While western politicians cry crocodile tears for the plight of the Ukrainian people, thousands of innocent bodies pile high in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen without any coverage from the capitalist media. Back home, British Muslims and Asians are furious over this clear case of hypocrisy from the establishment. This is not simply racism…
A couple of weeks ago, P&O Ferries turfed 800 people out of work with no notice. After the announcement in a pre-recorded video message, hi-vized heavies were sent onto the boats to bundle the workers off to the jobcentre. P&O is owned by a Dubai-based company, and made profits of ÂŁ683m last year. And bosses sacking 800 people while they sit on piles…
At a recent emergency NATO-G7 summit, responding to appeals from Ukrainian President Zelensky for more help from the West, Boris Johnson lamented his personal âagonyâ over the UKâs âinability to do moreâ for Ukraine. In words, the British Prime Minister promised his counterpart that Ukraine was ânot aloneâ. Yet in deeds, it is increasingly…
Saturday 26 March saw hundreds of local residents and activists gather in Coventry city centre in solidarity with the councilâs refuse lorry drivers, who have been striking for over 10 weeks in a bitter dispute over pay. The mood at the protest was electric, with speeches from members of Unite, Coventry TUC, and the pickets resonating with the crowd…
Workers are feeling the squeeze of the cost-of-living crisis, with energy bills set to soar in April. This will plunge an estimated six million households into fuel poverty â the highest level since 1996. As many as a quarter of a million of the UKâs poorest households will be unable to access Rishi Sunakâs meagre ÂŁ200 energy bill loan due to…
A perfect storm is brewing for British capitalism. A century of decline. A decade of austerity. The seismic dislocation of Brexit. The chaotic fallout from the pandemic. A mountain of debt. And now inflation raging as supply shocks â from COVID to war â rain down on the global economy. All of this forms the turbulent backdrop to Rishi Sunakâs…
On 17 March, in a pre-recorded video, and without any prior notice, the CEO of P&O Ferries announced to 800 workers that they were to be immediately sacked, in what the trade union movement is calling a âjobs massacreâ. The company intends to replace ship staff with agency labour, some reportedly on as little as ÂŁ1.80 an hour. The RMT and Nautilus…
The war in Ukraine could not have come at a better time for Boris Johnson, providing a welcome distraction from the #Partygate scandal. It has also provided a welcome distraction for Tory foreign minister Liz Truss. Until Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, she had been given the unenviable job of renegotiating the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit…
Last weekend, on 18-20 March, hundreds of Socialist Appeal activists from across the country gathered in London for a historic national conference. Not only was this the first in-person conference of the Marxist tendency in Britain since 2020, it also marked 30 years since Socialist Appeal was founded and first published in 1992. This yearâs conference…
The first fixture of Sky Sportsâ âSuper Sundayâ coverage last weekend saw Chelsea welcome the newly-rich Newcastle United to Stamford Bridge. The game itself ended 1-0 to the hosts, and was full of controversy. Chelseaâs Kai Havertz was lucky not to be sent off just before half-time after elbowing Newcastleâs Dan Burn, leaving the 6â7â…
Capitalism is horror without end. Recent events have only made this assertion by Lenin all the more apparent, as this profit-driven system leads to more conflict, destruction, and despair. But there can be an end to such horror: by putting an end to the capitalist system itself. That is the task of the international working class. That is the task we…
âIn war, truth is the first casualty.â Aeschylus (525 BC â 456 BC) This fact was known long ago, and remains the case today. We are being subjected to a bombardment of official propaganda by Western imperialism, which is drenched in hypocrisy and cynicism. The Russian intervention in Ukraine has led to howls of condemnation from the Western imperialists…
While our TV screens are plastered with wall-to-wall news of Ukraine, a far more ominous crisis is looming at home. âFor the past two years industrial action has largely paused while unions focused their energies on saving jobs threatened by coronavirus lockdowns,â writes the Financial Times. âBut in 2022, with employers battling staff shortages…
As part of the fight to clear his name in an ongoing battle against victimisation, earlier this week, on Monday 7 March, Unison president Paul Holmes submitted an application for interim relief to an employment judge. For those who may not be familiar, interim relief is a legal pathway that allows a worker claiming victimisation to be reinstated in…
Under capitalism, women everywhere are subjected to violence, sexual assault, and often murder. News during the first COVID lockdown was filled with stories of domestic violence. The French police reported a 30% increase in domestic violence during this time. In Spain, a domestic abuse hotline received 18% more calls in the first two weeks of lockdown…
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, over 1.5 million people have fled the country. Leaders in Europe and further afield have pledged to support these refugees, with Boris Johnson and Priti Patel stating that more than 200,000 Ukrainians could be welcomed into Britain. But this is not a benevolent act by the government. Rather…
The hypocrisy and cynicism of the British establishment knows no bounds. While crying crocodile tears over Ukrainians fleeing their homes, belligerent Boris and the Tories turn a blind eye to the âbadâ refugees â the victims of imperialism â who are looking to escape war, poverty, and repression in the Middle East and Africa. Indeed, they are…
âTo him that hath, more shall be given; and from him that hath not, the little that he hath shall be taken away,â wrote Percy Shelley in 1821, two hundred years ago. âThe rich have become richer, and the poor have become poorer.â What has changed? Today, despite modern advances, the gulf between the classes has never been wider. It has become…
Last month, Prince Andrew, friend of the infamous billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, reached a ÂŁ12 million out-of-court settlement with Ms Virginia Giuffre, who had accused the Prince of raping her when she was 17 years old. Far from putting this scandal to bed, however, this costly settlement has attracted the ire and indignation of the public…
The first casualty of war is truth. This is also the case of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Marxists need to be able to cut through the fog of lies and war propaganda and analyse the real reasons behind the conflict; what has caused it; and the real interests that lie behind the excuses and justifications of the different parties involved…
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Britainâs capitalist media and politicians â the mouthpieces and representatives of the ruling class â have launched into a veritable war frenzy. This comes on top of weeks of sabre-rattling rhetoric. But now war is here, the dial has been turned all the way to 11 on this bellicose, pro-imperialist…
Following a trio of violent storms and days of heavy rain, thousands across the country â from Somerset to North Yorkshire â have found themselves, their homes, and their communities completely immersed by flooding. Alongside causing widespread chaos and disruption to travel networks, flights, and delivery services, the most powerful of these tempests…
Every action has a consequence. Every cover-up, even the best of them, has loose ends. There is always a paper trail of some kind, if you are prepared to look. Where different interests are involved, mistakes are often made. As my mother used to say, they all tend to come out in the wash. We all knew that there was something extremely fishy when the…
In recent weeks, much has been made of the positive bump in Labourâs polling. On average, the party has been ahead of the Tories in voter surveys since early December. By mid-January, for the first time in years, Labour was recording a large lead in the polls. One estimate by Opinium gave Labour 41% of the vote share, compared with just 31% for…
In 2020, central banks responded to the outbreak of the crisis by pouring some $10 trillion dollars of newly-printed money into the economy. In what measured and responsible way did the markets react to such an unheard of cash injection? By engaging in an orgy of speculation without precedent in capitalismâs history! As one investment manager told…