Socialist Worker

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After health report shows cuts kill... We need nurses, not Tory hit squads

Tory health minister Jeremy Hunt is threatening to send “hit squads” into hospitals following an inquiry into excess deaths at 14 hospital trusts.

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Tory benefit cap will drive thousands more into destitution

Thousands of people took a huge hit to their housing benefits on Monday of this week. The first part of the Tories’ benefit cap came into force in the majority of Britain’s councils.

Bedroom tax campaigns prepare for a national day of protests

Campaign groups against the bedroom tax from towns and estates across Greater Manchester were set to launch a city-wide federation on Saturday of this week.

Marxism 2013 - thirst for socialist ideas shows potential to build a new world

Thousands of people took part in debates on Marxist theory, the working class, how to fight oppression and how to beat the Tories at the Marxism 2013 festival in London last weekend

Marxism 2013 - how do we beat the Tories?

Trade unionists discussed how unions can win in David Cameron’s Britain. 

Voices from Marxism

Hemali Deb, student, University of East London

Leeds lab workers strike over shifts

Pathology laboratory staff at Leeds teaching hospitals struck on Tuesday of this week and plan to begin an overtime ban.

Keep our NHS Public discuss plans at AGM

Dr Jackie Davis, co-author of NHS SOS, spoke about privatisation.

South Gloucestershire council strike vote over new pay cut

Unison union members in South Gloucestershire are to hold an indicative ballot for strikes and industrial action

DB Shenker train cleaners still out in Newcastle

Train cleaners working for DB Shenker on the Tyne and Wear Metro are on strike for a living wage and to defend their conditions.

RMT workers to protest around country against East Coast Mainline sell-off

Rail workers in the RMT were set to protest in stations against the selloff of the East Coast Mainline this Thursday

South east London bin dispute settled

Refuse workers in two south east London councils will no longer be striking next week. They are members of the Unite union employed by Veolia in Croydon and Bromley.

Justice for Nygel as coroner concludes eviction caused his death

Campaigners in Kilburn, north London, protested at and attended the inquest into the death of Nygel Patrick Firminger. So did his friends and family.

Bedroom tax campaigners picket York Magistrates Court

Bedroom tax campaigners picketed York Magistrates Court on Thursday of last week, where Selby council had summonsed people in council tax arrears.

Equinox care workers strike for two days over proposed pay cuts

Workers at Equinox Care, a charity for people in supported housing, struck for two days last week against plans to slash their pay.

Unofficial postal strike victory in Peterborough shows the way to fight

Postal workers in Peterborough have scored a crucial victory after an unofficial four-day strike forced bosses to lift the suspension of a delivery rep.

Bridgwater post workers set to walk out for three days as dispute escalates

The ongoing CWU dispute in Bridgwater, Somerset, was set to escalate as more than 100 workers were set to strike on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Jobs saved at Lambeth College as strike threat beats bosses

The threat of strikes has pushed management at south London’s Lambeth College to give a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for teaching staff.

Racist terror won't split us

A nail bomb exploded outside the Kanz-ul-Iman Muslim Welfare Association Central Jamia Mosque in Tipton, West Midlands, on Friday of last week. It left jagged shrapnel strewn across the site. The blast occurred just an hour after the funeral of Lee Rigby, the soldier killed in Woolwich.

Lewisham and Southwark Colleges lecturers set to strike this week

A group of south London lecturers were set to strike against cuts on Wednesday of this week.

Workers at University of Liverpool fury at bosses' sack threat

Workers at the University of Liverpool were set to protest outside the honorary graduates celebration dinner on Wednesday of this week.

Alec Reed Academy teachers challenge sacking

Teachers at the Alec Reed Academy in Ealing, west London, met last week following the sacking of a teacher.

Ballot to strike over fire bosses’ capability tests

Firefighters are set to ballot for strikes over attacks on their pensions.

Health campaigners win a victory as bosses stop Whittington Hospital cuts

Activists have saved Whittington Hospital from cuts, writes Sarah Ensor

PCS union consults on new action

 

Don't let Tories deport Rose to her death

The UK Borders Agency is continuing attempts to deport Roseline Akhalu, a seriously ill woman, despite accepting that deportation will lead to her death.

News in brief round-up

Home Office gave secret cops fake IDs | Police evict Brixton squat | Britain has the richest bankers | Lords vote for equal marriage

Jordan Begley died after police shot him with a taser

Jordan Begley collapsed and died in the street after being hit with a 50,000 volt police taser gun in Gorton, Manchester last week. 

Teachers’ strikes can hit the Tories hard this autumn

The two biggest teachers’ unions covering England and Wales, the NUT and NASUWT, have announced national and regional strikes in their campaign to defend pensions, pay and conditions.

Dozens more cops altered Hillsborough statements

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said that 55 more police officers’ statements may have been altered in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

MPs to get bumper pay rise

Sir Ian Kennedy, head of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, has recommended that MPs get a 10 percent pay rise.

London protest demands justice for Trayvon Martin

Around 100 people protested at the US embassy in London yesterday, Tuesday, demanding justice for Trayvon Martin.

Striking post workers march through London

Workers in 372 Crown Post Offices (CPOs) struck today, Wednesday, over plans to cut the crown network by a fifth and slash 800 jobs.

Setback for London fire cuts after hundreds of firefighters take to the streets

Some 600 firefighters and supporters marched against station closures and job cuts in London yesterday, Thursday.

Bridgwater Postal workers escalate to three day strike

Some 110 post workers walked out yesterday, Thursday, for three days in Bridgwater, Somerset.

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International

Coalition on the edge as new strikes hit Greece

Mass strikes and economic crisis have got Greece’s government on the run, writes?Panos Garganas

Kenya's government feels the heat from workers' strikes

A national strike by teachers in Kenya entered its 22nd day on Tuesday of this week. 

Workers walk out in Brazil - and Chile

Workers struck at hundreds of workplaces across Brazil on Thursday of last week. Thousands marched in the main cities of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.

Anger at racism explodes after Trayvon Martin verdict

Protests have spread across the US following the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case last Saturday. 

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Comment

Genetic technology should be free - and tested

The term “three parent baby” is misleading but the technology could combat disease, says John Parrington

The Egyptian Revolution must spread to win

When we say the Egyptian Revolution is permanent, it’s not just that it literally hasn’t stopped since 2011. 

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Features

Where did capitalism come from?

Talat Ahmed looks at how the system developed the way it did in different parts of the world and argues that there was nothing special about the West other than accident

Say it loud - Marxism and the fight against racism

An important new book on the politics of anti-racism has just been published. Here Socialist Worker reprints some small extracts

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Reviews

Finally, reality TV that sees beyond the benefit myths

Despite a contrived setup, BBC’s We All Pay Your Benefits showed ‘taxpayers’ how hard life on benefits can be, says bedroom tax activist Honor Donnelly

Tyger Mural by Tim Sanders and Paul Skelding

On a council estate wall metres from east London’s Silicon Roundabout, the big eyes of a vivid tiger peek out from behind a fig tree.

Enter Socialist Worker's competition to win two tickets to Lowry exhibition at Tate Britain

This summer, Tate Britain presents a major exhibition of landscapes by the much loved painter LS Lowry—and we have a pair of tickets to give away.

George Monbiot's new book Feral begs the question of how we could recapture our long lost wildernesses

George Monbiot’s new book Feral puts forward a radically unconventional philosophy of nature conservation—“rewilding”, writes John Sinha

Electric - Pet Shop Boys (X2)

The dance duo’s 12th studio album is a refreshing return to the upbeat tone of earlier records.

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What We Think

Trayvon case lays bare a rotten racist system

The black inner city ghettos of the US exploded in the 1960s, in a series of uprisings against racism. 

Tories lie to divide us

The devastating benefit cuts are not enough for some Tories.  A group of MPs in marginal constituencies is calling for a vicious clampdown on teenage mothers.

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Other Categories

Huseyin Derinkuyu 1977-2013

We are sad to report that Huseyin Derinkuyu has died, at the age of 36. He was a Kurdish activist and a revolutionary socialist. 

Letters

Demanding justice, feeling the heat and debating revolution

Things they say

The week's news in their own words

Tory plot for ‘new workers’ party’ aims to attack unions

An old joke went along the lines of a Tory MP saying, “My grandad knew a lot about mining—he owned loads of it.” 

What do unions get for giving money to Labour?

Simon Basketter looks at why Ed Miliband is trying to cut union members’ automatic subs to Labour—and why union leaders continue to fund the party

A history of attacks on unions' political funds

Unions are not legally allowed to support a political party in any way out of the general fund raised from members’ subscriptions. 

How donations to Labour can be 'tax efficient'

John Mills handed over £1.65 million worth of shares in his JML company to the party earlier this year.

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