Capitalism offers us no future

Since the current economic crisis broke out in 2007, the bosses and their paid politicians have tried to persuade us that if we tighten our belts and accept painful cuts, then the ‘good old days’ will return. However, it has become increasingly clear that their imposed cuts have only made the situation worse, as we…

Fighting the Cuts

The Scottish working class confronts an escalating series of cuts in social services as the welfare state is systematically dismantled. This assault on the public sector has sparked a variety of protests, ranging from the militant actions of UK Uncut, and the demonstrations in support of the Accord Centre, to strikes of public sector workers…

Tommy McKearney’s new book – ‘The IRA – From Insurrection to Parliament’

Tommy McKearney, former Provisional IRA member and hunger striker, now an organiser for the Independent Workers Union in Ireland, has spoken at the first Republican Socialist Convention organised the the SSP’s International Committee, and at the third Global Commune event – Trade Unions – Are They Fit For Purpose (organised jointly the the RCN and the…

The First Shoots of a New Industrial Fightback?

The following encouraging developments on the industrial front highlight two of the strategies discussed and debated at the Third Global Commune event, the report of which can be found at:- Report of the Third Global Commune Event Major gains for Lower Paid at Heron Tower Dispute Brian Higgins and the Anti-Blacklist Campaign Success at Brussels…

Review of From Davitt to Connolly by Chris Gray

The following review of From Davitt to Connolly: ‘Internationalism from Below’ and the Challenge to the UK State and British Empire 1879 – 1895 appears in Issue 20 of Permanent Revolution Allan Armstrong, From Davitt to Connolly: ‘Internationalism from Below’ and the Challenge to the UK State and British Empire 1879 – 1895 (Intfrobel Publications…

After May 5th – A Looming Constitutional Crisis?

Part One – the Meaning of the May 5th Elections A good kicking for the Lib-Dems disguises the wider impact of the National Question on May 5th On May 5th, the Lib-Dem-initiated referendum proposal to introduce AV to Westminster elections was massively rejected in every nation and region of the UK, including Northern Ireland. In…

20 Years After the Poll Tax – Lessons for the Anti-Cuts Movement?

The article below was originally written for Red Banner, an Irish socialist magazine for discussion and debate. In its conclusion this article draws some of the key lessons needed to conduct a successful struggle against the cuts today. It is twenty years since Thatcher’s Tory government tried to impose the Poll Tax. Officially termed the Community…

A Reply to James Turley’s ‘Who’s Afraid of George Galloway’?

In Weekly Worker, no. 865, James Turley has attacked those who wrote an Open Letter urging no vote for George Galloway in the Holyrood elections on May 5th. The Open Letter was originally published on the Manchester-based blog, Infantile and disorderly (The Editorial Board of Emancipation & Liberation added its members’ names after the initial…