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On 1 July 1916, 150,000 British soldiers went "over the top" on the Western Front to attack the German trenches in the Somme region. The front, along which British and French armies confronted the German army, stretched from Switzerland to the Channel.

Islington teachers and parents protested at accountants Kingston Smith in London last week. One of the firm’s senior partners is Michael Snyder, chairman of the policy and resources committee of the Corporation of London which wants to co-sponsor an academy in place of Islington Green School. On 20 July at Islington town hall, the council executive is set to discuss issuing a closure notice on Islington Green School so that it can be reopened as an academy. Join the protest in Upper Street, London N1, from 6.30pm.

The chair of a Greater Manchester primary care trust (PCT) resigned in protest at the government’s plans for the NHS last weekend.

Who caused the First World War? Revisionist historians argue that the war had to be fought because Germany was aggressive and militaristic, a "rogue state" that threatened "the balance of power" and "the peace of Europe".

New Labour in Tower Hamlets, east London, is running scared of the issues raised by Respect. And it has come up with a novel tactic for avoiding any kind of public accountability for its programme of neo-liberalism and privatisation.

The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) took a major step last weekend towards resolving the internal crisis that has wracked the party over recent months.

BirdsongSebastian Faulks Set before and during the First World War, Birdsong is the story of Stephen, a young Englishman, who arrives in Amiens in 1910. His life goes through a number of traumatic experiences, from a love affair that tears apart the family he lives with, to the brutality of the war itself.

The future of the Hertfordshire firefighters’ dispute was in the balance as Socialist Worker went to press, with negotiators from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) still consulting with branches in the county over proposals from the employers.

A public inquiry into a racist murder at Feltham young offender institute, has highlighted a lack of accountability for the killing and has named officials from the institute who were subsequently promoted.

Letters

The Organising for Fighting Unions conference, set for Saturday 11 November, will discuss defending public services from the government’s assault. It will also discuss political representation for trade unionists. The conference has been initiated by Respect, and hundreds of trade unionists from across the labour movement have signed up to back it.

Thousands of workers are in a battle for union rights with the world’s largest retailer. The dispute pits a multinational firm against low paid workers and their union. The workers deserve the backing of everyone who is sick of the domination of food supply by huge corporations.