. “An anti-poll tax rally in central London has erupted into the worst riots seen in the city for a […]