In Part One of
British Perspectives Phil Mitchinson looks at the general trends in
British politics, with an eye to the international situation, the war
in Iraq, and the decline of Blairism.
The workers at the Peugeot plant in
Ryton (near Coventry) risk losing their jobs and livelihood. Darrall
Cozens reports on the latest situation after interviewing John
Cummins, Deputy Convenor from Amicus, about the trade union plans to
keep the plant open.
Tony Blair has been pushing the line that the National Health Service has never had it so good. He lives on another planet obviously. Anyone who uses the NHS or works for it knows that a systematic attack on the very concept of free healthcare is taking place.
Like vultures waiting for an animal to die before ripping it to pieces, private “investors” are watching as Blair destroys the National Health Service preparing the ground for more and more privatisation. The grandparents of today’s British workers struggled for a fully funded free healthcare system. Now we have to struggle to win it all back.
Hands Off Venezuela made a very good intervention in May Day. At the beginning of the march in Clerkenwell, a large stall was set up behind a massive HOV banner selling literature and t-shirts. The new HOV magazine was on sale throughout the demonstration.