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Monday, 12 May 2003 |
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The Blair government faced its worst nightmare in the immediate run up to the
war with Iraq. According to the Guardian revelations, Blair, Straw, Blunkett,
and others in the Cabinet were on the verge of resigning if the Commons vote
went against them. |
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Thursday, 24 April 2003 |
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The outspoken left-wing Labour MP George Galloway is facing a witch-hunt
because of his anti-war stance. This attack, orchestrated by the Tory Telegraph and
Sun, has been seized upon by Blair and his entourage. |
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Thursday, 17 April 2003 |
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Barbara Humphries looks at the conflicting tendencies within the British Labour Party on
the question of war. It is clear that the rank and file members of the party have always tended
towards opposition to war, while the leadership has swung the other way. At times however the
opposition has been so strong that it has limited the ability of the Labour leadership to put
all its weight behind war efforts such as the US war on Vietnam. |
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Monday, 07 April 2003 |
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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. |
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Tuesday, 18 March 2003 |
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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. |
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Tuesday, 11 March 2003 |
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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. |
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Monday, 10 March 2003 |
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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. |
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Monday, 03 March 2003 |
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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. |
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Tuesday, 28 January 2003 |
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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. |
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Friday, 20 December 2002 |
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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. |
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Friday, 20 December 2002 |
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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. |
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Friday, 20 December 2002 |
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Barbara Humphries continues her history of the
British Labour Party. This was originally published in the British Socialist
Appeal in December 1996. |
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Friday, 20 December 2002 |
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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. |
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Friday, 20 December 2002 |
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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. |
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