Socialist Worker

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Out of work and out of money - how lives are being torn apart by profit system

Workers are being pushed to make big sacrifices during the lockdown—but things could get much worse as unemployment bites. Tomáš Tengely-Evans spoke to some of those affected, and argues that the crisis shows why we need a different system

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Debt, cutting back on food, endless stress—the reality of life on Universal Credit

Nearly two thirds of families who receive Universal Credit have been pushed into borrowing money to survive

Climate groups warn that environmental destruction will lead to more pandemics

Environmental destruction lies behind health crises—and sweeping changes will be needed to avoid further pandemics, argued conservation and health leaders

Protests across Britain show the breadth of Black Lives Matter movement

 Thousands of people “took the knee” at Black Lives Matter protests in towns and cities across Britain on Wednesday.

Profit hungry firms want more money for failing transport system

The coronavirus crisis has underlined the utter failure of a privatised transport system. But the Tories are still shovelling billions to profit-hungry firms rather than renationalising the system.

Government abandons Covid-19 tracing app after months of delays

In a humiliating reversal of policy, the government announced on Thursday that it is abandoning the contact-tracing app which it had said was vital to an effective “test and trace” system

Three years after Grenfell and people's homes are still not safe

Three years on from the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, people are still living in hundreds of buildings that haven’t been stripped of dangerous cladding.

This movement must try to fight all forms of racism

Although different groups are affected differently by racism this must not divide the struggle against it says Yuri Prasad  

Thousands more join fresh round of Black Lives Matter protests

Some of the biggest mobilisations took place outside London

Labour report misses what led the party to lose election

A report into the Labour Party’s 2019 general election defeat says the party has a “mountain to climb” to beat the Tories. But it reinforces both left and right wing explanations for the defeat—meaning it will be used to justify the party’s shift to the right.

India-China battles warn of rising tension

High in the barren mountains of Ladakh, just downwind from the Himalayas, a seemingly bizarre series of fights took place last week.

Oxford activists want to make sure Rhodes falls

Student activists have vowed to keep fighting until the front of Oriel College, Oxford, no longer features a statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes

Structural racism is behind high coronavirus death rate for black and asian people

A new report has provided further proof of how racism is behind the disproportionate deaths of black and Asian people from coronavirus

Tory Covid-19 moves will mean more death

The Tories pushed ahead with lifting the lockdown just as the official British death toll rose to over 42,000 and other countries showed signs of another spike.

Fightback can ground major attacks at Heathrow airport

Important disputes are on at Heathrow Airport Limited, Menzies, and Heathrow Express

Reject local government pay offer and raise anti-racist solidarity

Consultation with Unison union members on a 2.75 percent pay offer to local government workers in England and Wales is underway.

Activists stage rebel trail to rail against HS2 ‘gravy train’

Environmental ­campaigners began a “Rebel Trail” from Birmingham last weekend along the route of the planned HS2 high-speed railway. 

Unison grows + BT crisis + RSPCA cuts + School safety + Curtain falls on jobs

The Unison union says it has seen a surge in membership with more than 90,000 people signing up ​this year.

Divides between rich and poor have grown due to pandemic says report

Hardly noticed by most of the media, a new official report has revealed some of the deep inequalities in British society.

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International

Tulsa: the city of Trump’s rally is the site of a racist massacre

In 1921 racists wanted to put black people down, and break workers' unity

Anti-racist rage boils over in protests across the US

Protests are continuing to rage across the US over the racist murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin a month ago. 

Virus grows as world leaders prioritise profits

Coronavirus is set to reach a horrifying new milestone this week—10 million cases and a death toll of 500,000.

Tens of thousands take to the streets of France to demand ‘freedom, equality and dignity’

Big, militant anti-racist marches took place in several cities across France last Saturday.

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Comment

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Features

W.E.B Du Bois—a pioneer of anti-racist theory and struggle

Du Bois was one of the most prolific and popular sociologists, academics and civil rights activists of the first half of the 20th century

How the sun set on the British empire

As Britain’s rulers try to defend their colonial past, Sarah Bates looks at how resistance, imperialist rivalries and decline ended the biggest empire in the world

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Reviews

New Spike Lee film explores legacy and trauma of Vietnam War

Da 5 Bloods follows a group of disillusioned black veterans as they return to Vietnam—and confront decades of racism and rage

Mystery, magic and mysticism in The Luminaries

The Luminaries is a fast paced story of murder, betrayal, revenge—and hunting for gold

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What We Think

Fight capitalism to smash racist system

Right wingers are trying to create a backlash against the fantastic Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Reading stabbing is being used by the right

The Tories are using the appalling stabbing of three people in Reading to push racism and repression.

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Other Categories

Letters—we’re inspired to tear down slaver’s Edinburgh statue

Inspired by events in Bristol, Edinburgh Stand Up To Racism has been holding protests at the Henry Dundas statue at St Andrew Square.

Virus outbreak after workers’ walkout warning was ignored

A major outbreak of coronavirus has been confirmed at a food processing plant where workers had walked out unofficially over safety fears.

‘I miss a normal life’—the workers stuck out at sea

Lockdown has imprisoned seafarers on ships for months—and they are desperate to leave.

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