The left must begin a process of rebuilding the movement and discussing how to create a revolutionary alternative, argues Chris Strafford The economic crisis and the austerity agenda has thrown the working class into largely defensive actions. The trade union leadership has crucially undermined any serious fightback and is offering only token resistance. We have a ...
Ed Miliband is being attacked from the right, argues James Turley. It is a commonplace these days that politics - like more or less everything else - has been ruined by spin and PR. The roll-call of villains and debacles is well storied: Alastair Campbell, Andy Coulson and even the makers of the dodgy Iraq dossier ...
Chris Strafford and James Turley, members of CS and the CPGB, return to the question of the Labour Party in the Weekly Worker. For older articles in this continuing debate, see our Labour party category. Labour debate: diversionary and doomed to fail Labour is not moving to the left or opening up, says Chris Strafford. We need ...
Michael Copestake demands the break up of Murdoch's media empire (first published in the Weekly Worker) The continuing turmoil around News International and the phone-hacking scandal has brought into sharp relief the attitudes of the different sections of the labour movement to the media - as things stand, they are machines for making money, tools for ...
Miliband is just as responsible as Cameron for News International corruption, writes Michael Copestake (first published in the Weekly Worker) It was six weeks before the 1997 general election that The Sun newspaper - at the behest of its proprietor, chief executive and chair of the News Corporation monopoly Rupert Murdoch - lent its support to Tony ...
Rank and file pressure must be brought to bear not only within the unions, writes Michael Copestake, but on the Labour leadership too The June 30 strikes involving up to 750,000 public sector workers may only have been for one day, and may only have involved unaffiliated unions, but they gave the Labour tops much pain ...
Harley Filben reviews Owen Jones 'Chavs: the demonisation of the working class' Verso, 2011, pp298, £14.99 (first published in the Weekly Worker) This book, at first glance, appears to have come out of nowhere to dominate the world. Owen Jones is a supporter of the Labour Representation Committee, one of the main hotbeds of ...
'Blue Labour' is the latest fad to enrapture the leadership of the Labour Party. James Turley probes into its appeal for 'Red' Ed (first published in the Weekly Worker) Edited by Maurice Glasman, Jonathan Rutherford, Marc Stears and Stuart White, the e-book The Labour tradition and the politics of paradox (2011) is introduced by Ed ...
James Turley replies to critics of the CPGB's project to transform the Labour Party. First published in the Weekly Worker. Two articles appeared in the last Weekly Worker which were sharply critical of the Communist Party of Great Britain's perspectives on work in the Labour Party. Comrade Dave Vincent objects to our reading of Labour's political ...
Below is a statement in response to the article by James Turley 'Against the politics of purity' and the statement by Manchester comrades 'No support for Labour - No support for the LRC'. This is part of the debate in the lead up to our conference in March that will decide our perspectives for the ...
James Turley takes issue with comrades who oppose our affiliation to the LRC A number of comrades – including some self-identified left-communists – have raised objections to the decision of the Communist Students executive to affiliate CS to the Labour Representation Committee, a grouping of leftists operating in the Labour Party, but open to affiliates and ...
Mike Copestake reports on the Oct 23rd demonstration against cuts organised by Yorkshire and Humber TUC The demonstration, which attracted over 200 people, had a good atmosphere despite pouring rain. Speakers at the rally were drawn from the local trade union movement and Labour party, the latter enjoying somewhat of a resurgence now it is no ...
Prepare for a political fightback, writes James Turley On Saturday April 10, thousands are to gather in central London to march in defence of public services. The march is supported by all the major trade unions, and the organised left is, of course, expected to be out in force. It is not difficult to see why. The ...