Britain

The stench of sleaze emanating from Number 10 Downing Street marks the end of the Blair era. Brown is no alternative. Both men will lead the Labour Party to defeat in the future. What is needed is a genuine left alternative. That is why it is so important that John McDonnell gets the required number of nominations to be able to stand for the party leadership.

While there is growing awareness that the coalition forces have been defeated in Iraq, to withdraw now would be seen as a catastrophe for the American Administration, a humiliation with far-reaching consequences similar to their defeat in Vietnam.

Family, friends and comrades of Phil Mitchinson gathered in Cardiff on Saturday 13th January for a memorial meeting.  We came together to celebrate his life that ended so tragically.

Hayden Phillips' inquiry into political party funding which was leaked last week aims to impose a cap of £50,000 on donations to political parties. Hidden behind this proposal is an attempt to stop the trade unions funding the Labour Party in a big way and thus break the influence of the labour movement as a whole over the party.

While no money is available for spending on healthcare, education, pensions, etc., billions of dollars are spent on building up massive security systems. Each terror scare adds to the profit margins of the big security companies. It is an indication of the sickness of the society we live in.

The capitalist system that flourished in the time of Dickens is still upon us, as are all of its ills and evils. Reminiscent of the popular festive tale A Christmas Carol, in 2006, we still find that the everyday lives of working people are subject to the whims of a minority of parasitic individuals. This has found expression most recently in the Farepak fiasco.

It is 100 years since the Labour Party first emerged as a force in parliament, and 100 since the Trades Dispute Acts granted British workers some basic rights against prosecution by employers in case of strike action. Today workers have fewer rights than they did then. Since 1906 the British ruling class have attempted to break the link between Labour and the unions, but have systematically failed.

It will come as a great shock to all comrades to hear the tragic news of the premature death of comrade Phil Mitchinson, the deputy editor of the Marxist journal Socialist Appeal and leading member of the International Marxist Tendency. Regrettably Phil suffered a severe heart attack late last night, was rushed to hospital, but staff were unable to save him. He was 38 years of age.

John McDonnell, the left-wing Labour MP, has announced his intention to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party. He is Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, the Labour Representation Committee, and the 'Public Services Not Private Profit' anti-privatisation campaign. He is also the national chair of Hands Off Venezuela and has been at the forefront of the campaign to defend the Venezuelan revolution. Read the interview on the Socialist Appeal website.

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, a landmark event in the history of the British working class, when workers in London’s East End dealt a severe blow to British fascism. In commemoration of this victory of the working class, we republish Ted Grant’s pamphlet The Menace of Fascism - What it is and how to fight it, which offers an analysis of fascism and a programme for how to fight it.

While workers in Britain are forced by Gordon Brown to accept miserably low wage increases, the big fat cat executives are reaping big bonuses. Darrall Cozens looks at the figures, highlighting how the same government that holds down workers’ wages facilitates the rich in every way.

From the ashes of the old SSP two formations have emerged, Solidarity and the SSP, but with exactly the same programme, including a strong element of Scottish nationalism. Nothing has been learnt from past experience. There is an urgent need to return to the genuine ideas of Marxism.

As the Blair era draws to close factional intrigue is dominating the media news about what is going on in the Labour Party. There is no fundamental difference between the Blair and the Brown cliques. Their only argument is over who is to fill the seats on offer. What is needed, as John McDonnell MP argues, is “a national campaign for a radical break with the failed policies of new Labour", adding that changing leaders would "not be enough to save Labour at the next election".

On Saturday September 9th a Memorial Meeting was held for Ted Grant in the Friends Meeting House in London. Around 200 people turned up for a lively meeting that included international guests, some video footage and contributions from the floor. Also available is an audio file of Alan Woods' speech.