Ian Allinson a member of rs21 and rank and file candidate for UNITE general secretary in 2017, writes about the successful resistance by Manchester bus workers to the imposition of Fire & Rehire using Covid-19 as an excuse. SUCCESSFUL RESISTANCE TO FIRE AND REHIRE IN MANCHESTER Strikers were celebrating after voting to accept an…
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…
Edinburgh May Day Kill the Bill Demo
This article. written by Maria Elena Carpintero Torres-Quevedo, was first posted on bella caledonia. It provides an account to the Edinburgh solidarity demo, held on May 1st, to protest against the Tory government’s proposed new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. This International Workers Day, protestors in Edinburgh took part in one of many protests across…
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…
No Evictions Network – Campaigning for asylum seekers’ housing rights
This article outlines the No Evictions Network’s campaign to promote solidarity and organisation in the face of social and state hostility. It is written by Maria Torres-Quevedo and first appeared in bella caledonia. Savan came to the UK seeking asylum; initially, he was “fighting against this social injustice and these kinds of policies alone”. He started engaging…
From Clapham to Bristol: The battle for the future has begun
We are posting this article by Neil Faulkner of Anti-Capitalist Resistance written in response to the events at Clapham Bandstand and Bristol. FROM CLAPHAM TO BRISTOL – THE BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE HAS BEGUN ‘Beautiful’ is how revolutionary Ernest Mandel described the sight of burning cars on the streets of Paris in May 1968. So,…
The promise and reality of vaccination
We are posting this article from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) about the impact of the global imperialist order on Covid-19 vaccinations through out the world. The roll out of vaccination programmes across the world has raised hopes that the end of the Covid pandemic may be in sight. There are a number of vaccines currently in use…
Challenges for the Catalan left wing movement in 2021
This is the second article we are posting written by Lorena Sorantes, from Galicia in Spain, about the political situation in Catalunya. Introduction This brief article will be an attempt to enumerate and then explain the current challenges the Catalan left-wing movement is facing and will face from this year onwards . In order to…
The Paris Commune’s revolutionary ideas – 150 years on
This article by Ben Wray on the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune was first posted on bella caledonia. In the morning of 18 March 1871, a crowd of women in the Parisian working class district of Montmartre demonstrated. They were responding to the regular army of the French Government, fresh from defeat in a…