Solidarity 501, 3 April 2019

Labour and Jackie Walker

Views on Jackie Walker’s expulsion from the Labour Party, 27 March. It seems Walker has been treated terribly. Which should be no surprise given the nature of the Labour machine — no, not necessarily hot on antisemitism, but very hot on reacting to the right-wing, reacting to the right-wing press, dealing with things administratively, targeting those seen as “cranks”, etc. That in itself is reason not to support her expulsion, the lack of due process. Moreover, it not clear to me that she falls into the category of those who should be expelled, as opposed to some other sanction. Alexander...

What our enemies say

More debate on the right of return here. Several readers have objected to our item in Solidarity 500, “More denunciations of AWL”. They argue that we shouldn’t give scarce space to such stuff, and particularly to the item from Gerry Downing, someone whom even Jackie Walker’s “Labour Against the Witch-hunt” campaign has expelled as antisemitic. Better if we could give over pages to reasoned debate with our adversaries on the left. However, such reasoned debate is scarce today. The comments we printed last week came from the website of Socialist Resistance, a small group, but one with...

Dissolution from below

The US socialist group ISO has now formally dissolved its organisation and stopped publishing on its website SocialistWorker.org. In an online vote involving 474 members and some recently resigned ex-members, almost 70% favoured proposals that involved the dissolution of the organisation. Those who chose to vote also agreed to support “a process for continuing to investigate the 2013 sexual assault case and how a decision then was derailed, and to report the findings publicly.” It is hard to know what this will mean if no organisation continues. The post mortems and reflections on the ISO on...

“If I don’t get satisfaction I’ll be at that Wilson’s house, private house, until I do...”

Hull's Headscarf Heroes on BBC iPlayer tells the story of a inspiring fight by working-class women in Hull to put workers’ safety at sea ahead of profits. In 1968, the deep water fishing industry employed thousands, not just on the ships but on shore processing. A whole community centred around Hessle Road depended on the trawlers. The trawlers were an extremely dangerous industry, only partially organised in unions. Even though many women worked in the industry onshore, the trawlers themselves were operated only by men. In the Hessle Road community, women were relatively marginalised...

Moving on from “target Barclays”

Momentum recently announced a new campaign “Bankrupt Climate Change”. It is good that they are campaigning on climate issues. The way they are doing so lets Labour off the hook, and is inadequate and undemocratic. It nonetheless provides opportunities for building a socialist environmentalist campaign. In their mobilising call, Momentum organiser Aliya Yule said: “Rather than digging more coal mines, or drilling more oil fields and building more pipelines, we need to radically transform our energy infrastructure, and build a green economy for the many. Labour have quite ambitious plans for...

Move to rolling strikes

Organising to take on Deliveroo, nationally, has taken big steps forward this week. The IWGB National Deliveroo Committee, meeting again, is systematically collating and redistributing information from places we have members. We have launched a national bilingual bulletin, Puncture, to be printed, posted and distributed in various locations, as well as IWGB Deliveroo campaign “visiting cards”. We’ve also launched public announcement lists for couriers, through WhatsApp and email. Our programme of rolling strikes is being unleashed and developed, in particular in Nottingham, Horsham and York. I...

Industrial news in brief

At its 28 February meeting, the National Executive of the NEU (National Education Union), the country’s fourth largest trade union considered a proposal to support two separate international delegations in the coming year. Following a pattern established by the NUT, the countries chosen were Palestine and Cuba. Before the amalgamation which created the NEU, delegations to these parts of the world became a more or less annual event in the NUT. Many union members and activists would like to see the NEU spread its solidarity a bit wider. There is a case for ensuring that the spotlight is kept on...

Labour must plan for Euro-poll

Against the dystopia of a No Deal Brexit, Labour must offer an opportunity for voters to assert democratic control both over the Brexit process and over other aspects of our lives. The lengthy delay to Brexit necessary to avoid catastrophe requires participation in the European elections in May — but that is something we should embrace, not fear. At the moment, across most of Europe, the radical right is the main opposition to a discredited neoliberal establishment. What a difference it would make if our left-wing Labour Party of over half a million members championed a strong anti-austerity...

Smears on social media

[An abridged version of this article appeared in Solidarity 501] After RMT activist Eddie Dempsey's denunciations of the liberal left were criticised , he was defended by the Morning Star, the General Secretary of the RMT Mick Cash, prominent Lexit activists such as Marcus Barnett, and, of course himself. Dempsey was also backed by rank-and-file Stalinist friends and associates. The worst elements of the new Stalinist milieu are ingrained internet trolls, people whose standard operating method is to lie about and abuse people they disagree with. We have been unfortunate to encounter this...

Clive Lewis: "I won't hesitate to call out racism"

After Clive Lewis MP publicly criticised RMT activist Eddie Dempsey for his statements at the 26 March “Full Brexit” rally, he was challenged on Twitter by Marcus Barnett of the Morning Star. What follows is a note Clive then wrote to Barnett – and gave us to publish. My father was a trades unionist in the UK for more than 40 years. Full-time for much of it. He spent his life dealing with and fighting racists – many of them in the trades union movement itself. You’re a smart guy. You know all about race relations in the trade union and labour movement. Know that our recent trade union and...

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