National

Stressed out with work and activism? Want to get away from it all, but without quite leaving your politics behind? Barbara Segal says that Red Rope may be what you’re looking for. Socialist walkers? You’ve got to be joking!  That’s the response we sometimes get from walkers and climbers we meet on the hill or […] Read more »

Salman Shaheen reports on a meeting he describes as ‘valuable and productive’. On Thursday, I attended my first meeting of the new Left Unity group. The gathering – refreshingly organised in a circle with all views given time to air – drew a diverse crowd of people from all manner of political backgrounds, but if […] Read more »

The Eastleigh by-election last week saw the best ever vote for the far right UK Independence Party (UKIP) and a very poor vote for the left-wing Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). Five years into the economic crisis, just entering a triple dip recession and with major cuts to benefits about to be introduced the […] Read more »

Hard on the heels of the social and political protests of 1968 – and the accompanying English psychedelic and art rock scenes – emerged Glamrock. Perhaps most significant for challenging gender stereotypes – think Bolan and Bowie – it had a short but intense manifestation before Punk hit (literally) – followed by Thatcherism – in […] Read more »

Ken Loach is a socialist and a filmmaker who has never hidden his politics and always sought to grapple in his work with very real problems faced by working people and their everyday life experiences. In this respect he is unique. Here Oliver Huitson interviews Ken about his latest film and how he sees politics […] Read more »

Twenty seven comrades came to the third Left Unity meeting, for the majority this was their first meeting. The meeting was introduced by Gioia Coppola, an communist from Italy who gave a report on the recent Italian elections. She was despondent about the prospects for the left and saw little positive in the vote for […] Read more »

A falling pound will lower the living standards of workers and the poor, says economist Michael Burke. The British pound has begun to fall once more on the international currency markets. It may be further helped on its way by the loss of the AAA credit rating. This will have important domestic economic consequences. The currency is […] Read more »

Kevin Ovenden looks at the rise of the right wing UKIP party in Britain which won a large vote in the Eastleigh by-election yesterday UKIP’s central slogan was “Stop open-door immigration” – lumping together the movement of EU nationals with asylum seekers and others through a deliberate sleight of hand into a single racist or […] Read more »

Left Unity will hold its third meeting this Thursday [Feb 28th] evening at 6.30pm. The meeting will focus on the two related themes of ‘Why is there no party to the left of Labour? and What sort of organisation do we want to see?’ Three comrades will lead off the discussion: Joana Ramiro from the […] Read more »

  Haringey  TUC Secretary Keith Flett reports from the anti-cuts meeting in Tottenham this evening.   A successful meeting in Haringey tonight called for a united campaign against the cuts. The meeting was organised by the local trades union council and it sent a powerful message that uniting the fight against Government cuts can bring […] Read more »