Critical Mess: Tories approve Hinkley Point C nuclear disaster
Brian Parkin unravels the web of stupidity, dogma, secrecy and privatisation failure that has resulted in Theresa May consenting to the Hinkley Point C nuclear station.
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.
Junior Doctors vote No
Medical student Sophie Walton discusses the latest developments in the Junior Doctors’ contract dispute. Junior doctors in England have voted not to accept the contract negotiated earlier this year. 42% voted for, 58% voted against, on a 68% turnout. Dr Johan Malawana, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) Junior Doctors’ Council, resigned when the […]
From farce to tragedy: thoughts on Jo Cox, the referendum and the rise of racism
Duncan Thomas on Jo Cox’s murder, the rise of racism in mainstream political discourse, and the need to build a strong anti-racist movement after the referendum – whatever the result. Together with other groups and activists, rs21 are support marches of solidarity with migrants and refugees on Monday 20 and Friday 24 June. Join us if […]
Junior doctors strike: 5 reasons Hunt’s contract offer could be rejected
Following talks with the BMA, the government is presenting the recently offered contract as a done deal. But, argues Seb Cooke, it’s a bad one that the junior doctors would be justified in rejecting. If they do, we need to be ready to support them.
To the BMA: no more concessions, escalate the action
Nurse Mark Boothroyd on why now is the time for escalation, not negotiation.
Junior doctors strike: away from the table, back to the streets
Jeremy Hunt and the Tories were on the ropes. Now is the time to press the advantage, not return to negotiations, writes Seb Cooke.
London elections: good riddance to Goldsmith, but Khan not the answer
Duncan Thomas reflects on the election of Labour’s Sadiq Khan as mayor of London. “How do you feel about the election results?”, people asked me after Sadiq Khan’s landslide victory over Zac Goldsmith. “Not actively unhappy” was all I could really muster by way of response. It’s strange, from a radical left perspective, to write […]
A grudging vote for Labour in the London mayor elections
Anindya Bhattacharyya explains why to humiliate Zac Goldsmith in tomorrow’s London mayoral election, a grudging vote for Sadiq Khan is needed. There are elections across Britain tomorrow – for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, various councils in England, among others. London will be voting for its mayor – with Labour candidate Sadiq Khan the favourite […]
Biggest picket lines yet as junior doctors’ strike action escalates
Junior doctors’ continued their strike action today against the imposition of a new, damaging contract and in defence of the NHS, with a full walkout between 8am and 5pm. Despite continued attacks from Tory ministers, many picket lines today were much bigger than those on previous strike days. Here are a selection of reports, photos […]
The Panama Papers – From revelations to revolt and beyond
Joe Sabatini discusses how the Panama Papers have confirmed what we knew about the ruling class and looks at how they provide an opportunity to re-engage the public discussion over how our economies are being run, by whom and for whom. The leak of 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mosseck Fonseca is the […]
Six reasons why academisation of our schools should be opposed
George Osborne has announced that all schools are to become academies. The teachers at John Roan School in London are already campaigning to save their comprehensive school from academisation and here explain why. 1. Academies don’t have to follow the national curriculum – the pressures to achieve in English and Maths GCSEs narrows the educational […]
All in this together: IDS drops the Tories in the shit
The resignation of Iain Duncan Smith exposes the deep divisions within the Tories. Now, writes Duncan Thomas, we need to bring them down.
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 […]
EU debate: 38 points on Brexit and the Left
Ian Allinson examines what points the radical left can agree on, and what points remain contentious, concluding that we should not lose sight of the fact that our united campaigning for migrant solidarity, for genuine democracy, against austerity, and against neoliberalism puts in opposition to the establishment in both referendum camps. Now the EU referendum campaign […]
Government tries to overturn teachers’ 86% strike vote
Andrew Stone reports Nicky Morgan has followed through on her threat to mount a legal challenge against Tuesday’s planned strike by NUT 6th form members, on the nonsensical grounds that we can’t oppose funding cuts because they don’t affect our terms and conditions. We won’t know the result of the challenge until Monday afternoon – […]
Sexual and domestic violence after austerity: it’s bigger than Roosh V
Kat Burdon-Manley argues Roosh V the unsavoury face of a much bigger problem with structural and institutional racism and sexism Bang, Day Bang, 30 Bangs, Bang Poland, Bang Iceland, Bang Estonia, Bang Lithuania, Don’t Bang Denmark, and Bang Ukraine are just some of the titles of Roosh V’s books, and pretty much sum up his character […]
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 […]
#JuniorDoctorsStrike: The government wants to impose this contract on us. Let’s show them who really owns the NHS.
The government has stated that they intend to impose their hated contract on Junior Doctors, Rhian Smith a medical student, looks at the risks and choices ahead. “7 day care” or not, the NHS will rapidly fail without a quick injection of funding and staff. How we respond at this juncture will shape the future […]
#JuniorDoctorsStrike: report on the strike and pictures from the picket lines
As junior doctors across Britain walk out for their second day of strikes, medical student Sophie Walton weighs up where the dispute is currently at. Thanks to rs21 supporters for sending in pictures. Junior doctors are on strike again today as they continue to fight against government plans to impose a new contract on them. Negotiations have moved on […]
Why public transport is broken
As rail users are once again hit by fare increases, with one season ticket topping £10,000, Tom Haines-Doran discusses the damage that privatisation continues to do to public transport and the examples of resistance we can look to You might think public transport has largely escaped austerity, particularly if you live in London or have heard […]
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 […]
Autumn statement: Tories retreat under pressure, prepare new offensives – and show signs of weakness
The Tories have backed down over tax credits, junior doctors and workfare, writes Colin Wilson. Meanwhile they are on the attack over benefits, education and health – but they have real weaknesses that campaigns can target. The autumn statement showed us two things. First, the Tories retreated on several fronts where campaigning has put them under pressure. […]
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 […]
What challenges does Cameron’s war drive face?
The government wants to bomb Syria. We need to understand the problems Cameron faces making that happen so as to oppose the push to war, argues Colin Wilson. Cameron wants to bomb Syria, but he faces problems doing so. The major problem in parliamentary terms is a report about British bombing of Syria produced by […]
Right to Strike: Infographic
Download this infographic as a pdf here Join the TUC lobby of parliament and the day of action against the Trade Union Bill on 2 November Infographic design by Arjun Mahadevan
Will the NHS survive another winter?
Mark Boothroyd, co-ordinator of the Four-to-One campaign which is calling for the introduction of nurse-to-patient ratios in the NHS, discusses the crisis in the NHS and what might result without a campaign against cuts and demoralisation. This article was originally published on OpenDemocracy. Over fifteen thousands of doctors marched down Whitehall last weekend, in protest at the imposition […]
Thousands of junior doctors tell Hunt and the BMA that they are prepared to strike
Big protests by junior doctors are unprecedented. An NHS activist reports from the demo in central London on Saturday against proposed government changes to their contracts. The demo was really big, with attendance at between 15,000 and 20,000. Those present included medical students alongside doctors, and senior doctors as well. The crowd was extremely diverse, with women […]
#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 […]