General secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions GAWAIN LITTLE calls for support and participation in the national partnership organised to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1926 general strike
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Far-right riots and the state’s response both pose a threat to our civil liberties
The shortsighted moves of out-of-touch politicians put in jeopardy the great traditions of dissent that have long been a hallmark of this country, argue DAVID MORGAN and ESTELLA SCHMID
8birminghamantiracism
After brutal police crackdowns on pensioners and the forced approval of secret IMF deals, trade unions are finally responding to grassroots pressure and fighting back against savage neoliberal reforms, reports BERT SCHOUWENBURG
Bizarrely, Trump’s latest attacks now include the National Zoo, but his real and racist agenda is to strip everything black from the country’s cultural institutions, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
The transformation of a stable secular state into a fractured ruin largely ruled by Western-backed fundamentalists exposes the hollow nature of ‘multipolarity’ and the absence of principled anti-imperialism today, writes ZOLTAN ZIGEDY
Facing economic turmoil, Jim Callaghan’s government rejected Tony Benn’s alternative economic strategy in favour of cuts that paved the way for Thatcherism — and the cuts-loving Labour of the present era, writes KEITH FLETT
The economic value of disability benefits far outweighs their cost, argues Dr DYLAN MURPHY
As tensions rise in the Middle East, the role of Iran in the region’s political balance becomes ever more significant. STEVE BISHOP assesses the current situation
THE violent riots that broke out following the shocking fatal stabbing of three young girls in the seaside town of Southport were truly distressing. The mass disorder rapidly spread across the country with incidents taking place in Southport itself and in cities as far afield as Plymouth, Sunderland and Belfast. They were confined to England and Northern Ireland, with no outbreaks recorded in Wales or Scotland.
What became clear from the outset was that the incidents took place in areas of extreme social deprivation, where communities have the feeling of being left behind and not sharing in the prosperity enjoyed elsewhere in the country; long-term unemployment, deindustrialisation, urban decay and long-term neglect of local infrastructure are characteristics of these areas.
Indeed, during radio phone-in discussions about the causes of the riots, several contributors cited the government’s removal of the winter fuel payment for pensioners and the retention of the cruel two-child benefit cap as factors that added to existing discontent.
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ROS SITWELL reports on a communist-initiated event aimed at building unity amid a revived women’s movement
London conference hears women speak out on the consequences of self-ID in sport
