Socialist Worker 2521 2016-09-13 16:35:14.0
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May?s grammar school plan reignites a classroom war
The Tories' vision for the top tier of the education system (Pic: Isaactret) The Tory plan for new grammar schools in England is one of the first major announcements since Theresa May became prime minister. May said grammars can make Britain a ?great meritocracy?. She claims the schools are progressive because, unlike public schools, parents don?t have to pay for their children to attend. The idea is that anyone can go if they are clever enough. But in reality class determines who goes to grammar school and who doesn?t. Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the NUT union, said the move ?represents a return to the class-ridden Britain of the 1950s?. He added, ?Introducing selection will not open up opportunities for all. The plans face opposition not just from ordinary people and unions, but also within the Tory party. They can be beaten. ?We know these will be largely working class children since less than 3 percent of entrants to grammar schools are entitled to free school meals.? Under the plans parents would be able to set up selective free schools. All existing state schools would be able to convert to grammar school status if they meet certain conditions. Current grammar schools would be able to expand. May claims the plans give parents more say over schools and more choice. Has Theresa May overextended herself with the new schools? (Pic: Policy Exchange) This same line has been wheeled out to justify every nasty education policy the Tories have dreamt up. May also postured over being tougher on private?schools. She says they have to do more to support state education in order to hold onto their tax breaks. They could be expected to sponsor or set up new state schools. But conveniently the detail is vague. May claims her new grammars are nothing like the old grammars. Condemn This is because she knows that grammars condemn most children to second-rate schools. ?This is not a proposal to go back to a binary model of grammars and secondary moderns,? she claimed. Instead the plans would see the education system shift ?decisively to support ordinary working class families?. So instead May?s grammars will have to make places available to children from ?disadvantaged backgrounds?. How many is unclear. They would have to ?help improve standards in non-selective schools?. How this would happen is also unclear. As Courtney put it, ?For every new grammar school created, three or four neighbouring schools are effectively turned into secondary modern schools. ?For every child selected, three or four are rejected. This will set back social mobility for future generations.? The plans face opposition not just from ordinary people and unions, but also within the Tory party. They can be beaten.

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LETTERS: Tory cuts leave domestic violence victims no means to escape abusers
Protest in Doncaster against cuts to Women's Aid (Pic: Neil Terry) The murder of Clodagh Hawe and her children by her husband Alan, and storylines in popular soaps, have put domestic violence under the media spotlight. Theresa May?s government has been quick to point to prosecution rates against perpetrators of violence against women to create an impression it is being fairly combatted. But the reality for so many women, men and children affected by abuse is far from fair. Women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence. Cuts to services, jobs and benefits contribute to the growing and serious issue of victims forced to stay with their abusers. Women?s Aid refuges and similar organisations are reporting funding cuts and closures. They are forced to turn away hundreds of women and children each week, leaving victims unable to escape their abuser. The death toll?currently two women a week?is likely to rise. It?s vital that we support the growing campaigns demanding funding for domestic violence services. This is a fight we can win. In Doncaster, campaigners fought hard to win ?30,000 funding from the council. Although Doncaster Women?s Aid closed, the funding helped set up a new South Yorkshire Women?s Aid service in the town. This ensured that trained specialist staff are still able to offer support, albeit on a smaller scale. It?s imperative that we step up the fight over cuts on local and national levels. The safety of people experiencing abuse is of paramount importance. In Doncaster we occupied spaces, protested at council meetings, engaged with Disabled People Against Cuts and built solidarity with trade unions. The campaign was fought on the basis of class, not gender. It was led by women, former Women?s Aid service users and staff but was supported by, and engaged with, men locally. We all demanded change and that?s why was it a success. Jen Dunstan,?Sheffield Southern profit should fund more staff Working as a personal assistant for a wheelchair user I have witnessed the crucial role train guards and station staff play. Their presence is irreplaceable for ensuring disabled people can access train travel. Those requiring travel assistance have more complex needs than able-bodied travellers. Current staffing levels on the train network mean that using it requires an investment of time in forward planning for disabled people. Yet frequently problems will arise on the day. The assistance of guards and station staff makes all the difference between being able to resolve these situations and an unwanted trip to the end of the line. The ?100 million profit made by Southern rail?s owner should have been used to provide more staff?instead they want to slash the service. To support equality of travel on our trains means supporting the Southern rail strike and rail renationalisation. Mark Dunk,?South London Let?s bust Tory fees The Tories? plan to raise tuition fees to ?9,250 in 2017 is despicable. This will affect current and future students. The #BursaryOrBust campaign has been fighting to save the NHS Bursary which funds healthcare students to study. I believe no students should pay fees to go to university. Education is a right, not a privilege. That?s why #BursaryOrBust activists will be marching on the NUS and UCU unions? United for Education demo on 19 November. Join us. Jenny Leow,?East London More?not less protest Former Labour prime minister Harold Wilson said the Labour Party ?is a moral crusade or it is nothing?. But the likes of leadership contender Owen Smith and his supporters who say Labour is not a party of protest have chucked the towel in and wouldn?t say ?boo? to a goose. The Tories are making it harder to register to vote and are introducing electoral boundary changes to favour themselves. Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said David Cameron opposed council housing because it encourages tenants to vote Labour! We really do live in the most class ridden society. We need more protest not less. John Appleyard,?Liversedge, West Yorkshire Junior docs saved my life?I back their strike I support the junior doctors because they saved my life. I was in hospital when the junior doctors were on strike last time and I did not feel unsafe at all. When they?re on strike, the consultants provide emergency cover so patients aren?t in danger. If they struck for five days of course it would have an impact. But how can you have a strike without any impact? When the NHS is done right, it?s a fantastic thing. Junior doctors are an important part of that. They should be paid properly and given proper breaks, otherwise it?s unsafe for patients. The Tories are attacking junior doctors because they want to privatise the NHS. That?s why I?m supporting them?and if they strike again I?ll be on the picket line with them. Trevor Goodfield,?Sheffield A conflict of interest? Rock Feilding-Mellen is Kensington and Chelsea council cabinet member for housing, property and regeneration. Yet he has set himself up as a property developer! He is also responsible for handing over North Kensington Library to the Notting Hill Prep School. Feilding-Mellen?s own children are down to attend this exclusive school. See grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com Edward Daffarn,?West London A paper we can rely on When it comes to workers? strikes, at best the liberal media adopt a ?plague on both your houses? approach. But Socialist Worker can be relied on to take up and defend workers? struggles. That?s why I have donated ?100 to this year?s Socialist Worker Appeal. I would encourage all readers to donate what they can. Details at socialistworker.co.uk/appeal John Curtis,?Ipswich Corbyn Undone He doesn?t like Doing his shirt up Or pressing The Button and If he talks in His sleep, it?s bound To be Russian! Lord Biro,?Nottingham Can Labour rise again? Will the horrors we have endured since Labour?s downturn in the 1970s all be worth it if we can now emerge, phoenix-like from the wreckage? Corbyn is talking our talk and has proven his commitment to walking our walk. We must push to get the message out to all who would find our direction appealing. The media will not do our job for us. In fact, we?ll need to unpick their lies as well as explain our wishes. Ian Ballantine-Gray,?on Facebook
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Why won't Sadiq Khan play fare with workers?
Pickets on the first Tower Transit walkout last month (Pic: Guy Smallman) Workers at Tower Transit bus depots in east and west London walked out for 24 hours on Monday. It was their third one-day strike in as many weeks?and they?re set to come out again next Monday. Just like the previous strike, bosses could barely get 12 percent of buses in service for the morning rush, with only a handful of scabs and managers at work. But one Unite union rep said ?the company is not budging?. That?s no surprise. Harder hitting action is needed. Tower Transit boss Neil Smith told strikers as much three weeks ago in a torrent of abuse. He said, ?Go on strike for a month and I will make no concessions.? The union should call his bluff instead of letting him call theirs. That means escalating action, serious strike pay and a call for wider solidarity from the trade union movement. Money One driver told Socialist Worker, ?The union needs to put some real money behind this dispute. We?ve paid our subs?some of us for a long time. What?s the use of that money sitting in the bank?? Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan?s Transport for London (TfL) should also face pressure. Khan took credit this week for launching a new ?hopper? fare allowing two journeys within an hour. But he made pledges to bus drivers too?about a ?new one rate for all? wage structure that has failed to materialise. Bus workers could ask why public cash is going to a private firm that refuses to negotiate with their union properly and attempts to intimidate pickets. Is this what Khan meant when he said he would be ?the most pro-business mayor London has ever had?? Send solidarity messages to?hanafi.unite@gmail.com Dispute hit by delays over reballot Bus workers in Weymouth ended a six-day strike last Sunday in their long running battle against poverty pay. It is 12 weeks since the strikes began. Their walkout against First Group has seen bosses pump hundreds of thousands of pounds into a scabbing operation. The workers are paid ?8.80 an hour?70p less than First Group workers in Yeovil and nearly ?2 less than drivers at rival firms in Bournemouth. Unite has told the workers they must now reballot to strike again. There are restrictions on workers? rights after a?12-week strike period under Tory anti-union laws but it does not mean it is illegal to strike. Its purpose is to sap momentum with delays between strikes. Unite said it could now be ?several weeks before the result of the next industrial action ballot is known, which could see strikes continuing into the Christmas period?.
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Exploitation is just the job in a bosses? recovery of low pay and zero hours
A fast food worker protesting in Glasgow (Source: ONS, Pic: Duncan Brown) Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley fished ?1,000 in ?50 notes out of his pocket in front of a crowd of low-paid workers on Tuesday of last week. He joked that he?d ?just come from the casino?, showing contempt for the people who create his wealth. Conditions at his Sports Direct warehouse are appalling. Workers? toilet breaks are monitored and they are effectively paid below the minimum wage due to time spent queueing for security checks. Conditions at work are becoming worse for millions of people in Britain. The number of people in employment is now higher than it has ever been. It increased by 606,000 in the year to June?about 1.9 percentage points?according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). After Theresa May vowed to ?build an economy that works for everyone?, the Tories have seized on these figures to boast of the economy?s strength. Employed But they?ve been less quick to talk about the types of new job created. Of the 606,000 jobs only 209,000?less than a third?are people employed on full time contracts. Almost a quarter?145,000?are on part time contracts. That?s a 2.1 percent increase, twice the one percent growth rate of full time?contracts.?These figures include people doing temporary or agency work. The?biggest increase was 256,000 more people counted as self-employed?often a bogus category used by bosses (see below). Although almost 70 percent of women of working age now work, they are disproportionately in part time and low paid jobs. The Tories claim to be getting people jobs. Behind the boasting is their brutal system of benefit cuts and ?sanctions? for unemployed workers. And for those entering work it means low pay and poor conditions. Many of the industries that have grown over the last year have low union density, which helps bosses push through attacks. So workers and trade unions in these industries need to organise and fight back. Cafe clashes are food for thought Over 50,000 more people started working in the ?accommodation and food services? industry over the last year. This follows several years of sustained growth for the sector, both in terms of the number of firms and share of the economy. But it has the worst wages of any industry in Britain, averaging at ?246 a week and workers have seen little improvement in their pay and conditions. Wages have remained stagnant, with changes of just a few pounds every month over the last year. Zero hours contracts are rife.?Those workers ?lucky? enough to have a salary are often bullied into working over their contracted hours?in effect earning below the hourly minimum wage. Restaurants, cafes and bars can pay workers below the minimum wage and then use tips to ?top-up? the difference. But food and catering bosses can be beaten. Because of tight profit margins and the perishable nature of food, any stoppage can have a massive impact on bosses? profits. That means that food workers in particular can win their demands quickly. Recent strikes at Deliveroo show that workers can win big gains. By walking out?unofficially?they stopped a big pay cut and won a promise of no victimisations for striking. McDonalds backed down over zero hours contracts earlier this year because of ?feedback? from workers. It followed protests by the Fast Food Rights campaign in Glasgow. Anger is building at the high rise of the umbrella scam The number?of people working in construction went up by almost 120,000 in the year to June. At ?606 a week, average pay in the industry is relatively high. But workers can lose almost a third of this through employment agency scams. The agencies employ workers through ?umbrella companies??effectively making them formally self-employed. Many workers are forced into accepting these contracts, and as a result their rates of pay can be recorded in a different way. Their real employer is no longer under any legal obligation to prove they are paying above the minimum wage. They also wriggle out of paying sick pay or holidays. The same construction firms that used the blacklist of union activists are now cashing in on this scam at workers? expense. Ucatt construction union activist Julie Phipps told Socialist Worker, ?There?s massive bogus self-employment going on. They?re using umbrella companies.? The use of umbrella companies by employment agencies has been growing since 2014, eroding pay and conditions. ?I couldn?t make head nor tail of it,? said construction worker Andrew McClean, describing his payslip. ?I was on the same job doing the same thing, but my money had gone down by ?60 or ?70 per week.? Workers can see some 25 percent of their wages being taken for their National Insurance contributions. Some people are being paid minimum wage and then ?topped up? through performance-related pay and expenses. It pays to?wage war The most recent figure for the average wage is ?27,600 a year.?But this is skewed by the obscene salaries of the highest-paid. The average wage in the City of London was ?92,669, or ?1,782 a week, in February, the Financial Times newspaper found?up 9 percent in a year. But the average wage in ?retail trade and repairs? rose by just 2 percent to ?307 a week, according to the ONS. The Equality Trust found in 2012 that excluding the pay of the top 10 percent pushed the average wage down from to ?26,500 a year to just ?13,000 a year, or ?250 a week. Since then the gap between the rich and the rest has only got wider.
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Don't forget Dada?s rebellion against a ridiculous society
Jim Moir considers the influence of the original art rebels (Pic: BBC Pictures) In this hour-long BBC documentary Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves) sets out to explore the Dada artistic movement on its 100th anniversary. Moir wants to convince us of Dada?s influence on the arts up until the present day. He links his own comedy style to the irreverent humour integral to the Dada movement. But he swoops over the difficult history of the creation of Dada, its spread and eventual demise. Moir interviews artists, designers, writers and filmmakers such as Armando Iannucci, Terry Gilliam and Cornelia Parker, asking them about the influence of Dada on their work. The show provides a scaled down background to the birth of the movement that started in Zurich in 1916. It was largely born out of the turbulence, destruction and absurdity of the First World War. From its birthplace at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Moir re-enacts Hugo Ball?s Dada performance in a priest-like paper costume reciting made up words. Rituals Moir?s recreation is certainly absurd. But it misses the point of the original piece which was an attack on the power of the state and religion as well as the ridiculous rituals of human behaviour. Dada sought to expose the absurdity of reality through manipulation of language first, and then image, to comment on how power and control works. Although Dada spread throughout Europe and the US it was interpreted in different ways, ranging from the political to the spectacle. The premise of the BBC?s show is to state the importance of the influence of Dada in the last 100 years. But it fails to bring it fully into the contemporary. It doesn?t acknowledge the movement?s influence on the visual artists of the YBA (Young British Artists) generation. It is a shame to see the same artists trotted out for such documentaries.There is a truly cringe-worthy exchange with Turner Prize winner Martin Creed. And, as with most documentaries about art and art history, there is a distinct lack of female artists. One passing reference to Hannah Hoch and one female interviewee really does feel like an oversight. Although the show fails on some levels there are some great interviews. Perhaps the most thought provoking element to the documentary is a discussion with Terry Gilliam. He thinks it would be difficult to be a Dada Artist now due to overwhelming and atomized power and the difficulty of locating ?the enemy? when it is everywhere. It is interesting to think about this when we live in such absurd and violent times in which the spread of media and image production seems to be an ever-growing power. Gaga for Dada: The Original Art Rebels, BBC Four, 21 September May Ayres? powerful sculptures take on the Iraq war May Ayres? latest sculpture exhibition is a powerful collection of work dealing with the US-led war on Iraq and its consequences. Ayres began making sculptures ?based on stories and images from the conflict as a way to process my anger?. So we?re confronted by the Western politicians responsible for unleashing the horrors. Condoleezza Rice, George Bush?s Secretary of State, menacingly stares down with her sharply sculpted features. Her perch on an imposing clay tower represents how the US rained down its deadly imperial might onto the people of Iraq. The work chimes perfectly with the publication of the Chilcot Inquiry, detailing Britain?s role in the war. A Janus-faced sculpture of Tony Blair, pious in his own hypocrisy, prays before us. But Ayres? work doesn?t just vent her own anger, she also wants to give the Iraqi victims of the West a voice. The exhibition?s name takes its inspiration from a comment by Donald Rumsfeld, who was US Secretary of Defence during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. While US marines were busy guarding the oil ministry in Baghdad, the capital?s museums and art galleries were being looted. Rumsfeld brushed off any criticism with the remark, ?Stuff happens!? The politicians are surrounded by sculptures of Iraqis, many clearly in agony from bombs and bullets. Another sculpture (pictured) deals with the US?s extradition of British citizen Talha Ahsan under terror charges. But Ayres is careful not to paint ordinary Iraqis simply as passive victims, but people who also defy the West?s rule. One sculpture is of an Iraqi fighter wielding an AK-47 assault rifle. While the work is truly outstanding, Ayres is not part of the art establishment in any way. It would be a shame for such powerful work to go without attention. So, if you?re in London make sure you go and see it. Thanks to John Molyneux May Ayres?Stuff Happens?The Belfry,?St John on Bethnal Green,?London E2 9PA.?12noon-7pm, Thur to Sun.?Until 6 October. mayayres.com Blacklisting, Bullying and Blowing the Whistle?the hidden underbelly of the modern workplace This two-day conference will shine a light on how bosses try to keep workers down and clamp down on those who speak out. It?s jointly organised by the Blacklist Support Group?which has waged a ten-year struggle against Britain?s largest construction firms?and the Work and Employment Research Unit. Due to its campaigning a group of construction workers won millions in compensation from building bosses. These bosses had operated a secret blacklist of union activists. There will be a special screening of the Reel News film Blacklisted, which looks at the history of blacklisting. The conference is also a chance to get an updated second edition of Phil Chamberlain and Dave Smith?s book, Blacklisted?The Secret War Between Big Business and Union Activists. 11am-5pmm?16 September- 17 September,?University of Greenwich, Stephen Lawrence Building, London, SE10 9LS.
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Need for unity after racist attack in Leeds
The street in Leeds where the attack took place (Pic: Google earth) A group of up to?20 teenagers beat up a Polish man in Leeds, West Yorkshire, last week in a suspected racially aggravated assault. The attack took place in the Armley area of the city on Friday night. The 28 year old victim required stitches for a head injury and hospital treatment. West Yorkshire Police are treating the attack as racially aggravated because of comments made to the victim. His friend was also assaulted. The Polish embassy said the attack was ?the most serious of over ten xenophobic incidents experienced by Poles in the north of England in recent months?. Abused It is not the first incident in Leeds. A Polish shopkeeper was taken to hospital in June after being abused by a man in the Bramley area. Police said they were treating the incident as racially aggravated. The man, who had a heart condition, collapsed. Locals left cards and flowers for him at his shop. Other attacks have occurred in the south of England. Arkadiusz Jozwik was killed in Harlow, Essex, in August. Anti-racists held vigils in Harlow and elsewhere in the wake of his death.
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Fury over Tories' plan for new 13-foot wall in Calais
Protesters in London show solidarity with refugees in Calais earlier this year (Pic: Guy Smallman) Thousands of people were set to march in central London on Saturday in solidarity with refugees. It marks a year since the demonstrations that followed the death of Syrian Kurdish refugee Aylan Kurdi. Thousands more have died since, yet the government is hardening its repression. It announced last week plans to build a new 13-foot wall in Calais. It has still failed to implement the Dubs Amendment to the Immigration Act, which would bring more child refugees to Britain. Hundreds of children are among the growing population of the Calais ?jungle?. Volunteers helping them were among the protesters at a Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) demonstration outside the French embassy in London last Wednesday. Daniela told Socialist Worker, ?The situation in Calais is atrocious. There?s tear gas everywhere?especially in the area where families stay. ?Things are getting really tense as people don?t have enough food or enough space.? Zoe added, ?The media make out like it?s filthy migrants being aggressive and coming to steal ?our? jobs and resources. But it?s nothing like that.? The repression doesn?t stop for refugees and migrants who reach Britain. There is a fight on to close the detention centres where people who have committed no crime are jailed indefinitely simply because of their immigration status. Around 300 people rallied in the rain outside Yarl?s Wood in Bedfordshire last Saturday, the latest in a series of protests organised there by Movement for Justice. It followed the announcement that the Dungavel detention centre in Scotland is to close next year, replaced by facilities at Glasgow airport. Dungavel has been a focus of sustained protest by the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, the Scottish TUC and others. Its closure should give a boost to the broader fight against the brutal immigration enforcement system. Lord Alf Dubs is set to join the SUTR conference on Saturday?8 October to build the campaign to bring child refugees to Britain. Many of those in Calais have relatives in Britain but are being trapped in danger and squalor rather than being allowed to join them. SUTR co-convenor Weyman Bennett said, ?By winter there shouldn?t be a single child still there.? He argued, ?There is a simple solution. The camp at Calais could be closed down tomorrow?if we let those people come here. ?They say there?s no money, but they found money for the wall.? Stand Up to Racism conference, Saturday 8 Oct. Go to bit.ly/2c5ObqZ 'My experience shows why all detention centres need to close' I was detained with my family in Dungavel and then Yarl?s Wood when I was just 14.?The conditions are basically like a prison. Except for meal times and certain times where you can go in the yard, you are stuck in one room. I didn?t know anything about the detention system then, but as the one in my family who spoke most English I found myself having to translate with the lawyers and others. When I saw the news that Dungavel was closing I was excited. It?s amazing that after years of campaigning the only detention centre in Scotland is going. But the thing that?s replacing it could mean people are deported faster. And there are still nine detention centres in England and one in Northern Ireland. They all need to close. With Theresa May as prime minister that?s not going to be easy?this system was her work when she was home secretary. We?ll have to keep fighting and have lots of protests. We did that in Scotland and we need to see more of it in England and elsewhere. Pinar Aksu
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Push NUT union leaders to call more strikes this term
Parents and children show support for striking teachers in Lancashire in July (Pic: Audrey Glover) The NUT union?s national executive committee met last week. The union is in dispute over the impact of Tory education policies and funding cuts, and held an England-wide strike on 5 July. General secretary Kevin Courtney argued against naming further strike dates and to wait until after November?s Autumn Statement. This is partly based on pessimism about the strength of the union. But the July strike was successful. It saw big marches and won support from other groups of workers. Even the Department for Education admits it closed or partially closed over 30 percent of schools. Many schools that remained ?open? saw no teaching on the strike day. The NUT conference this year agreed a programme of strikes. Kevin Courtney told a sixth form college fringe meeting there, ?It won?t just be one day. We will be specifying more days of action.? It is wrong to delay naming further strike days and risk demoralising teachers. Teachers in some areas are putting motions to local association meetings calling on the union leadership to name further dates as well as to campaign against Sats tests and grammar schools. The union is committed to campaigning over school funding. But strikes should be at the heart of this campaign. The Tories remain on the offensive over education, particularly with the plans for new grammar schools. But they can be beaten. A strong campaign by teachers can galvanise wider support and push them back.
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News in-brief
Prudential strike against job cuts Workers at insurance company Prudential in Reading, Berkshire, were set to strike on Friday of this week and next against plans to move jobs to India. They are members of the Unite union. They are already taking action short of a strike, boycotting work relating to the ?Project Jupiter? that will move some work to Mumbai. Despite claiming that only 51 jobs are at risk, bosses have sent out 82 redundancy notices. Easyjet pilots are tired of the bosses Around 2,000 Easyjet pilots are balloting for industrial action. The pilots? Balpa union said that ?fatigue had risen year on year?. The ballot runs until?21 September. Strikes could hit half term holidays in October, although the union says no plans have yet been made. Newsquest pushes staff beyond limits Journalists working at Newsquest titles in south London have voted by?71 percent in favour of strikes. The ballot result comes days after the company announced plans to put nearly all of the newsroom at risk of redundancy. The bosses? orginal plan was to axe 11 jobs. The remaining 18 workers will be expected to produce 11 newspapers and eight websites if the cuts go ahead. Protest in Telford for Dalian Atkinson The campaign for justice for Dalian Atkinson is set to hold a protest leaving from Telford town park this Saturday. Dalian was killed by Taser after police were called to his father?s house on 14 August. lFor more on the protest go to bit.ly/2bZRrEw Join summit to beat Tories? Housing Act Activists from the Axe the Housing Act campaign protested outside parliament last week. Activists need to keep the pressure on local authorities to take a stand against it. Next month?s Axe the Housing Act summit is the place to bring together activists and councillors who oppose the Act to discuss the next steps in the campaign. Axe the Housing Act summit, 22 October, Hamilton House, London, WC1H 9BD.?Go to bit.ly/2coM4tZ A protest will take place on 8 October against cuts to services and housing in Lambeth, south London.?Assemble 12 noon, Windrush Square, Brixton. Safety workers?in Glasgow?strike over attack on pay Some 140 workers employed by Community Safety Glasgow (CSG), a company of Glasgow City Council, struck last weekend. The solid strike by Unison, Unite and GMB union members coincided with the season?s first Celtic v Rangers football game. It led to disruption in other council services. Bosses want workers to accept less pay than other workers in Glasgow City Council for shift work. Their night shift pay would be barely half that of other council workers. Some workers are facing a pay cut of up to ?4,000 a year as a result of CSG?s pay review. More strike dates were yet to be announced as Socialist Worker went to press.
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As cuts cause growing crisis in the NHS - strikes can defend the health service
Junior doctors picket at Whipps Cross Hospital in London during a previous strike (Pic: Esme Choonara) The NHS crisis is so deep that even top managers say it is near breaking point. NHS Providers represents hospitals across England. It said years of underfunding have left the service facing ?impossible? demands. Without urgent extra investment in November?s Autumn Statement it will have to cut staff, bring in charges or introduce ?draconian rationing? of treatment. Figures have revealed that a record number of patients are on waiting lists in?England?3.9 million. The most effective form of fightback at the moment is the junior doctors? battle. Yet the British Medical?Association (BMA) suspended a five-day walkout that was set to begin on Monday of this week. The action had been attacked by the media, the Tories and some of the?medical establishment. But five-day strikes planned for October, November and December are still on. It?s vital for trade unionists to build solidarity now. Around 50 people joined a junior doctors? support group meeting in Brixton, south London, last Friday. Junior doctor Chris James said, ?We shouldn?t apologise for industrial action. Apologies ?We have to apologise for so much already such as A&E waiting times and we?re out of apologies. It?s time to do something about it.? He added, ?There is still a lot of fight left, we just need a bump from community?support.?? Chris Kelly, an NUT union member, said, ?During the last strike I went around the bus garages with junior doctors. ?We talked with bus workers in the mess rooms.?That was really successful?we now need to get junior doctors into as many workplaces as possible.?? Faye, a Labour Party member in Putney, told Socialist Worker, ?The members I?m speaking to fully support the junior doctors and industrial action.?We?ll be going to the picket lines.?? Junior doctors who came to the meeting left feeling more confident. Ash, a junior doctor at St Thomas?s Hospital, told Socialist Worker, ?A lot of people were unsure about the industrial action when it was announced. ?But that?s been changing because people are talking about it?it?s back on the agenda.? Junior doctors need to keep pressure on the BMA to go ahead with the industrial action.?Hard-hitting strikes can beat health secretary Jeremy Hunt?s attacks on workers. As junior doctor Ruhe Chowdry said, ?We?re the ones who work?we?re the ones who have the power to stop this.? Junior doctors plan a full withdrawal of labour between 8am and 5pm on 5, 6 and 7 October and then 10-11 October, 14-18 November, 5-9 December
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Orgreave campaigners demand justice ahead of meeting with Tory minister
Campaigners outside parliament today demanding justice over Orgreave (Pic: Socialist Worker) Campaigners from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) and their supporters gathered outside parliament today, Tuesday, ahead of a meeting with home secretary Amber Rudd. They want a public inquiry into the policing of miners at the Orgreave coking plant during the 1984-5 Miners? Strike and the treatment of miners afterwards. Police attacked a mass picket of the plant on 18 June 1984, then tried to frame miners for riot. Striking miner Arthur Critchlow was there. He told Socialist Worker that police must be held accountable for their ?brutality?. ?Why it was called a riot I?ll never know,? he said. ?There was only one side rioting and it certainly wasn?t the miners.? Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, shadow chancellor John McDonnell and a number of Labour MPs joined the rally. McDonnell told Socialist Worker, ?What we want is justice ? simple as that. Orgreave was an organised assault on working class people.? Arthur?s skull was fractured at Orgreave and then he was charged with riot. ?I went into hospital, had the fluid drained off and then was remanded into Armley jail,? he said. Stress He had to wait a year until the trial, which lasted 48 days before he was found not guilty. ?It was stress you wouldn?t believe,? he said. ?You picked the newspapers up and you had the home secretary Leon Brittan saying miners should have life imprisonment if found guilty. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined Orgreave campaigners at parliament (Pic: Guy Smallman) ?And because you?d seen all through the strike what the state can do, you believed it.? Campaigners said the attack was deliberate. McDonnell said, ?The Tory government was trying to smash the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). They thought if they could smash the NUM they could smash the trade union movement. ?That story needs to be told. We need an independent inquiry to enable that to happen. It isn?t just the role of the police, it?s the role of the whole establishment.? Arthur pointed to evidence and allegations that police committed perjury,?fabricated evidence and committed assault. ?Nobody?s ever been held to account,? he said. ?It?s OK compensating people, but surely someone must be answerable.? Many campaigners were optimistic. Mike Jackson from Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners told Socialist Worker, ?The Hillsborough result adds a lot of weight to our case. I don?t see how the government can deny us an inquiry.? And Joe Rollin from the OTJC added, ?I feel like it?s the time for change now. A police officer on the news last night confirmed what we all knew about police falsifying evidence. Today?s meeting is a crunch moment for us.?
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The Troublemaker
Swine of Chipping Norton is ready to live high on the hog? David Cameron is quitting as an MP to spend more time with his?pig. The former prime minister made the announcement just weeks after promising to stay in parliament until 2020. Then, when asked if that meant he would seek re-election in 2020, he replied, ?That is very much my intention.? But honesty was never Cameron?s strong point. His friends were hinting that it was because he didn?t like Theresa May?s grammar schools. In 2007 Cameron warned that pursuing grammar schools risked making the Tories a ?right wing debating society clinging on to outdated mantras that bear no relation to the reality of life?. Which is odd coming from an Etonian and Bullingdon Club man. Troublemaker hopes that the by-election will produce a suitable?sucessor. But the loathsome social circles of Oxfordshire will need due care?and attention. The ?Chipping Norton set? is an intricate web of connections?between the people who rule Britain. This media and political elite, with their homes in and around Cameron?s leafy Witney constituency in Oxfordshire, work together, dine together and party together. David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks went horse riding together. Cameron rode Raisa, the horse given to Brooks by the Metropolitan Police. Charlie Brooks is an old chum of Cameron?s from Eton. The ex-prime minister was a guest at their wedding. There, he was seen giving ?exuberant high-fives? to PR mogul Matthew Freud. Freud happens to be married to Rupert Murdoch?s daughter Elisabeth.And so on, and so on. It?s that sort of networking that made Cameron the prime minister he was. Unfortunately, although he is stepping down, his legacy of cronyism and cuts remains. Philip Greed works really hard?honest Sir Philip Green has been working really hard on his ?100 million yacht. The tycoon claimed he had spent the summer grafting in a bid to sort out the ?571 million pensions black hole at collapsed BHS. Green said, ?Contrary to all the coverage I have been working on this issue on a daily basis.? Along with wife Lady Green, he has clocked up thousands of miles idling around the Greek islands on his super yacht. Meanwhile, workers caught up in the whirlwind of the BHS collapse feared for their jobs and futures. On board the 300ft yacht the couple are looked after by 40 staff, including a chef and dog walker. Green sold BHS for ?1 last year. Housing bosses line their pockets An annual survey into Housing Association (HA) CEO?s pay has shown that some got 30 percent rises last year. The highest paid CEO, David Cowans of the ironically-named Places for People HA, gets over ?500,000 a year. Not one of the top ten CEOs earns less than ?250,000 a year. And over the last year their bonuses have gone up by ten percent. Many HAs have refused to rule out implementing the Housing and Planning Act even though they are under no obligation to do so. Is Scotland frack free much longer? Scotland?s deputy first minister John Swinney met with fracking firm Ineos four times in one year. The meetings all took place after the Scottish government announced its moratorium on fracking in January 2015. Swinney, who was then finance secretary, met senior bosses from the firm three times in 2015. But a fourth meeting has come to light following a Freedom of Information request. It took place in the Scottish parliament on?25 February 2016. Swinney met with Ineos directors Tom Crotty and John McNally. Two days before the meeting Swinney was briefed on fracking. The reason for the meeting between the three was not released by the Scottish Government. The ?why? section of the briefing document was redacted in the release. Top West Yorkshire cop retires despite rules The former chief constable of West Yorkshire Police was able to retire amid misconduct allegations despite regulations designed to prevent this. Mark Gilmore replaced disgraced Norman Bettison. Gilmore was suspended from his role as chief constable of West Yorkshire Police in June 2014 amid an investigation into the corrupt award of police vehicle contracts in Northern Ireland. He had no criminal case to answer last April and the suspension was lifted. But Gilmore then became the subject of a misconduct investigation by Lancashire Police and never returned to his post. A report from Lancashire Police was published on 26 July and Gilmore retired on 9 August. He was able to retire because the misconduct allegations were raised before January 2015. On that date new regulations came into force to prevent resignation of officers subject to serious allegations. British business has become ?too lazy and fat?. That was the vote of confidence from Troublemaker?s favourite international trade secretary, Liam Fox. Surely this anti?laziness campaigner couldn?t be the same disgraced Dr Fox who once claimed 3p on expenses for a car journey of 96 metres? Owen Smith has accepted ?67,550 worth of donations from a businessman whose company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Smith took ?67,550 from Anthony Watson to help pay the rent for his campaign office. Watson?s company Uphold Inc was originally registered in the Caymans. He took charge of the firm in April 2015, when it went by the name Bitreserve. The things they say ?I feel rather like the grand wizard of the KKK giving an address to the AGM of Black Lives Matter? Tory MP Michael Gove giving a speech to Society of Legal Scholars ?Responsible for the chancellery of the Duchy of Lancaster? Ben Gummer, minister for the Cabinet Office, when asked what the responsibilities of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster are ?He sits on a number of committees and has a number of responsibilities? Ben Gummer when asked for more detail ?I hope it?s not necessary to go to war to boost our productivity? Tory Treasury commercial secretary Lord O?Neill ?Brits don?t quit? Pig botherer David Cameron in July ?It is my intention to continue serving as MP? Cameron in August. He resigned as an MP this week
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Workers stage unofficial walkout at Rosyth dockyard - and plan another
Hundreds of workers building the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier in Rosyth held an unofficial strike on Monday. The action at the dockyard saw electricians down tools over a blacklisting row. They were protesting over the treatment of a 67 year old worker fired by a sub-contractor after a dispute with a manager. One worker told Socialist Worker, ?We cabined up and the issue is about the employers not allowing someone onto the site. ?It?s been ongoing for a while. Hundreds have taken action and say they won?t stop till this is resolved.? Two ships, costing more than ?6 billion, are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance. This is a partnership between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the Ministry of Defence. Babcock has told the workers it would investigate the incident and the sub contractor. The workers postponed a rally intended for Tuesday. But they plan to walk out again next Monday over the sacking. One worker said, ?The job isn?t that far from finished, all the way along management have been pushing their luck and the lads are fed up. If there?s no agreement next week we?ll be back out.?
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Make independence worth fighting for
Many Scottish independence supporters don?t share the priorities of first minister Nicola Sturgeon (Pic: Flickr/First minister's office, Socialist Worker) Thousands of people were set to rally for Scottish independence in Glasgow this weekend, marking two years since the referendum. It comes as Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon formally puts independence back on the agenda. Launching her ?programme for government? last week, Sturgeon announced that her party ?will consult on a draft Referendum Bill?. It doesn?t mean ?indyref2? is a done deal. It simply means the SNP will have a bill ready if its leadership decides the time is right. That won?t be any time soon. The polls are unfavourable and the process of Britain?s exit from the European Union (EU)?which could trigger a second referendum?hasn?t even begun. Sturgeon?s strategy risks damaging support for independence rather than boosting it. A previous march for independence?(Pic: Duncan Brown) Take to the streets Two major independence rallies are planned this weekend Saturday 17 September, 11am-5pm, George Square, Glasgow G2 1DU Sunday 18 September, 2pm-8pm, Glasgow Green, Greendyke St, Saltmarket, Glasgow G1 5DB The SNP said it would push for another independence vote if there was a ?significant and material change? in circumstances. Brexit could be such a change. Sturgeon insists Scots ?do not want to leave? and argues for an independent Scotland in the EU. Reject The aim is to win over Remain voters who didn?t vote for independence in 2014. But it could do the opposite, making independence conditional on an EU that some Yes voters reject. Neil Mackay helped organise the 10,000-strong All Under One Banner march for a second independence referendum in Glasgow in July. Many saw it as relaunching a radical independence movement. ?I knew we should hit the streets as soon as possible after the Brexit vote,? Neil told Socialist Worker. But Neil thinks Sturgeon?s strategy is ?risky?. He voted Leave because he ?wanted the establishment to suffer?. That was the same reason many people had for supporting independence. A third of SNP voters ignored the party?s pro-EU stance and voted Leave. And Neil isn?t convinced that all the independence supporters who voted Remain actually wanted to stay in the EU. He said, ?Many were more interested in stoking the constitutional crisis than being in the EU. I don?t think Nicola Sturgeon quite gets this.? Sturgeon?s policy speech last week highlighted that politics in Scotland aren?t exactly like the rest of Britain. It?s one of her priorities to emphasise that Scotland is different?and could be independent. Where the Tories attack disabled people on benefits, the SNP says it wants a ?Scottish social security system? centred on ?dignity?. While prime minister Theresa May wants selective grammar schools, Sturgeon stakes her reputation on ?closing the attainment gap? and fighting child poverty. Bosses But her speech was also full of pro-business jargon??centres of excellence?, ?action plans? and ?investment hubs?. The SNP combines economic policies the bosses can trust with social democratic values that appeal to workers. This neoliberalism with a heart is a delicate balance. On one side are the SNP?s rich donors, who want to keep the EU?s single market. On the other is an influx of new members, galvanised by the hope of challenging the rich and well to the left of its traditional activist base. Socialist Worker backs independence. As Neil argued, ?Breaking up one of the oldest colonial powers?what socialist couldn?t support that?? As Britain?s rulers bomb Syria and lock out refugees, that fight is as urgent as ever. It can?t be kept on hold until the SNP leadership thinks the time is right. Neither can fighting the cuts that are being imposed by Westminster Tories, Holyrood nationalists and Labour councils alike. As Neil said, ?people are getting hurt every day by austerity? and we need an independence movement that is ?anti-cuts, anti-racist, anti-Trident?. Marxism in Scotland 2016:?Ideas to change the world.?A day of debate and discussion hosted by the SWP. Registration from 9:30am. Get tickets (?3/?5/?10) from Socialist Worker sellers?or enquiries@swp.org.uk
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Divisions over grammar schools show splits in the Tory Party
Has Theresa May overextended herself over grammar schools? (Pic: Policy Exchange) As the weeks go by, we are beginning to get a picture of what kind of prime minister Theresa May will be. Take last week?s announcement of a return to grammar schools. On the face of it this is bizarre. It faces strong opposition not simply from a wide spectrum of opinion in the education world, but also from within the Tory party. David Cameron discovered what a divisive issue grammar schools are back in 2007. The Tory right reacted with fury after he ruled out a return to the eleven-plus. Meanwhile the two last Tory education secretaries, Michael Gove and Nicky Morgan, are against reintroducing grammar schools. Even if May could get the measure through the House of Commons, where she has only a narrow majority, she would face a House of Lords that probably would have no inhibition about rejecting it. The last Tory election manifesto said nothing about going back to grammar schools. May might still win in the end, but she would have to use a lot of political capital. And you would have thought she might want to conserve this capital for the much bigger fight over Brexit. Last week a Financial Times columnist wrote, ?The phoney war over Brexit is over.? They may think that this is the way for May to make her mark early on in her premiership. On the one hand, May was under pressure at the G20 summit in China from Barack Obama to make sure that Brexit is as soft as possible. In other words to ensure that Britain leaving the European Union (EU) disrupts the global political economy as little as possible. On the other hand, the two most avid supporters of Brexit in the cabinet?secretary for exiting the EU David Davis and international trade secretary Liam Fox?began publicly to lay out their wares. They made it clear that they want a hard Brexit?cutting loose from the European single market in order to pursue the dream of Britain as a global trading power. Negotiating May was careful to distance herself from Davis and Fox, and to refuse to reveal her negotiating hand with the EU. But the fact remains that she faces the most titanic political struggle as she balances between the pressures from the British and global ruling classes and from her own right wing. The second explanation is that May is throwing a bone to the Tory right. So why open another front on grammar schools? There are two possible explanations. One is that May genuinely believes in what she is doing. Nick Timothy, her joint chief of staff, advocates what he calls ?blue-collar Toryism? and supports grammar schools. They may think that this is the way for May to make her mark early on in her premiership. If this is genuinely the rationale, then we can see how hollow all May?s promises to help ?ordinary working people? are. As numerous critics are pointing out, it is a reactionary fantasy to imagine that institutionalising selection will somehow increase social mobility. The second explanation is that May is throwing a bone to the Tory right. If she is working towards negotiating a soft Brexit, then it may make sense to conciliate the Brexiteers by showing them that, at least on this issue, she is on their side. Stephen Bush has pointed out in the New Statesman that the grammar school issue is a tricky one for Gove. He was cast into the outer darkness by May when she formed her cabinet. Opposing her now will ensure he remains exiled from office. But also, ?If there is a path back to relevancy for Gove and his allies, it almost certainly lies with the Tory right, who, like Gove in his appearances in the chamber thus far, support a swifter?and more economically damaging?version of Brexit than that favoured by Theresa May. ?But those would-be allies are also die-hard supporters of a return to grammars.? The two explanations aren?t incompatible. But the whole business confirms what a chaotic state the Tories are in, despite the impression of stability May created by taking over and putting the stamp of her authority on the government. But this authority will be tested very severely in the months and years ahead.
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Coppers scab on striking PCS security guards
Cops took a break from cracking skulls last week to scab on striking security guards (Pic: Guy Smallman) Security guards working at Met Police control centres in London struck for 24 hours on Tuesday of this week and on Friday of last week. The PCS union members walked out at the centres in east and north London where emergency calls are handled. They are demanding an improved pay offer from outsourcer Engie. The strike was solid?with 100?percent of union members reportedly out at both sites. The Met had to use its own police officers to break the strike, taking the places of striking workers. This means Engie could be fined. The strikers had support from other PCS branches, including cleaners at HMRC tax offices in Bootle. The cleaners recently won a victory over pay. More strikes were set for Friday of this week and Thursday of next week. Donate to the hardship fund, account number: 20244707, sort code: 60-83-01 Send cheques to the PCS London and south east region, 160 Falcon Road,?London SW11 2LN Messages of support to?londonbargaining@pcs.org.uk Attend picket lines on?16 and 22 September
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Cameron got away with murder?don't let May
Cameron has forced thousands into using food banks (Pic: geograph.org.uk) David Cameron has followed his humiliating resignation as prime minister by announcing he is resigning as an MP. Good riddance! For one Financial Times newspaper writer, ?Mr Cameron?s legacy can be summed up in one word: Brexit.? Certainly it is his greatest failure. His gamble that the referendum vote would quell Tory divisions and end the European Union as an issue in British politics spectacularly backfired. He may have also opened the path to the break-up of Britain as calls for a second Scottish independence vote start up again. Cameron started as Tory leader with a pitch to leave behind the ?nasty party? image. But his pro-environment, compassionate hug-a-hoodie rhetoric soon disappeared. His real service to the ruling class was to head up the imposition of austerity. Wages His ?success? is that between 2007 and 2015 real wages in Britain fell by over 10 percent?a drop equalled only in Greece. Cameron?s legacy is shattered lives, relentless attacks on the NHS and other vital services, deepening racism in order to divide opposition and reckless inaction over climate change. This week the charity Oxfam underlined the staggering inequality in Britain. The wealth of the richest?1 percent?634,000 people?is?20 times as much as the assets held by the poorest fifth??13 million people. Theresa May also began as Tory leader by saying she wanted ?a country that works for everyone, not just a privileged few?. But her grammar schools announcement went beyond what even Margaret Thatcher had proposed. The task is to mobilise into action the hundreds of thousands of people who have joined Labour, and the many more who agree with Corbyn?s policies who are not members. We should not be surprised that the Tories act in the interests of the millionaires. The point is to stop them. Cameron got away with murder. We must not let May do the same. The support for Jeremy Corbyn is one sure sign of how there could be much more resistance to the Tories. The backing for the junior doctors? strikes was another. The task is to mobilise into action the hundreds of thousands of people who have joined Labour, and the many more who agree with Corbyn?s policies who are not members. The union leaders should build and encourage strikes against the attacks from the bosses and the government. Corbyn should provide direct campaigning focuses such as a call for a ?10 an hour minimum wage for all and a programme for a?left wing version of Brexit. Speeches must be backed with action in workplaces and streets. Two immediate opportunities for a fightback are the People?s Assembly demonstration in Birmingham on 2 October outside the Tory conference, and the Stand Up To Racism conference on 8 October. We have to step up the resistance, and put socialist politics at the heart of it.
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Inside the 'Moderates' meetup': Vows to keep fighting to oust Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn speaking at a rally in Featherstone last week (Pic: Neil Terry) Right wing Labour MPs have insisted they will keep trying to force party leader Jeremy Corbyn out?even if he wins next week?s leadership election. Party activists were told that ?nothing changes? if Corbyn wins the election on 24 September, at a meeting with several Labour MPs on Monday. MPs Alison McGovern, Jamie Reed, Siobhain McDonagh, Mike Gapes and Wes Streeting all spoke at the Road to Conference ?moderate meetup? in parliament. It was hosted by right wing factions Progress and Labour First. Each spoke of how they would keep undermining Corbyn despite the fact that Labour members are likely to overwhelmingly elect him as leader for the second time. They took their cue from Labour First secretary Luke Akehurst, who told the meeting that, ?Nothing fundamental changes if Jeremy is re-elected. Responding to a question from the floor about what the right?s ?gameplan? after the election is, Akehurst said, ?We will just have another leadership election again and we will carry on having leadership elections until we get a sensible result.? Gapes agreed with Akehurst, telling the audience again, ?Nothing changes. I have no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn as leader today, I will have no confidence tomorrow. I will have no confidence next month, next week, next year?and that cannot change.? He emphasised the point with his own clear contempt for Labour Party members. ?The Labour Party membership has elected somebody who is incapable of being a leader of a political party,? he said. ?This is our party. We?re not giving it up to some people who think they can capture it, take the name and then maybe split it and build a revolutionary movement.? Undermining Playing to the gallery, Streeting attacked Corbyn?calling him a ?total catastrophe?, adding that ?Jeremy has set a new low?. An apparent joke suggesting that Corbyn could lose his seat due to boundary changes went down well with the packed room of right wing activists. To laughter, cheering and applause Streeting told the meeting, ?Sadly Jeremy doesn?t have a seat anymore. ?I?m suggesting that Jeremy goes to fight a Conservative seat with a majority of five and a half thousand and see how he gets on there?. Streeting and Gapes both suggested they were against Labour MPs serving in Corbyn?s shadow cabinet after his re-election. It followed reports last week that some former shadow cabinet ministers who resigned in July were considering returning to the fold. Describing the decision as a ?genuine dilemma? Streeting said, ?The effective opposition is on the back benches, and we have a judgement about whether we want to be on the front benches. ?Until things change I?ve got a majority of 589, I?m enjoying myself in the treasury committee?that?s my priority so I?ve got the excuse?. An apparent joke suggesting that Corbyn could lose his seat due to boundary changes went down well with the packed room of right wing activists. Meanwhile Reed and McGovern said they planned to defy Corbyn more openly. Reed said,??Come 2020 I?m standing pro-Trident, I?m standing pro-Nato. And I?ll do that under a Labour banner irrespective of what party members might have to say about it.? McGovern agreed, adding, ?I will do as Jamie has described and follow the inspiration of our leader who voted against the Labour Party whip.? Yet Reed also ruled out a right wing split from Labour. ?Let?s not talk of this ridiculous notion of a split,? he said. Gapes added that ?There is a lot of comradeship and solidarity amongst the MPs,? who he suggested are still united in wanting to get rid of Corbyn. Corbyn will be under pressure to compromise with the right after he wins the election to try and placate them. The unity of the Labour MPs in their desire to get rid of Corbyn?and their determination to keep trying?shows this is impossible except on the right?s own rotten terms. The right want?to squeeze out democracy, and use union leaders The Labour right are?also preparing for battles with the left at party conference, which starts on Sunday of next week. Labour First secretary Luke Akehurst told the meeting that one of the key battles is to stop what has been termed the ?McDonnell amendment?. The amendment would make it easier for leadership challengers to be nominated as candidates, reducing the required percentage of MP and MEP nominations from 15 to five. Akehurst warned that the change would make it easier for left wing MP and Corbyn ally John McDonnell to stand for election if Corbyn resigns. He said, ?This is because secretly they want to change leader before the general election. And they are only clinging on, protecting Jeremy at the moment because they haven?t managed the rule change that will enable John McDonnell.? Akehurst also said he hopes Labour?s national executive committee would allow a vote on whether to reintroduce elections to the shadow cabinet. He said, ?I think it?s the only way to enable people to go back and serve on the front benches and restore some degree of functional unity.? And he wants to change the way the party?s leader is elected, including scrapping registered supporters and the one member one vote system. He said, ?I would like us to reconsider the election system for leaders and to look again at getting rid of registered supporter category. ?And I would like the unions and MPs to have a say in that as well, bringing balance and stability back to it?. The right hope the changes will allow hostile MPs to pack the shadow cabinet with people who will undermine him. Rules And they want to change the leadership election rules in order to take power away from Corbyn?s supporters?many of whom are new members or registered supporters. Yet it was the right who backed the current voting system, introduced under Ed Miliband. They thought it would help the Parliamentary Labour Party to consolidate its power. It was a similar story when Miliband abolished the shadow cabinet elections. But their plans clearly backfired. The right are hopeful of using union leaders against Corbyn Akehurst now hopes that giving power back to the union leaders will help them to beat Corbyn and the left?particularly at conference where affiliated unions have a powerful vote. He said, ?What we?re seeing on the affiliate side is the sound of political chickens coming home to roost. ?If you are Jeremy Corbyn and the people around him and you pick a massive series of industrial battles with the GMB union?over scrapping Trident, over nuclear energy, over fracking, over Heathrow third runway, over boycotting G4S because it does work in Israel?it is understandable the GMB is no longer a reliable vote for camp Corbyn. ?That is why Tim Roache as general secretary of the GMB has a mandate from his members to try and remove Jeremy as party leader and replace him with Owen Smith?. Akehurst also cited the Unison union elections last year as a reason for current general secretary Dave Prentis to withdraw his support. Prentis had faced a challenge from left rank and file candidate John Burgess, who featured a quote from McDonnell in his election literature. The election was also marred by allegations of malpractice against Prentis?s supporters. Akehurst said, ?If you are Unison and your general secretary was undermined when he was up for re-election by interference by people in the leader?s office backing the candidate against him, giving quotes from John McDonnell to appear on that candidate?s leaflet, that probably means Unison are having a little think about where they stand on this stuff as well.? He finished by insisting that if the Labour right ?stays firm? at conference, ?we can actually have a surprisingly good conference for the forces of rightness, decency and justice in the Labour Party.? Corbyn cheered in Barnsley The Yorkshire Miners? Hall in Barnsley was packed last Saturday. Over 500 people came to hear Jeremy Corbyn and others speak. Corbyn stressed he was proud to have stood on miners? picket lines?in 1984-5 and though the Tories may have closed every pit, ?they haven?t taken away the fighting spirit of the coal mining communities?. To loud applause he called on people to ?stand up for a public inquiry? into the police brutality at Orgreave. Corbyn also supported resistance to austerity. He praised the South Yorkshire Freedom Riders, pensioners campaigning to win back free local train travel for older people. Speaking later, Aslef union president Tosh McDonald said, ?I support the direct action against austerity that the Freedom Riders have taken. ?Where are the local Labour councillors fighting alongside the Freedom Riders?? Dave Gibson Who is to blame for poor polls? Monday marked a year since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party. The anniversary was marred by polls that put Labour 11 points behind the Tories?the worst rating it has ever had in opposition. It came after Labour lost a council by-election to the Liberal Democrats in Mosborough, Sheffield, last Thursday. The Lib Dems increased their vote share by almost 32 percent. The Labour right wanted to pin the blame for the poor results on Corbyn?s leadership. Angela Smith, the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, near Sheffield, was ?clear? that the loss was because ?traditional Labour voters refused to vote for Jeremy Corbyn?. These included the ?former steel worker who?d voted Labour all his life,? who allegedly told her, ?Sorry love, I just can?t vote Labour with that man in charge.? The poor polling can?t be ignored?but it?s not down to Corbyn?s leadership. Closer Labour was much closer to the Tories in the polls in May this year and the beginning of June. ?That was just before Labour MPs attempted to force Corbyn out. And some people have suggested that Labour could have lost in Sheffield because their candidate lived miles away from the area. Others said they didn?t vote Labour because they are fed up with the Labour council. One said, ?My reason for not voting Labour had nothing to do with Jeremy Corbyn. ?It had everything to do with the current Labour Council in Sheffield not listening to Sheffield folk.? Another said, ?Labour MPs are really out of touch with the traditional Labour people?the result was nothing to do with Corbyn. ?They will be saying losing the last two general elections and the EU referendum was all Corbyn?s fault. They ought to try looking in a mirror.?
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Workers set to stage national post office strike to stop cuts
Thousands of Post Office workers were set to strike this Thursday against job cuts, privatisation and an attack on their pensions. The strike will involve CWU union members working at Crown Post Offices, and in the admin and supply chains. Managers in the Unite union were also set to strike on the same day. Plans to sell off around?60 Crown Post Offices and cuts to admin, supply chain and cash handling sectors mean some 2,000 jobs could be lost. The selloffs would involve closing the branches and paying existing staff to leave, with private businesses such as WHSmith opening replacement offices. Post Office bosses also want to close workers? defined benefit pension scheme in March and replace it with a worse defined contribution scheme. Scabs They have also tried to bribe scabs to take ?3,000 to break the strike. The CWU is demanding ?decent job security for all and no compulsory redundancies?. It also wants to halt the closure of the defined benefit scheme, and get improvements for workers already on the defined contribution scheme. CWU general secretary Dave Ward said, ?The Post Office has pointed to the ?bottom line? in making these cuts. ?But it cannot pretend that using public money to pay off staff so they can be replaced with minimum wage jobs is a success story or that closing down its flagship branches is a defence of the service.? He added, ?The Post Office has got to get out of the cycle of closures, job losses and attacks on staff terms and conditions.?
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Hate that has deep roots?Christine Delphy speaks out against Islamophobia
The burkini ban has shocked many people, but the racism behind it has roots that go back years. French politicians and the media focusing on Islam is making racism respectable. Respected authors keep writing books arguing that we have to get rid of foreigners who want to impose an alien way of life on our traditions. Christine Delphy (Pic: Matthisvalerie) The niqab was banned in 2010. Out of a population of?65 million, it affected around 200 women.Laws restricting what Muslim woman should wear show just how preoccupied the French establishment is with ?identity?. Similarly, the law banning headscarves in schools in 2004 concerned a few hundred disputes that should have been resolved locally. Just how harsh and disproportionate this law was started to get some of us very worried. A survey by the author Pierre Tevanian found that school students weren?t at all bothered by their classmates wearing headscarves.?They were in favour of acceptance. But a lot of work was done to shift public opinion. Some of this was done by right wingers, some by left wing defectors and some by figures who were held up as representing feminism. They are all obsessed by visible signs of the Muslim religion, but it?s particularly an obsession with Muslim women and girls? clothing. They also regularly attack the Muslim religion in itself. The fact that Islam doesn?t have a pope or an official hierarchy who they can address, like most Christian religions do, really bothers them. So for years there has been talk of creating an ?Islam of France? and now the government has set up a ?Foundation for Islam of?France?. Islamophobic The man who is to lead it, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, has said things that verge on Islamophobic. Chevenement also argues that there are two models, the ?French model? of cultural assimilation and the ?Anglo-Saxon? model of multiculturalism. Supposedly in Britain and the US different groups live side by side but are segregated, each with their own rules and laws. Obviously this is completely wrong. Where there is separation, it?s because Muslims are stigmatised, pushed away and excluded. In a way, this Islamophobia is a continuation of French colonialism. France conquered Algeria in 1930, but Algerians, like people in French Indochina, were never citizens. They were subject to separate laws, full of repressive, discriminatory measures. Revoked This ?indigenous law? was only revoked in 1945, the same year that women got the vote. To this day, French society has never accepted the descendants of people who were colonised.?People who were born in France are still considered to be foreigners. The language used is telling. They are ?second generation immigrants?, ?third generation immigrants? and so on. Even at the fourth and fifth generation they continue?to be ?immigrants?. This is absurd. An immigrant is someone who was born elsewhere and has just come here?it?s not something that is passed on genetically. People who were born in France are still considered to be foreigners They?re told to make themselves invisible, but racism means they are always recognised by the colour of their skin. Racism has made French people talented at recognising Arabs, even though their skin colour is very similar to many ?ethnically French? people. This phrase, ?ethnically French?, is itself a recent invention and it?s meaningless. Descend White people in France don?t just descend from the Gauls who lived here thousands of years ago. Centuries of invasions, migrations and mixing make it impossible to separate out a distinctly ?French? ethnicity. Some are more forthright than others about what they mean. So among the hard right wingers around former president Nicolas Sarkozy it?s even been said that ?France is a country of the white race?. Right winger Nicolas Sarkozy (Pic: World Economic Forum) That?s what it?s really about?saying there are the whites and ?others?. For instance, in 2010 Sarkozy?s then-interior minister Brice Hortefeux was at a campaign rally. A woman activist introduced him to a young man of North African origin, and said it?s alright because ?he eats pork and drinks alcohol?. Pork in school canteens is a raging debate. Muslim children can?t eat pork, so some local authorities offer a pork-free alternative menu. Others refuse absolutely, saying that in a republic there is one menu. This gets an incredible amount of space in the media. So there is actually a public debate about French identity posed in terms of whether or not you eat pork or drink alcohol. There is a fundamental?misinterpretation of what?secularism is. Secularism should be about keeping religion from influencing the state, not banishing it out of public space. Fundamental That?s why France?s highest court ruled that the burkini bans went against fundamental freedoms that are upheld by the constitution. The intransigence of the mayors who imposed the bans forced the court to overturn the bans on a case by case basis. The court will eventually overturn them all, at some cost, and the mayors are accepting that. So Sarkozy and other right wingers are denouncing this. They?re demanding a law banning the burkini, as if the?burkini was an issue of national importance! Our present government calls itself socialist but takes the same positions as the right. This probably won?t happen, as it would mean changing the constitution. France has already made itself a laughing stock internationally. If we rewrote the constitution for the sake of a few dozen burkinis I think we would become a pariah state. But the Islamophobia will certainly continue now it has got this far. The main parties all fundamentally use the same discourse as the racist Front National (NF). They distinguish themselves from the NF because it is an electoral competitor, but they all focus on French ?identity? and the ?nation?. They say France is the land of the ?rights of man??and that?s what human rights are still called in France. Whenever I talk to human rights activists about changing it, they say it keeps a link with the language of the French Revolution. They prefer to refer to something that happened in France more than two centuries ago rather than the rest of the world today. FURTHER READING @Bookmarks ?14.99 Our present government calls itself socialist but takes the same positions as the right. Prime minister Manuel Valls is always harping on about the headscarf being the main problem and his main fight in France. The situation is difficult, because even among what?s called the ?left of the left? there is a hostility to Islam. It?s hidden behind a veil of anti-religious rhetoric, but it?s very totalitarian. Some of us have been trying to build opposition for the last 12 years, but with little success. While some feminists are starting to move from their anti-headscarf positions, they?re?relatively few in number. Organisations But we are seeing new groups of Afro-feminists, who look to the Black feminism developed in the US, and organisations that don?t accept white members. I wish them success, but they could easily face legal challenges. France is becoming such a messed-up country?we don?t know what the future holds. The sociologist Said Bouamama wrote a very good article recently, warning that the conditions for a pogrom were being created. In a sense, the Paris attacks against French civilians by supporters of Isis last November prove that there will be some outlet for this feeling. France is putting itself at risk. France is acting like it wants a civil war as an excuse to eliminate the Muslims. I wish I could be more optimistic?but the conditions for a civil war are?there. Further reading: Said Bouamama spoke out in Socialist Worker after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, available at?bit.ly/2cfLiPU Civil War in France by Ugo Palheta in Socialist Review, available at?bit.ly/2coVUks
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TUC Congress - unions must break the law to defend workers' rights
Delegates listen to TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady at this year's TUC congress (Pic: Socialist Worker) This year?s TUC congress in Brighton came after the Tories passed their Trade Union Act in May.? It is a serious attack on trade union rights, which further restricts the right to strike. As Frances O?Grady, TUC general secretary, told delegates, ?This time last year we were facing the biggest government attack on our movement for generations.? But O?Grady then fantastically claimed that the TUC had beaten back the Tories? assault. ?Yes, they got their Trade Union Act?and it will be bureaucratic, a waste of members? money and a waste of everyone?s time,? she said.? ?But we beat them, not on everything but in the big battles we beat them back.? In fact the central elements of the proposed law went through.Many delegates weren?t convinced by O?Grady?s claim. Mick Wheelan, Aslef train drivers? union general secretary, told Socialist Worker, ?We?re grateful to the work the TUC did do against this pernicious law.? ?But the reality is we have worse trade union rights than other countries in Europe?we have to fight for our rights.? The Trade Union Act requires a 50 percent turnout in ballots if workers want to take industrial action. Eligible Workers in ?important public services?, such as health and transport, will need 40 percent of those eligible to vote to back strikes.? Alex Stoten, a TSSA union delegate, told Socialist Worker, ?There were some small concessions, but we could have gone a lot further. ?The big issue in the law was the ballot thresholds?it?s total hypocrisy from the Tories because many of their MPs don?t reach such thresholds. But these restrictions are still in the law.? O?Grady promised to throw ?the kitchen sink at defeating the bill? at TUC conference last year. In reality, the TUC had already thrown in the towel on full-scale confrontation. It relied on lobbying Tory MPs and the Lords instead of mobilising members. Sections of the law, including the ballot thresholds, don?t apply until the secretary of state makes a ?commencement order?. It is expected to come soon. Workers must prepare to defy the Act. Alex agreed, ?We didn?t win all the rights we have by going along with what?s legal. If we did, then we would never have won anything.? ?My union and Unite said we would ignore the ballot thresholds if they brought them in. The TUC should do the same.? Wheelan added, ?Unions will have to stand up and break the law?or unions have to come together?and coordinate to break the law.? Brexit is a chance to push back the Tories Debates about how to respond to the European Union (EU) referendum Leave vote dominated the first day of the Congress. Delegates passed a motion that reflected the majority of union leaders? support for the EU. It regretted that unions had been ?unable to persuade working class communities to support the Remain position?. But it also said the TUC ?accepted the result? and the result ?was a rebuke to an out-of-touch political and economic elite?. CWU union delegate Amarjit Singh (Pic: Socialist Worker) The scale of support for Leave among union members forced union leaders to put forward a positive vision of the future.?Len McCluskey, Unite union general secretary, said, ?This could be an opportunity to break with neoliberalism and put forward what sort of country Britain could be.? Unison union leader Dave Prentis similarly argued that ?the government could use Brexit to throw off the shackles of austerity?. It?s urgent that the unions?and the Labour Party?draw up a clear plan for a ?left Brexit?. The debate and the decisions cannot be left to varying shades of right wingers. Vague The motion that was passed puts forward some positive, if vague, demands towards such a programme. It included, for example, a call to ?stand in solidarity with all migrant workers, who contribute enormous value to society and support the right of all EU nationals living here to remain.? It also said that the TUC should ?support public events, rallies, protests and demonstrations, coordinated between affiliates, aimed at defending working people from the impacts of?Brexit?. These words need to be turned into action. To secure the opportunities after the Leave vote will mean the unions leading a fight.? Amarjit Singh, a CWU union delegate from South Wales, told Socialist Worker, ?The TUC must be a focus for activity. ?We?ve got to get out onto the streets?not just one event but actually mobilise trade union members. When there?s big disputes, like the junior doctors, the TUC should support them.? Migrants are not to blame TUC delegates were clear that defending EU migrants? rights and standing against racism was a priority.?TUC general secretary Frances O?Grady told Socialist Worker, ?It is immoral to use people as bargaining chips. ?EU nationals should be guaranteed the right to remain?and we know that the majority of people agree with us.? Some union leaders have previously played to the idea that migrant workers drive down wages?what they call ?social dumping?.? But at TUC conference union leaders agreed that migrants are not to blame for low wages, lack of housing or pressure on public services.
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US and Russia to pause for Eid?then start bombing rebel groups in Syria again
The city of Aleppo has been devastated by bombing (Pic: Voice of America News) Top US and Russian officials have announced a new ceasefire deal in Syria. It follows the failure of the last ceasefire that was proclaimed in February and was supposed to end the agony of Syria?s people. The deal, initially for a week during the Eid holiday, is based on an extension of bombing. Attacking The US says it will cooperate with Russia in attacking both Isis and the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham group. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham is the successor to the al-Nusra Front that was associated with?Al Qaida. Such an agreement provides opportunities for either side to bomb on the basis that any fighting organisation is ?really? part of the terrorists. In return the Russians and the Syrian regime are supposed to halt raids on civilians and other rebel groups. There is very little confidence this will happen. Killed Presumed Russian or government airstrikes on rebel-held Idlib and Aleppo provinces killed over 90 civilians in an attack on a marketplace in Idlib last Saturday. At least 13 children were among those killed. No deal brokered by imperialism will work to the?long-term benefit of the Syrian people.
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Stand with the Rotherham twelve
The Rotherham 12 Defence Campaign has called a national convention in the run-up to a trial of?12 men for serious offences, including violent disorder. The 12 were arrested during a 400-strong protest against Nazi group Britain First in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on 5 September last year. Police marched it past a pub locals say is known as a haunt of racists. Protesters defended themselves against racist abuse. The convention, Injustice in the System, has a line-up?including Imran Khan, Suresh Grover, Gus John and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. The trial is set to start in Sheffield Crown Court on Monday 3 October. Anti-racists will protest outside. Injustice in the System?Saturday 24 September, 9.30am-5pm, Sheffield Hallam University City Campus, Peak Lecture Theatre, Owen Building, Sheffield S1 1WB. Email rotherham12dc@gmail.com
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Durham teaching assistants say no to deal that would cut their pay
Durham teaching assistants are fighting to defend their pay and conditions (Pic: County Durham Teaching Assistants/Facebook) Rank and file teaching assistants (TAs) are organising to reject a ?much improved? offer from Labour-controlled Durham County Council. The council shamefully plans to sack and rehire 2,700 TAs on worse contracts and cut their pay by 23 percent. Its new proposal offers ?compensation? for two years, instead of one, from April 2017. Gillian, a teaching assistant organising against the attack, said, ?These pay cuts will have a huge effect on the lives of TAs and their families.? She said that many TAs will be forced out of their jobs. Rebecca said the latest offer means ?we will still lose the same amount of pay?it is just delayed. ?The so-called compensation is just the council letting us keep our own money for two years. ?The choice is, lose your money in one year or lose it in two years. That?s not a choice.? Sold Unfortunately the new offer is being sold as ?much improved? by Unison union regional organiser Helen Metcalf. Unison represents the majority of TAs in Durham. But Gillian said the TAs? rank and file committee has decided it ?will be rejecting the council?s proposal?. ?Other councils have sorted out this issue in ways that mean low-paid, mostly female workers, are not pushed into poverty.? Union activists think the union is more worried about being exposed over selling similar attacks in other parts of the region than helping to lead resistance in Durham. The committee holds local meetings for all TAs across Durham this week to get organised and hold the union to promises of a strike ballot. An official consultation on the new offer is expected to run from 14-27 September. Unison branch and regional officials should stop dragging their heels and appearing as if they do not want Durham TAs to defeat this attack. It?s time to strike back. Solidarity messages to spartacusannie@gmail.com Donate to the fighting fund at bit.ly/2coACPb Derby TAs set to strike Teaching assistants in Derby were set to strike on Wednesday against a?25 percent pay cut by Derby City Council, a Labour-run authority. The Unison union members? walkout is the first of five days of strikes over the next five weeks. Coachloads of strikers were set to travel to London to lobby MPs in parliament. The union has organised the walkouts against a new worse contract imposed in June. The TAs had been left with the ultimatum of accepting the new contracts or being sacked. Unfortunately their union did not organise action ahead of the imposition of the change. It?s good that there is more action being organised now, but it will be a more difficult battle to reverse an attack already in place.
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The system needs sexism?fight to get rid of it
Middlesbrough is one of the worst places to be a girl, found a new report (Pic: ChrisO) Two reports this week showed how girls and young women are being failed by the system. One exposed huge discrepancies in girls? quality of life in England and Wales based on where they live. Another flagged up disturbing levels of sexual harassment in England?s schools. The Plan International UK and Hull university report showed the impact of class on girls? lives. The worst places to be a girl were poorer areas. Researchers looked at childhood poverty levels, life expectancy, teenage conception rates, GCSE results and the percentage of girls under 18 not in employment, education or training. Harassment And a Commons Women and Equalities Committee report said harassment of girls in schools was too often seen as part of daily life. It added that the government has no coherent plan to tackle it. The report looked at surveys of girls and young women. One found that 71 percent of girls had been called a ?slut? or ?slag? at school. Some 29 percent of 16-18 year old women had suffered unwanted sexual touching. The reports paint a disgraceful picture of how women and girls are treated. The idea that we have won equality is a lie. Sexism and oppression remain at the heart of the system?and encourage the attitudes that women are worth less than men. We need to get rid of it.
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Labour purges show limits of reformism
Militant Tendancy founder Ted Grant (Pic: John Sturrock) This article is part of an ongoing series: Should Labour MPs face reselection??bit.ly/2ceiWLM The strange story of Labour?s Clause 4?bit.ly/2bQOiGH The ?constraint of unity? fatally weakened the Bennite left?bit.ly/2b4UxRS Nye Bevan?s contortions bit.ly/2c7Q7gJ Stafford Cripps, a turncoat twice over bit.ly/2az9b3Q What Lenin said about Labour bit.ly/2anvZs5 The Independent Labour Party bit.ly/2aYNNe7 George Lansbury was loved - but it wasn?t enough for the union leaders?bit.ly/2box5zj Official figures show that 3,107 people have been suspended from the Labour Party ahead of the leadership election. The Labour right claimed this showed there had been no purge of Corbyn supporters as ?only? a few thousand had been barred from voting. But Corbyn supporters and the left were clearly targeted. Many had already been excluded after Labour?s national executive decided 120,000 new members weren?t eligible to vote. It isn?t the first time that left wing Labour members have been hounded out of the party. Expulsions of Militant tendency supporters took place throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Militant was a far left grouping inside Labour that aimed to win the party to what it saw as a revolutionary programme. Its growth was portrayed as a ?Trotskyist? takeover of the party. But Militant grew as the left around MP Tony Benn was growing too. Labour?s leadership used a purge to force Bennites to decide whether they would break from the party or remain loyal to its leadership. It was a similar story when Labour?s leaders witch-hunted Communist Party members in the 1920s. The Communist Party had repeatedly applied for affiliation to Labour as an openly revolutionary organisation. It was defeated each year at Labour?s conference by the trade union block vote. Yet several Communist delegates were often elected to conference by trade union and local branches. Some openly Communist Party members were selected as parliamentary candidates. Industrial struggle at the beginning of the 1920s meant many workers were looking towards radical and socialist ideas. Communists had gained the respect of many Labour members by working alongside them in struggle. Yet the Labour Party was on the verge of forming the first Labour government?and its leaders were desperate to prove they were ?respectable?. Association with revolutionaries was unacceptable. Labour?s leadership waged a long and brutal war to eradicate the Communists from the party?s ranks. They finally managed it in 1928?after dissolving at least 27 local parties, stitching up conference and banning members from even sharing platforms with Communists. The left battled on, forming the Socialist League in 1932. A Labour government had just collapsed after attacking workers to pay for an economic crisis, yet still failing to satisfy bankers? demands. The defeat?and revulsion at Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald leaving the party to head up a national government?produced a swing to the left among members. Labour?s leadership went part of the way with them. But they would only go so far. Being foisted out of government by unelected bankers should have shown the limits of fighting for workers? interests inside the bosses? system. Instead, Labour?s leaders tried ever harder to prove the party could manage capitalism responsibly. Members were soon banned from being in the Socialist League. Its leaders?Stafford Cripps and Nye Bevan?were expelled. The battle between left and right has been a near-constant feature of Labour?s history. The left look to Labour MPs to represent the working class. But the MPs, chasing right wing votes or trying to look ?responsible?, always turn on them. In a party focused on winning change in parliament, the right come out on top. Challenging them means organising where the left is strongest?among the hundreds of thousands who have joined Labour in search of a real alternative. But beating the right once and for all will mean breaking from them entirely?and organising to challenge the system that has kept them in place. For more articles in this series go to bit.ly/2cviULO
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Protests, boycotts and strikes hit prisons across the US
An overcrowded prison dormitory in California (Pic: California Department of Corrections) A wave of prison strikes has spread across the US. Prisoners at an estimated 40 institutions across over 20 US states held strikes, protests and boycotts on Friday of last week. They are fighting against terrible living conditions and the abysmal pay for the work they do, which averages at ?3.50 a day. The strikes fell on the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison rebellion in New York state. Melvyn Rae is one of the organisers of prisoner campaign the?Free Alabama Movement. He spoke to Socialist Worker from solitary confinement, which is used as a punishment for inmates who organise. He said, ?In Alabama alone there have been multiple prison shutdowns, strikes, canteen boycotts and protests. ?There have been multiple?demonstrations outside prisons across the country.? Melvyn described how they first started getting organised after he heard about a 30,000-strong prison strike in Georgia in December 2010. ?Alabama?s right next door but it took us two years to find out about it,? he said. ?I was struck by that. ?We didn?t understand the magnitude of economics and were focusing on boycotts and protests.? Message After hearing about Georgia, prisoners made a decision to ?combine a work strike with social media to spread the message across the country.? A quarter of the world?s prison population is in the US. Political demands were central to the strike wave. While the reasons behind the strikes vary from prison to prison, people are also raising demands such as ending the use of solitary confinement as punishment. ?In Alabama there?s an?80 percent functional literacy rate,? said Melvyn. ?It?s not mandatory to go to school in prison but it?s mandatory to go to work. ?We?ve identified particular laws like the Habitual Offender Three Strike Laws which we?re campaigning to abolish. ?These are promoted by corporations that profit from cheap prison labour because they maintain prison numbers.? Whistleblower US army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who was behind important Wikileaks revelations, went on hunger strike on Friday of last week after years of abuse. ?I have asked for help time and time again for six years and through five separate confinement locations,? she said in a statement. ?My request has only been ignored.? Azzurro Christino from the International Workers of the World union has been helping to organise support for the strikes. In Alabama there?s an 80 percent functional literacy rate. It?s not mandatory to go to school in prison but it?s mandatory to go to work. Melvyn Rae She told Socialist Worker, ?We?ve had reports from a few units, but won?t have reports from all places for up to a month. ?We haven?t yet heard from a number of prisoners that we?re in long-term contact with. ?We?ve been organising prisoner support and noise demonstrations outside prisons.? There have been solidarity demonstrations outside embassies in Sweden, Germany, Greece and elsewhere. The movement has spread internationally, with prisoners in Victoria, Australia, going on strike for higher wages. Melvyn said, ?We?ve shown we can successfully organise across state lines.? Win for Sitting Rock Sioux in North Dakota water fight The Sitting Rock Sioux and their supporters have won a victory in their campaign to halt construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota. The Obama administration caved in to public pressure and temporarily halted construction on Friday of last week. This was despite a federal judge ruling against a temporary injunction brought by the Sitting Rock tribe. Thousands of protesters, among them Native Americans from dozens of nations, have joined the protests against the pipeline. If the pipeline goes ahead, it will threaten the water supplies of the Standing Rock Sioux and millions of others. Construction has already damaged sacred burial sites. Standing Rock Sioux chairman Dave Archambault II said, ?This an historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and for tribes across the nation. Our voices have been heard.?
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