|
Monday, 07 April 2003 |
|
Tony Woodley, the left candidate for general secretary of the 800,000 strong
(British) Transport and General Workers' Union, opened his election campaign by
launching a bid to "reclaim the Labour Party", which was at odds with
the union in a number of important policy areas. |
|
|
Tuesday, 18 March 2003 |
|
The dramatic resignation of
Robin Cook, until yesterday the Leader of the House of Commons was a
devastating blow to Blair and represents another nail in the coffin of Blairism.
The prospect of war has shaken British politics to its foundations. There is no going back for Blair now.
Sooner or later his days as Labour leader are numbered. |
|
|
Tuesday, 11 March 2003 |
|
Tony Blair’s drive towards war with Iraq is producing convulsions
throughout the Labour movement. With the threatened resignation or sacking,
which ever comes first, of Cabinet Minister Clare Short, after her attack on
Blair’s policy on Iraq as “reckless”, the whole edifice of New Labour is
threatening to come crashing down. |
|
|
Monday, 10 March 2003 |
|
Without doubt, things are coming to ahead at home and
abroad for Tony Blair's government. The unprecedented Parliamentary revolt, in
which 121 Labour MPs defied the Labour leadership to vote against war, was the
biggest ever against any government. This bombshell reflects the groundswell of
opposition within the party and the country. |
|
|
Monday, 03 March 2003 |
|
Labour Councils are being forced to choose between cuts in services or
increases in the Council Tax. But the resources are there. Proof of that is
the huge amount that has been set aside for the war against Iraq. In
Southampton we have the courageous stand of Labour Councillor Perry McMillan who
has refused to vote the increase in the Council Tax. Steve Jones explains what
has been happening. |
|
|
Tuesday, 28 January 2003 |
|
As we put this article online, the Blair government has launched a new
offensive against the firefighters. Deputy Prime
Minister Prescott has announced his intention to change the law to take direct
control of the fire service and impose a settlement on the firefighters. This
would mean the imposition of the Bain proposals, the derisory pay offer of 4%
and thousands of job cuts, resulting in the closure of fire stations and the
undermining of the fire service. Such measures are a threat to the entire labour movement, and
must be answered by the movement as a whole. |
|
|
Friday, 20 December 2002 |
|
This is the first of a series of articles on the history of the British
Labour Party. These articles will help workers and youth to get a greater
understanding of what the Labour Party is and what the attitude of Marxists to
it should be. In this article we look at how the Party emerged from the
struggles of the working class towards the end of the 19th and at the beginning
of the 20th centuries. |
|
|
Friday, 20 December 2002 |
|
Following on from our first introductory article on the founding years of the
British Labour Party, Barbara Humphries continues her series of articles that
look at the issues and characters involved in the British Labour Party’s
history and development. This was originally published in
November 1996 in the British Socialist Appeal. |
|
|
Friday, 20 December 2002 |
|
Barbara Humphries continues her history of the
British Labour Party. This was originally published in the British Socialist
Appeal in December 1996. |
|
|
Friday, 20 December 2002 |
|
Barbara Humphries continues her series on the history of the Labour Party
with a look at the experience of the first two Labour governments. This article
was originally published in Socialist Appeal, issue 49 March 1997. |
|
|
Friday, 20 December 2002 |
|
Barbara Humphries continues her series on the history of the Labour
Party.
1945 marked a watershed for Labour and for British society. The Labour
Party won an historic victory, with a 146-seat majority over all other parties.
It was won on the most radical election manifesto, before or since. This article
was originally published in Socialist Appeal, issue 50 April 1997. |
|
|
Friday, 20 December 2002 |
|
In this last article in her series on the History of the Labour Party,
Barbara Humphries looks at how the turn to the left in the 1970s was cut across
and how the present Blairite clique came to dominate the party, and draws the
lessons for today's activists. The present turn to the right is nothing new in
the party's history. As in the past it will be followed by a turn to the left. |
|
|
Monday, 16 December 2002 |
|
On November 17 we published an article on the crisis in the British Conservative
Party, Tories in Crisis - The Plots Thicken.
The purpose of the article was to show how the Tories' crisis, and especially the crisis of their
leadership, is an expression of the crisis of the capitalist system, which
affects all classes in society. We explained how the 'Old Guard' of the
Tories would prefer the leader of the party to be elected by the MPs and not the
rank and file, because the present rank and file are so right wing and out of
touch with the real needs of the ruling class. The latest statements of some of
the old guard Tory leaders now confirm our analysis. |
|
|
Monday, 18 November 2002 |
|
The dearth of leadership in the Tory Party is not the cause of their crisis,
but it is not an accident either. The failings of these leaders faithfully
reflect the impasse of their system. Nye Bevan once said of the Tory leaders
(including Churchill) they have nothing to say about tomorrow, and harp on about
the past because they have no part to play in the future. They are a doomed
party representing a doomed class and a doomed system. The crisis in the Tory
Party is symptomatic of the impasse facing the profit system. The sickness of
that system spreads like a cancer affecting every aspect of society. |
|
