Recently there has been a nostalgic turn amongst the Left in the UK. In England (and Wales) it has looked wistfully back on the ‘Spirit of 45’. In Scotland, it has taken the form of the ‘Common Weal’ proposals, emanating from the Jimmy Reid Foundation. These look to the Nordic social democratic model. The RCN…
Egypt, The Army And The Muslim Brotherhood – Two Reactionary Forces
Below are two articles on the new situation in Egypt. The most recent one is a statement from the Socialist Party of Malaya on the violent military suppression and killing of unarmed Muslim Brotherhood protestors in Cairo. The second written by Yassamine Mather of the CPGB-WW, in response to the arrest of Morsi-led Egyptian government, whilst highlighting…
The Perils Of Unity
Eric Chester (RCN) takes a critical look at the proposed Left Unity Party. The Crisis of Capitalism has led to a polarisation of political viewpoints, as a widening segment of the working class feels the devastating impact of the downturn in decreasing wages and benefits, and the rapid deterioration of social services. The Labour party…
G8 Summit At Enniskillen
The G8 summit was held in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, from June 17th – 18th. It is eight years since the G8 summit held at Gleneagles in July 2005. Emancipation & Liberation covered that summit quite extensively in issue no. 11 (see Emancipation & Liberation Issue 11). Little has changed. The first article by John McAnulty…
Ireland – Union Strategy, Keynes And The Debt
This article, by James Fearon, is from the Socialist Democracy (Ireland) website. It highlights how the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s (ICTU) support for Keynesian reforms is tied to a strategy to make workers pay for the ruling class’s debts – only more slowly than the incumbent Fine Gael/Labour coalition government. In the UK, Ed…
Socialist Unity
In the aftermath of the collapse or declining support for recent socialist unity projects in Scotland, England and Wales, and Ireland, there have been renewed discussions throughout these islands about the possibilities of achieving socialist unity. The negative role of organisations like the Socialist Party and Socialist Workers Party in the Socialist Alliance, Respect, the…
A Shared Future In The North Of Ireland? – The Emperor’s New Clothes
This article first appeared on the Socialist Democracy (Ireland) website at:-A shared future in the North of Ireland? There is no mistaking the bookend manoeuvre inflicted on the Northern Irish administration at the start of May. At one end the British Secretary of State, Teresa Villiers, made threatening noises about cutting back the flow of…
Allan Armstrong (RCN) replies to David Jamieson (ISG) – part 2
Since I wrote the first part of my reply (Allan Armstrong (RCN) replies to David Jamieson (ISG) – part 1) I have met David for the first time. Face-to-face discussions are a better way of trying to understand the thinking and positions that others hold. They can also help to overcome some preconceived notions. In the…
Offensive Behaviour And The Independence Referendum
In the following two articles, Jim Slaven of the James Connolly Society shows that SNP government’s Offensive Behaviour Act represents the latest attempt to create a ‘sectarian’ smokescreen to avoid tacking anti-Irish racism in Scotland, whilst the Labour Party’s ‘opposition’ is nothing but the rankest opportunism from a party that has long upheld the UK…
NATO, Nuclear Weapons And Scottish Independence
Eric Chester (RCN and IWW) exposes the contradictions of the SNP’s anti-Trident, pro-NATO stance. The Scottish National Party has insisted that an independent Scotland would be free of nuclear weapons. This position reflects the fact that Scottish popular opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to the stationing of the Trident submarine system at Faslane. These subs, a leftover…