London

Feb 1 2023 strikes Britain

About half a million workers took strike action across Britain on February 1, writes Terry Conway, in the biggest wave of strikes for over a decade.

CWU protest cr Guy Smallman

Half a million trade unionists are gearing up for a national day of strike action on February 1, across England, Scotland and Wales, writes Terry Conway.

Media propaganda

John Pilger asks, isn’t it time those who are meant to keep the record straight declared their independence and decoded the propaganda?

Peace

Peace is not just the absence of war; it is real security, writes Jeremy Corbyn.

Charlie Kimber asked the Socialist Tendency of the Russian Federation for the latest news from the anti-war frontline.

Fighter jet

It is more than a century since Edward Bernays, the father of spin, invented “public relations” as a cover for war propaganda, writes John Pilger. What is new is the virtual elimination of dissent in the mainstream.

London protest on Invasion Day. Photo: Angela Christofilou

Activists in London gathered at Captain Cook's statue in solidarity with mass rallies and dawn services held to mark Invasion Day in Australian cities on January 26, reports Kerry Smith.

Anti*Capitalist Resistance activists reflect on the police attack on a women’s vigil in South London.

John Pilger describes how class remains the most virulent disease in Britain, resulting in record levels of child poverty.

Environmental campaigners are calling for urgent action to cut pollution in the Arctic from the global shipping industry, writes Kerry Smith.

Tens of thousands of protesters shut down Westminster in London on June 4 to protest the United States President Donald Trump.

Two very different demonstrations within less than a week of each other neatly illustrated just how polarised British politics is.

Hundreds have mobilised to attend pickets and mass meetings in defence of Venezuela’s sovereignty and to demand an end to the British and US governments interference during a time of difficulty in Venezuela. Starting with a picket at the Prime Minister’s Office and continuing with two mass meetings of the progressive left, anti-war, student and labour movement, a week of protests ended with a picket of the BBC headquarters and a further action planned against the Bank of England who have illegally seized US$1.2 billion of Venezuela’s gold.

Demonstrations on successive weekends in London last month shone a spotlight on major political rifts — in the major parties and in the political left.

On October 13, an extreme right-wing Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA) march was out-mobilised and disrupted by anti-fascist demonstrators. One week later, about 670,000 people turned out for a “People’s Vote” demonstration.

In the middle of the harshest winter for more than a decade, Britain finds itself still gripped by the icy fingers of neoliberal austerity.

In what has proven to be the largest industrial action in the higher education sector in recent history, the University and College Union (UCU) launched the first day of strike action across Britain on February 22.

Striking against planned cuts to the pension schemes of academic staff, staff and students took collective action on 61 different universities across the country.

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