Articles
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
OXFAM's failure to deal properly with the scandal of sexual misconduct by it's staff in Haiti and the fallout expose other problems with the politics of aid and how it currently operates. The British government has a clearly stated agenda of making aid work more in it's interests, whilst recipients of aid, including in Haiti, are calling for greater accountability to their governments.
Monday, March 26, 2018
We live in a very dangerous world dominated by neo-liberalism which fuels inequality, conflict and a drive to war. As well as making the lives of millions miserable there are growing tensions between rival imperial and aspiring imperial powers. Nearly 30 years since the end of the Soviet Union what kind of world is capitalism creating and how is being re-shaped? Despite its dominance, however, neo-liberalism has not won people to support its system. Forces from the left, the extreme right, religions and nationalists are gaining ground.
Friday, March 23, 2018
The PR company, Bell Pottinger, collapsed after it was revealed that it orchestrated a campaign in South Africa designed to inflame racial hatred and divert attention from allegations of "state capture" against the Gupta family. This is the end of a long line of political interventions made by the company and its founder to promote reactionary policies. These include running Tory election campaigns, advising the government and the National Coal Board during the Miners Strike, working on FW de Klerk's election campaign, campaigning to halt the fraud investigation into the Al-Yamamah arms deal and producing propaganda for the US in Iraq.
Friday, March 16, 2018
An appeal has been established to honour the life and achievements of Nelson Mandela in the 100th anniversary year of his birth. It will be erected in Glasgow the first city to make him a Freeman while he was still imprisoned and sparking a worldwide campaign by Mayors to support his release. The appeal is supported by prominent Freemen, such as Kenny Dalglish and Sir Billy Connolly and was launched by fellow Freeman, Sir Alex Ferguson, along with Brian Filling, honorary consul for South Africa and Eva Bolander, Lord Provost of Glasgow. Other Patrons are Professor Denis Goldberg and Andrew Mlangeni both Rivonia trialists along with Mandela and both serving lengthy sentences.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Saturday 11th November 2017.Hear top speakers Councillor Noah Tucker (personal capacity) on Brexit, the crisis in the Tory Party and the prospects for Labour and socialist advance. Pablo Navarrete, just returned from Venezuela, Salim Alam on the Middle East and Palestine. Frieda Park and Simon Korner will open discussion on the threat of war, particularly in Korea and the divisions which are making our world a dangerous place.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Theresa May and the Tories made drastic errors in both calling the General Election and in how they ran their campaign. By contrast Jeremy Corbyn was able to get across his policies and successfully challenge the negative media assaults that he had faced up till then. May and the Tories came out very much weakened and Corbyn and Labour stronger.
Friday, September 15, 2017
The tragedy at Grenfell Tower was no simple accident. It was the result of the willful actions of local and national government who got rid of fire safety requirements, hived off management of housing, cut public services and failed to listen to residents and take action on the lessons of a previous tower block fire. What is the real value of human life in capitalist Britain today?
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
First published in The Conversation UK. Labour's election strategy involved taking advantage of the requirement on broadcasters to give fair and equal coverage to Jeremy Corbyn, to make extensive use of social media to counter the right wing print media and to to turn perceived weaknesses into strengths. This involved taking risks such as Corbyn's speech after the Manchester terror attack where he questioned whether the "war on terror" was actually keeping us safe.