The British general election has entered its denouement. The following article was published by the British Marxists at Socialist Appeal on the eve of polling day, reflecting on the last stretch of Labour's hard-fought campaign, in which thousands of activists have been pitted against the smears and lies of the Tory Party electoral machine. 

Speaking on the eve of the most important general election of a generation, Alan Woods (editor of marxist.com) discusses how the Tories and the capitalist establishment are resorting to a torrent of lies and smears in order to prevent a Labour victory. But an unprecendented mass political movement of workers and youth has mobilised to combat the attacks and carry Corbyn into Number 10. Vote for Corbyn! Fight for socialism!

The most important election of a generation is almost upon us. Boris Johnson, the Tories, and their friends in the capitalist press are doing their best to thwart Corbyn’s chances of making it into Number 10. But with a mass movement taking to the streets and onto social media, everything is up for grabs.

With under a week to go, Labour is taking its campaign up a gear. Activists are being bussed into marginals to bolster local doorknocking efforts. Money is being raised from grassroots donations in order to reach young voters in key seats. And the party’s mass membership is being mobilised to flood the streets over the next few days.

With now only one week to go until polling day, no one can predict what will happen. Given the large number of undecided voters, everything is up for grabs – including a Corbyn government.

If a week is a long time in politics, then a couple of months is an eternity, as the Liberal Democrats have discovered in this general election campaign.

As the temperature rises in this general election, the battle lines have become ever clearer. On one side is the mass Corbyn movement of workers and youth. And on the other, the rich and powerful have assembled firmly behind their party, the Conservatives.

In an explosive move, Corbyn and the Labour Party revealed over 400 pages of previously redacted documents lifting the lid on the UK–US trade talks. The content of these documents cuts right through Boris Johnson’s neverending web of lies.

The Orthodox Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ephraim Mirvis, has launched a vicious attack against Labour, claiming the party is not doing enough to root out alleged anti-Jewish racism. In an article in the Times newspaper, the Chief Rabbi claims "the overwhelming majority of British Jews are gripped by anxiety" at the prospect of a Labour victory in the general election.

We are just over halfway into the general election. The next few weeks will be crucial. Everything is being done by the establishment to pour cold water on Labour’s campaign. They have the full support of the Tory media in this aim. And, as Johnson had hoped, Brexit is still being used to blur the class issues.

As part of the election campaign, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson recently addressed the captains of industry at a conference of the Confederation of British Industry in London. Swinson asserted that the Lib Dems were the "natural party of business" because they want to stop Brexit. Johnson, meanwhile, promised tax cuts for business as well as “stability”.

The first TV debate between Johnson and Corbyn earlier this week highlighted the Tories’ primary (and only) line of attack in this election: Brexit. Indeed, the mantra “Get Brexit Done” has been repeated ad-nauseum by the Tory leader and his PR goons.

Labour members were delivered an enormous shock by the sudden resignation of Tom Watson. He was a stalwart of the party’s right wing. Nobody expected him to leave the party like this. His unexpected departure has effectively decapitated the right wing of the party.

This general election is going to mark a fundamental turning-point in Britain. It will have colossal ramifications internationally.

The battle lines have been drawn. Britain is to hold a general election on 12 December. This will be the most bitterly fought election in generations.

The global economy is slowing down, heading for a new world slump. A rebellion is taking place across the planet, with mass insurrectionary movements erupting onto the streets from Baghdad to Beirut to Barcelona. And in Britain, the Corbyn movement is preparing for the battle of a generation, as a general election looms.

Splits and divisions have opened up at the top of the Tory government. Given the paralysis in Parliament, they don’t know which way to turn. Depending on what extension the EU offers, they are torn between trying to push Brexit through or going for a snap pre-Christmas general election.

Since mid-September, the Marxist Student Federation in Britain has signed up 3,193 people across the country. This is by a huge margin our best year ever. It reflects the deepening crisis of capitalism, and subsequent search for new ideas from the youth. We’ve been present in 36 universities, at the freshers fairs, putting forward the demand for a radical socialist labour government. With a General Election around the corner, people are ready to talk about politics, and the Marxist societies are bigger than ever.

In the 1930s, Leon Trotsky wrote that the ruling class were tobogganing towards disaster with their eyes closed. This seems to be an accurate description of the situation in Britain today. Tobogganing towards a no-deal Brexit, the ruling class has lost control of events.

Travel company Thomas Cook is no more. Another iconic cornerstone of the British high street has gone into liquidation and 9,000 workers in the UK are out of a job. Many of these went through the same horrible experience just two years ago when Monarch Airlines collapsed. The current collapse is arguably an even-greater social disaster and hits 20,000 workers worldwide, with wider knock-on effects throughout the travel industry.