Socialist Worker

---

House of Scroungers

Greedy MPs take ‘second jobs’ as £67,000 just isn’t enough to live on

---

International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Health trusts in financial crisis

Top bosses at Barts Health NHS Trust in east London resigned last week amid a growing financial crisis. Chief executive Peter Morris and chief nurse Kay Riley went a fortnight after it reported a £93 million budget deficit. 

Labour defector stands for TUSC

Andrew Clayworth, a former Labour parliamentary candidate, will stand for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) in the general election in Nottingham South.

Unite Against Fascism conference 2015: 'Anti-racists can shape election'

Over 400 people attended the Unite Against Fascism (UAF) conference in London last Saturday.

Newcastle against Pegida

Supporters of the Islamophobic group Pegida plan to hold an “anti-Muslim” protest in Newcastle this Saturday.

Amey workers maintaining battle with bosses over pay

Motorway maintenance workers employed by Amey struck for 24 hours on Friday of last week and Monday of this week.

Your Choice Barnet workers strike back against attacks on pay

Care workers in Barnet, north London, walked out for 48 hours on Tuesday of this week.

More strikes over Lewisham academies

Teachers at four schools in Lewisham, south east London, are set to strike on Thursday of next week.

Barnsley College strike suspended

A four-day strike by UCU union members at Barnsley College, Yorkshire, set to begin on Monday of this week, was suspended after bosses offered concessions at talks.

Crossrail hit by more action

Campaigners protested and blocked roads at the Whitechapel site of the Crossrail project in London on Monday of this week.

SNP under pressure over unconventional gas licences

Nearly 30 organisations have written to Scottish National Party (SNP)government energy minister Fergus Ewing demanding that Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is included in Scotland’s fracking ban.

Fury as councils push through further cuts

As anti-cuts protests took place across Britain last week a nightmare vision of the future of local services came from Northamptonshire.

Ukip racists targeted in Bradford Upon Avon

Anti-racists held a lively protest outside a Ukip public meeting in Bradford Upon Avon on Friday of last week.

Opposing Tory mayor Boris Johnson's budget

Protesters blocked the entrance to London’s City Hall on Monday of this week as Tory mayor Boris Johnson prepared to present his budget.

No-strike deal for Scottish prison officers?

The Scottish National Party (SNP) government in Scotland has agreed what is in effect a £7 million no-strike deal with the Prison Officers Association (POA).

Haringey march against re-development

Council tenants and supporters marched on Haringey Civic Centre in north London on Monday of this week in protest against redevelopment plans.

Tories use a panic over Isis to clamp down on Muslims

Politicians are in a frenzy over three teenagers alleged to have left to join Isis, writes Judith Orr

Reports round-up

ITV workers move towards strike | Fast Food Rights campaign meeting |Justice Alliance | Barnsley Freedom Riders | protests against Work Capability Assessments

More lies from cops, Hillsborough inquests hear

Police lied about the Hillsborough football disaster, according to a doctor giving evidence to inquests this week.

Fossil fuel firms paid climate change denier Wei-Hock Soon

A prominent climate change denier was exposed last week as having received around £800,000 from the fossil fuel industry.

Fury at Tory lies as firefighters get set to strike again over pension theft

A 24-hour strike by firefighters in England will have a big impact, but only sustained action can win their pensions dispute, writes Annette Mackin  

Meet Simon Hickman the TUSC candidate for Manchester Gorton

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) will be standing parliamentary candidates across Britain in May’s general election.

National Gallery workers defiant as they begin a fresh walkout

A five-day strike by workers at the National Gallery in central London has got bosses rattled.

Scottish cops stop and search scandal

Scottish police carried out more than 600,000 stop and searches in 2013-14. 

News round-up

Privateer Maximus takes over Work Capability Assessments; Scottish prison plans; Cardiff Abortion Rights' March for Choice

Thousands of firefighters strike and rally over Tory pension lies

Thousands of striking firefighters blocked the streets of central London around parliament yesterday, Wednesday, as they protested against Tory attacks on their pensions.

National Gallery strikers end five-day strike with march on boss

National Gallery strikers and supporters targeted gallery boss Mark Getty yesterday, Thursday, on the final day of a five-day walkout.

Newcastle anti-fascists outnumber Pegida racists ten to one

Anti-fascists protesters in Newcastle outnumbered racists from a group called Pegida by ten to one on a demonstration today, Saturday.

As unions vote to accept NHS pay deal many workers will be worse off

Members of the largest health workers’ union, Unison, have voted by two thirds to accept a pay offer put to them after union leaders wrongly called off strikes last month. The turnout was 17 percent.

---

International

Ukraine crisis deepens on anniversary of Maidan protests

A blast ripped through a demonstration in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv last Sunday, killing two and injuring ten people. 

French government attacks workers’ rights

France’s centre-left government resorted to extraordinary measures to push a new attack on workers through parliament last week.

International round-up

Israeli army opens floodgates | Activists jailed by Egyptian court | Thousands join US oil strike

New Greek deal turns the screws on Syriza

As a European Union deal locks Greece into austerity, workers plan more protests, writes Dave Sewell

---

Comment

'We will put politics back into Pride'

The 30th anniversary of the 1984/85 miners’ strike has reconnected millions of us who took part in that great struggle. And it is inspiring younger people to fight back today.

We must keep up the fight for abortion rights

Judith Orr warns that the anti-abortionists’ latest sneaky attempt to undermine women’s right to choose won’t be the last

Greece deal is about more than just debt

There was something very peculiar about the agreement thrashed out between Greece’s radical left Syriza-led government and the Eurogroup of finance ministers. 

---

Features

A view of Nigel Farage from Ramsgate

Ramsgate in Kent is at the heart of the constituency where Ukip’s Nigel Farage is standing to become an MP in May. Sadie Robinson spoke to people in the town about the reality of their lives and why they oppose Ukip and its racist scapegoating

Could the Arab Spring rise again?

Socialists Joseph Daher from Syria and Sameh Naguib from Egypt spoke at a recent conference about the situation four years on from the Arab Spring, writes Nick Clark

---

Reviews

Human Rights Human Wrongs: How striking images can shape the way we view human rights

The new Human Rights Human Wrongs exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery in London places iconic news images in context, writes Michelle Adhemar

Maidan: A snapshot of the forces that shaped Ukraine’s crisis

This documentary begins with a shot of a massive crowd gathered in a square. This is Maidan square in the Ukrainian capital Kiev at the peak of the movement against the government.

Reviews round-up

Hinterland | History is now: 7 artists take on Britain | Freedom Highway complete

---

What We Think

Only class struggle can break the bosses

Workers around the world took hope from the radical left party Syriza’s victory in Greek elections. But weeks later that hope is wearing thin. 

One law for the rich

 The latest MPs’ scandal shows that there’s one law for the rich and another for the rest. 

---

Other Categories

Letters

Including letters on the corruption and cuts behind abuse scandal and justice for Henry Hicks

Hypocrisy of Eric Pickles

Tory Eric Pickles has attacked Sheffield council for spending around £687,116 on translation services between 2011 and 2014.

Resistance is mounting to attacks on our homes

Tenants and campaigners fighting social cleansing on London estates spoke to Dave Sewell about their battles against the bailiffs, cops and councils

---