THE NATIONAL council of the Socialist Alliance, with delegates from groups across England, met last Saturday in London. The meeting took place a week after the local council elections, where the Socialist Alliance achieved some very good results. Liz Davies, national chair of the alliance, said, "The results show that we are here and here to stay, and serious about campaigning on a grassroots level. We still have a long way to go, but the results put the Socialist Alliance on the map as a player in British politics."
OVER 1,200 London bus workers marched through the capital last week protesting at pay and the impact of deregulation. The workers, members of the TGWU union, brought traffic to a halt as they marched towards parliament.
WORKERS in one of Britain's biggest unions, the TGWU, are set to vote for a deputy general secretary. The vote is between Peter Booth, a manufacturing industry official, and Tony Woodley, the union's main car industry negotiator.
NEWSPAPERS headlines last week trumpeted "an inflation-busting 6.5 percent pay rise" for over 300,000 health workers. The reality is very different. The pay deal covers NHS ancillary, administration and clerical and ambulance staff-some of the lowest paid workers in the health service. The deal was for a minimum increase of 3.6 percent or £400 a year, whichever was greater.
THE PCS civil servants' union conference began as Socialist Worker went to press. The union has been moving to the left since the election of socialist Mark Serwotka as general secretary in December 2000. This trend is now becoming even clearer.
IF YOU are against globalisation and war, and for freedom and justice, you should be planning to come to the European Social Forum (ESF). The forum will be held in Florence from 7 to 10 November. The ESF looks set to be one of the biggest and most exciting anti-capitalist events of the year. It is going to be a huge assembly for everyone who is against neo-liberalism and war.
BLACK, WHITE and Asian people took to the streets against the Nazis in Burnley town centre last Saturday. Up to 1,500 people joined the protest called by the Anti Nazi League. Burnley residents, young and old, joined with trade union members and anti-racists from across Britain.
TONY BLAIR is preparing to rob child benefit and housing benefit from the poorest families in Britain because their children have been branded "tearaways". He is pressing ahead with the plan despite opposition from even right wing papers that exploit people's fear of crime. Far from cutting crime, Blair's scheme will make it worse. The single biggest cause of crime is poverty.
THE US is preparing to attack Iraq no matter how many United Nations weapons inspectors Saddam Hussein allows in. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week, "US policy is that, regardless of what the inspectors do, the people of Iraq and the people of the region would be better off with a different regime in Baghdad.
REFUGEE children are not a problem in schools. Government policy and funding cuts are. That finding, in research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, shatters home secretary David Blunkett's scapegoating claim that asylum seekers are "swamping" schools and other public services.
CABLE company Telewest is sacking 1,500 workers as the crisis in the communications industry grows. The announcement came just a week after ITV Digital went bust, with the loss of 1,500 jobs. The ITV Digital collapse will also lead to the sacking of about 600 footballers from the lower leagues.
THE RICHEST people in Britain give less of their wealth to charity than those receiving state benefits do. A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research, A Bit Rich, found that the top 20 percent of households in Britain give less than 1 percent of their income to charity.
