Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP
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The empire that drowned in the Suez
Incredibly, 65 years after General Nasser showed Britain the door, there are MPs that seem to think we can one day have successful solo imperial adventures again. Nonsense, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
General Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal in Egypt then successfully defended it against Britain, France and Israel, forcing them to retreat; without the US, Britain could not go it alone
In the face of funding cuts, closures and a shift into women’s centres providing criminal justice-only services rather than a holistic approach, RUTH HUNT urges women to protect existing resources, volunteer and build new networks of support
The CPB's congress aims to build the united front against monopoly capitalism, utilising the YCL’s promising new generation of militants — but our party remains far from the strength history requires of it, despite recent progress, writes JOHNNIE HUNTER
From Palestine, to racism, to fiscal rules and migrant rights, DIANE ABBOTT surveys some of the main themes of Labour conference this week
We must remember how the CPGB led anti-fascist movement defeated Mosley’s BUF in September 1936 and apply the lessons of mass mobilisation and open, unapologetic confrontation to the rise of the far right today, writes DYLAN MURPHY
On the anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, DAVID ROSENBERG reflects on his encounters with those who were there that day in 1936 – and suggests two urgent tasks for the anti-fascists of today
IN 1956 General Nasser, the ruler of the newly independent Egypt, nationalised the Suez Canal. It runs through Egypt, was dug by forced Egyptian labour and legally belonged to the Egyptian state.
Britain, France and Israel responded by sending in gunboats, warplanes, paratroopers and marines to grab the canal back and try to overthrow Nasser. Egyptian troops fought back.
The US, Russia and the United Nations opposed the imperial adventure. Britain, France and Israel were forced into a humiliating retreat, with nothing to show for a couple of hundred deaths among the invaders and over a thousand Egyptian civilians and soldiers killed.
More from this author
The new angle from private firms shmoozing their way into public contracts was the much-trumpeted arrival of ‘artificial intelligence’ — and no-one seemed to have heard the numerous criticisms of this unproven miracle cure, reports SOLOMON HUGHES
It is rather strange that Labour continues to give prestigious roles to inappropriate, controversy-mired businessmen who are also major Tory donors. What could Labour possibly be hoping to get out of it, asks SOLOMON HUGHES
Keir Starmer’s hiring Tim Allan from Tory-led Strand Partners is another illustration of Labour’s corporate-influence world where party differences matter less than business connections, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
MBDA’s Alabama factory makes components for Boeing’s GBU-39 bombs used to kill civilians in Gaza. Its profits flow through Stevenage to Paris — and it is one of the British government’s favourite firms, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
