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On the evening of 10 November 1919, the council chamber in Poplar Town Hall, east London, was packed. Labour activists and supporters had come to see the installation of Poplar’s first Labour mayor, and witness the Labour group assert its control over the council’s various committees.

In the east London borough of Newham, "over 400 people picketed, mainly people who were involved in the strike but also firefighters and people from the university who came to support us," reports council worker Elane Heffernan. "The day before the strike 40 people joined the union to be part of the action.

Problems on Italian left On Saturday 11 March, Italian police authorised a march by a section of Alternativa Sociale in Milan. This is an openly fascist coalition whose members include Allesandra Mussolini and Roberto Fiore, a suspect in the 1980 Bologna station bombing who fled to London.

More than 100,000 anti-war protesters from across Britain marched in London last Saturday against three years of occupation in Iraq and the threats of a military attack on Iran.

Nine year wait for pay The five schoolkeepers at South Camden Community School in Camden, north London, were set to take strike action on Wednesday of this week in support of their pay dispute with the council and the school.

Thousands of activists will be heading to central London this July for Marxism 2006, five days of debate and discussion about radical politics today. Socialist Worker spoke to the event’s organisers about what’s new for this year.

How we nailed the Mail The Mail on Sunday newspaper has been exposed for offering students cash to spy on Muslims. Journalists from London Student were approached by the newspaper and offered £100 per meeting to spy on student Islamic societies on campuses around London.

A women’s delegation from the Palestinian town of Abu Dis visited Camden, north London, last week as part of the twinning project launched two years ago by the Camden-Abu Dis Friendship Association.

Well over 100,000 anti-war protesters from across Britain marched in London today against three years of occupation in Iraq and the threats of a military attack on Iran.

Resurrection BluesDirector Robert AltmanThe Old Vic theatre, LondonUntil 22 April www.oldvictheatre.com This was Arthur Miller’s last play, completed just a month before his death.

Dinner ladies from schools across Hackney, east London, staged an unofficial strike on Wednesday of last week.

The T&G union, together with the London Citizens community organisation, this week launched the latest stage in the campaign against low pay and poor treatment of cleaners in the City of London.