Socialist Worker

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Government builds racist anti-migrant offensives

Tory home secretary Priti Patel declared she was “unapologetic” as she prepared to push through deportations and ramp up the repression of refugees trying to the English Channel. 

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Little Ilford school strikers speak out - ‘You’d think we wanted chandeliers!’

Some 51 workers at Little Ilford School struck for their fifth day on Wednesday. It is the second day of a three-day strike over unacceptable working conditions and the expansion of the east London school.

Rolls Royce plan shut down of Barnoldswick plant —only a united response can save jobs

Strikers at Rolls-Royce need urgent solidarity from across the labour movement after bosses announced a Christmas lockout on Wednesday.

Sunak savages workers as Tories signal new austerity assaults

Although it is just the beginning, it is a clear signal that the Tories want working class people to bail out a system in crisis.

Student action wins big rent cut in Manchester

Students at the University of Manchester (UoM) have won a 30 percent cut in rents for this term after months of protest.

Stopped and detained for being a black Muslim

A British official admitted that he “singled out” a black Muslim man under a stop and search at Heathrow airport, according to footage.

Labour Party ramps up attacks on left for speaking out

The Labour Party is clamping down on its own members for showing solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn and speaking out against attacks on the left.

Protests continue in Poland as support swells for abortion rights fight

The fight over abortion rights in Poland is continuing with renewed energy

Doubts over Rashan Charles cop report

New research by the Shine A Light group of investigative journalists has raised fresh questions over the police account of the death of Rashan Charles.  

Battles over cuts and safety fears in universities

UCU union members at Brighton University were set to strike over planned redundancies in the IT department

Arcadia crash threatens thousands of jobs  

Major retailer Arcadia, which owns Topshop, Burton, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins collapsed on Monday.

Strikers facing Christmas lockout from bullying Rolls-Royce management

Strikers at Rolls-Royce need urgent solidarity from across the labour movement after bosses announced a Christmas lockout. 

Ofcom demands new attacks on jobs and conditions in Royal Mail

Industry regulator Ofcom last week demanded “efficiencies” that Royal Mail bosses have long wanted to force through

Handling of virus will mean millions more in poverty

The economic crisis, exacerbated by the Tories’ mishandling of the pandemic, has plunged people into poverty.

Rent strikes spread after student win at Manchester university

Students at the University of Manchester (UoM) have won a 30 percent cut in rents for this term after months of protest.

Inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh gets underway

A public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh in police custody in Fife, near Edinburgh, began on Monday.

Scared Tories decide not to hold public inquiry into killing of Pat Finucane

The family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane say the government’s decision not to hold a public inquiry is an “insult”.

Airport strike fights ‘fire and rehire’ plan

Workers at London Heathrow Airport struck on Tuesday against bosses’ plans to blackmail them into accepting pay cuts.

We Are With You dispute sees struggle win gains

Rehab workers at We Are With You in Wigan and Leigh have forced bosses to cough up cash after a long-running dispute.

Sheffield delivery workers strike +Optare+Glasgow train guards+Richie Venton settlement win+Alstom strike

Delivery workers in the IWGB union in Sheffield struck on Wednesday of last week to demand a living wage and an end to unfair sackings. 

Strike for suspended NEU rep Sharon Morgan

NEU union members at London Design and Engineering college in Newham struck on Thursday last week

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International

Indian general strike shows workers’ power to take on hard right Modi government

A stunning general strike by 250 million Indian workers on Thursday shut down most of the country’s main cities and towns.

Biden picks ‘diverse’ cabinet of warmongers and Wall Street’s friends

President-elect Joe Biden’s first slate of cabinet choices this week was heralded as inclusive and diverse in the liberal press. 

Hundreds of thousands take to streets against security law in France

Over 300,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday against the government’s proposed global security law. 

Conflict grows as Israel murders Iranian scientist

Israel brutally assassinated a scientist just outside the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday of last week.

International round up: Protest success in Guatemala

Furious protests in Guatemala have forced the government to abandon a budget that put big business first and lined the pockets of government officials.

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Comment

Labour’s long history of support for the Israeli state 

Attacks on support for Palestine aren’t explained by focusing on an ‘Israel lobby’, says Nick Clark

The pandemic, debt and economic power

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused an enormous jolt to the world economy. We are in the midst of the biggest global slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

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Features

Engels—200 years on

Two centuries after the birth of revolutionary and socialist theorist Frederick Engels, Sarah Bates examines a life and legacy that goes beyond collaborating with Karl Marx

Terror and trauma—victims tell the terrible truth about the Tories’ ‘hostile environment’ policy

As the Tories push through another deportation flight to Jamaica, Tomáš Tengely-Evans spoke to three families battling for justice. Their stories give a snapshot of the daily terror inflicted by Britain’s racist immigration system and the hostile environment

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Reviews

County Lines—a bleak vision of hopeless, demonised teenage victims

County Lines doesn’t flinch from showing the squalor behind the headlines. But it feels as if it’s avoiding the most important question

Flint is harrowing to watch—but there is also hope

In 2014, Michigan’s state government decided to cut costs by redirecting Flint’s water source from Lake Huron to the river Flint

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What We Think

We’re made to pay the price of an ugly system

The problem isn’t one or two nasty bosses—it’s a system that fails the vast majority

Tories are friends of profit, not freedom

They just want to get profits flowing at all costs

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Other Categories

Letters—Free period products provision in Scotland is a win for women

This week in Scotland marked a victory for grassroots campaigners who have fought a long battle for free and fair access to menstrual items.

The Troublemaker—Top Met cop defends targeting ‘black lads’ for stop and search  

London top cop Cressida Dick has claimed that stop and search tactics are saving the lives of young black men in London. This is because they are more likely to carry knives apparently. 

Can workers stop job cuts when the system’s in crisis?

Bosses claim they ‘can’t afford’ to keep people on because of the crisis. There’s money—but it will take a fight to take it off the rich, writes Sadie Robinson

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