May 6th election results and beyond

This article by Allan Armstrong (RCF) looks at the aftermath of the May 6th elections in Scotland, Wales and England, the current situation in Northern Ireland, and then to the political significance of new movements from below across these islands, culminating in the people of Govanhill challenging the UK state’s Home Office Border Agency’s attempted…

Glasgow says “No Pasaran” to the Hostile Environment

This article written by Robina Qreshi, Director of Positive Housing , celebrates the  victory of the residents of Govanhill in Glasgow over the UK Border Agency. She refers to past battles in Glasgow over housing led by Mary Barbour; whilst only two days following the action on 13th May, more protestors condemning the lethal actions…

The power grab of the queen’s speech

This article by Mike Small was first posted on bella caledonia. It outlines the Tory government’s plans to bring the politics of Brexit Britain closer to the authoritarian Right in Eastern Europe, coupled to their attempts to bury its own murderous past in Ireland. At the State Opening of Parliament today the full-farce of Britain’s…

Ballymurphy Massacre

Mark Laggan posted this message on Facebook in the 50th anniversary of the Ballymurphy Massacre and asked for it to made public. 50 Years. Now we see the very reason there can be no amnesty for British troops who have served in Ireland during the Troubles. Fifty years it has taken to uncover the truth around…

A crisis of decay – Night of the long knives for Irish Unionism

This article from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) looks at the political significance of the ousting of Arlene Forster as DUP leader. The ousting of Arlene Foster and the first ever leadership contest in the Democratic Unionist Party marks a serious split in the party and a further fragmentation of unionism just as the partitioned Irish state…

The Alba Party and the Left in Scotland

The following article by Allan Armstrong (RCF) provides an analysis of the Alba Party and the response of the Left in Scotland. THE ALBA PARTY AND THE LEFT IN SCOTLAND Introduction The public emergence of the Alba Party on 26th March has led to considerable political confusion on the Left as to its political significance…

After the funeral – Loyalists stage a show, but the real drama is offstage

This is a follow up article from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) outlining further developments in Northern Ireland in the Unionist camp As promised, loyalist groups in the north of Ireland returned to the streets following the funeral of the British consort, Prince Philip. The demonstrations confirmed the earlier analysis presented by Socialist Democracy, that there was…

Brexit Britain – a new police state?

The following article on the slide of Brexit Britain to an authoritarian state was was first published by Socialist Democracy (Ireland). The Tory government’s proposed anti-crime Bill has seen a number of mobilisations across Britain. Covid rules and fierce police enforcement have limited street demonstrations, but that has started to break down. Protest is seen…

The opportunist prince

This article, written by Eddie Ford, first appeared in Weekly Worker. It examines the role of prince Philip a typical European aristocrat and his and his family’s attempts to negotiate the threatened dynastic politics after the revolutionary and clashing imperial challenges they faced after the First World War. Ford argues that  Philip Mountbatten-Windsor was a typical European…

Pimlico Academy students destroy Tory myths on racism

Recent events in England at Clapham Bandstand and Bristol have shown a growing resistance to the attempts to resist the post-Brexit strengthening of the UK state. Unlike Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, where constitutional nationalist parties have tried to head off wider opposition to the UK state, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has meekly bowed…