Lindsey German on strikes and strategy The stakes are getting higher as the current strikes enter December, set for another round of one-day actions. The decision by RCN nurses to strike for two separate days before Xmas has brought a deluge of criticism about how patients will suffer and treatments will be delayed – from exactly the people who have…

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles You can sign up to receive News from the Fronline straight in your inbox Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson has received a vote of no confidence from postal workers after the latest round of talks with the CWU. On the eve of the upcoming strikes over the Black Friday sales CWU…

Michael Eaude’s A People’s History of Catalonia brilliantly tells the story of an oppressed people’s struggle through the centuries, finds Chris Bambery Michael Eaude, A People’s History of Catalonia (Pluto 2022), 288pp. If you are looking for a book to give as a Christmas present or one to read yourself over the break, I thoroughly recommend…

The SNP leadership’s phony independence campaign is entering its final stages after the Supreme Court decision. We need rigorous honesty about what went wrong and what comes next for Scotland, argues David Jamieson Most Scots didn’t know that the Supreme Court was set to rule on whether the Scottish Parliament could hold a referendum on independence…

The political centre of the EU is legitimating far-right racism in its migrant and refugee policies, argues Kevin Ovenden Deepening social crisis and war on its border already dominate the politics of the European Union. Now there is a further dangerous slide towards anti-refugee and anti-migrant scapegoating across the continent. It is, in part, an…

A health professional describes the chaos in the NHS and reports that regulators accept staff won’t be able to do their jobs this winter The National Health Service is heading towards a winter crisis of enormous magnitude; decades of underfunding in the health service is being compounded by consistent Covid hospitalisations of around 7,000, set against…

From Fifa to the national teams, football has failed to stand up against injustice on human rights, argues Terina Hine Overshadowed from the beginning by allegations of corruption and bribery, the 2022 football World Cup has finally kicked off. But rather than the sport itself reducing controversy, events around the opening matches have intensified…

Lindsey German on strategies against poverty and the return of Dickensian housing    The Tories’ budget statement was brought to you by a chancellor - Jeremy Hunt - worth £14 million. That’s peanuts compared to the prime minister who along with his wife is worth around £750 million. These are the people telling us that it’s going to be tough…

Next Saturday Counterfire is hosting a day of discussion about Marxism and its relevance to today’s multilevel crisis. The organisers explain why it matters. The capitalist system is failing. Inflation and slump threaten homelessness and hunger. In the Global South, whole states are in collapse. The great powers are resorting to war to overcome their…

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles You can sign up to receive News from the Fronline straight in your inbox Firefighters and control staff have voted overwhelmingly to reject a 5% pay offer in the union's consultative ballot. Of those eligible to vote 78% took part and 79% voted to reject the offer in the…

Lindsey German on the latest phases of imperialism and austerity The threat of military conflict in Europe is one of the greatest in my lifetime, and it is becoming greater. This weekend was Remembrance Day, whose origins in the Frist World War no one now living can remember. Remembrance Day also plays strongly on the memories and mythology of the Second…

Lindsey German on racist scapegoating and how we fight back Tory racist scapegoating isn’t exactly news. But the last week has taken it to new levels with the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, describing refugees and asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats as an ‘invasion’ - a word immediately echoed by fascists and far-right figures…

Lindsey German on the black hole of parliamentary decay and revolts in Iran The resignation of Tory minister (and close ally of Boris Johnson) Conor Burns, and his suspension from the whip, for ‘serious misconduct’ – allegedly for touching a young man’s thigh in a hotel bar at last week’s party conference - is the latest scandal to be revealed…

We need wider and deeper co-ordination and escalation to win the strikes, argues Unjum Mirza Class war The Tories’ Growth Plan 2022 announced at the mini-budget is a declaration of class war. It has been delivered by a crackpot Tory sect whose ‘mandate’ for governmental office rests upon less than 0.1% of the population. It spells growth in riches…

DP World’s callous sacking of the 800 seafarers has caused outrage across Britain, but it also contains lessons for Britain’s workers, argue Richard Allday & Chris Nineham One is that the law is not impartial; it’s not there to help workers, it’s there to keep us in our place. P&O Chief Executive Peter Hebblethwaite has admitted  the sackings…

People's Assembly protests in towns and cities across the country raised opposition to the cost of living crisis and brought solidarity to sacked P&O workers London - Jamal Elaheebocus Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Downing Street in an energetic protest against the cost of living crisis and to stand in solidarity with the 800 P&O workers…

Ahead of France's presidential elections, we repost an interview with John Mullen on the balance of forces and the prospects for the left As the election campaign continues through April, what is the atmosphere on the radical left in France? This is a long electoral season, as there are two rounds of  presidential elections in April, and two rounds…

Soaring energy prices are pushing millions into poverty while energy companies are raking in the profit. Enough is enough, writes Shabbir Lakha For millions of people in Britain, 1 April was not a day of joking. Energy prices have been rapidly rising already but on Friday the lifting of the energy cap came into effect, shooting energy bills up by up…

Nadhim Zahawi’s demand that teachers teach about the 'benefits of the British Empire' is not about teaching a balanced view - it's about using history to support the Tories' patriotic narrative, argues John Westmoreland Minister for Education Nadhim Zahawi has said this week what Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said last week: “That pupils should…

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles You can sign up to receive News from the Fronline straight in your inbox Porters and domestic staff employed by G4S at Croydon Hospital have called off their strike that was due to begin on Monday 4 April, after winning a 24% pay rise with backpay and an occupational sick…

The Brutish Museums presents a powerful case for restitution of looted objects, and hostile responses to it highlight enduring attachments to imperialism, argues Dominic Alexander Dan Hicks, The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution (pbk. Pluto 2021), xxii, 345pp. Colonialism is in no way safely in the past…

To win the fight against P&O, workers must take the lead Full version Black and white version for home printing Before you go... Counterfire is expanding fast as a website and an organisation. We are trying to organise a dynamic extra-parliamentary left in every part of the country to help build resistance to the government and their billionaire…

The People’s Assembly and the RMT are coming together to fight attacks on working people, outlines Chris Neville This Saturday, I'll be joining thousands of others in taking to the streets to take part in the next wave of the People's Assembly's national campaign to fight back against the cost of living crisis.  We are facing attacks on our living…

HGV bin drivers of the Unite union in Coventry vow to bring their employers to their knees in strike rally to demand fair pay, reports Kieran Crowe On Saturday 26 March, Coventry’s heavily regenerated town center played host to a public rally called by Unite the Union in support of the long-running and high-profile strike by bin HGV drivers in the…

Dragan Plavšić and Anja Ilić discuss the war in Ukraine, its causes and consequences and how socialists should respond Before you go... Counterfire is expanding fast as a website and an organisation. We are trying to organise a dynamic extra-parliamentary left in every part of the country to help build resistance to the government and their billionaire…