Solidarity 539, 18 March 2020

The anatomy of Labour's "youthquake"

In the 2017 British general election, Labour succeeded in closing a 20% deficit in the course of the campaign. Labour ended up with only 2% less than the Conservatives, and denied them a majority. There were many reasons for that turnaround. One was a “youthquake” — an increase in turnout among younger voters who overwhelmingly voted Labour. The effect was so notable that the Oxford English Dictionary made “youthquake” their neologism of the year. In the 2017 election around 62% of 18-24 year olds voted Labour. Only 27% voted Conservative. (Unless otherwise stated, data on age and voting is...

In praise of Mega2

The Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe (Mega) is a project to publish a complete critical edition of the publications, manuscripts and correspondence of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The project is still incomplete after almost a century. However as more materials are published, we get a far deeper understanding of the origins and development of Marxism. For anyone interested in working class self-emancipation, the Mega should be an irreplaceable referent. The Mega was conceived after the Russian revolution. The Bolsheviks wanted to make the theoretical legacy of Marx and Engels available to the...

Diary of an engineer: The virus

“You know that Corona sales have plummeted? They’ve lost millions.” “What?” “Yeah you can get a crate on special offer in Morrisons – we should throw a barbecue.” “Fucking...what…?” “The beer! You plant-pot...” For the last few weeks the conversations at work have been about trivialising: “It’s only old people and sick people who’re at risk; and they die of the flu every year anyway but no-one cares – everyone here will be fine” (“Except you D, you’re basically at death’s door.”) Making fun: “Me and the missus were at the check-outs and saw these two women with a trolley-load of loo-roll. We...

Students: after the strike, into the shutdown

The fourth week of the strikes by the UCU university staff union (9 to 13 March) saw twelve student occupations: UCL, University of the Arts London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Imperial, Manchester, Exeter, Brighton, Glasgow, Nottingham and the Royal College of Art. Sussex students blockaded multiple university car parks, Exeter students disrupted an open day, and Leeds students held a sit-in during a University Senate meeting, forcing it to be adjourned to a non-strike day. The Cambridge occupation expanded to take three floors of the Old Schools building, including the office of Chief...

Industrial news in brief: London Underground, Royal Mail, civil service

Tube drivers vote for strikes, Tube workers make C-19 demands London Underground drivers in the ASLEF union have voted by a 95.2% majority for strikes to win an improved settlement on pay and conditions, on a 74.5% turnout. Although ASLEF is a minority union on the Tube overall, it represents a slight majority of drivers. The result is significant, and smashes the arbitrary thresholds of the Tories’ anti-union laws. ASLEF’s pay claim overlaps substantially with other unions’ claims, including in its demand for a 32-hour, four-day week. It also includes a sectional claim for a driver-specific...

Anti-migrant policies worsen Covid-19 dangers

The harsh regime of hostile policies imposed on both documented and undocumented migrants living in this country is already a racist scandal. Now, with the spread of Covid-19, these policies put migrants at increased risk and could exacerbate the public health crisis. Labour, our unions and our movement must demand immediate action to protect migrants. 1,500 to 2,000 people are imprisoned in the UK’s immigration detention centres. Close-quarters incarceration and the frequent moving of detainees between centres mean that Covid-19 could spread rapidly and put both detainees and staff working in...

Sanders, Biden, and the movement

The movement around Bernie Sanders' bid for the US presidency represents an opportunity to advance socialist politics in that country in a way not seen for a generation or more. The ongoing detoxification of the word and idea of “socialism” in American political life, to the extent that one 2019 poll showed that 61% of Americans aged between 18-24 preferred “socialism” to “capitalism” [bit.ly/genZs], is both a consequence of, and a catalyst for, the Sanders phenomenon. The immense damage done to the ideological mystique of free-market, neoliberal capitalism by the 2008 crash has, on the whole...

COVID-19: take action to win safe workplaces

A briefing for workers, workplaces and union branches. Download as a PDF Full pay for all workers from day one of absence No disciplinary action for following NHS advice in staying away from work Abolish zero-hour contracts and outsourcing All necessary measures to protect workers’ safety Has your boss: guaranteed full pay (not Statutory Sick Pay, SSP) and no disciplinary action for all workers from day one of any absence, including asymptomatic self-isolation? taken necessary precautions to minimise the risk of exposure?
 If not, there are actions that you and your workmates can take. Contact...

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