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Working-class unity and the nations of Britain
KENNY COYLE reviews a new pamphlet on the labour movement and the national question

THE new pamphlet from John Foster, Nations and Working-Class Unity, provides an accessible contemporary Marxist perspective on the interrelationship of class and national identities among the nations of Britain.

Foster is the author of numerous pamphlets, articles and papers on this topic over several decades. However, this contribution comes at a particularly critical moment for the left in Britain.

As the recent waves of industrial action by workers across Britain show, there remains a strong material basis for working-class unity, despite national differences. However, since the 1990s, these national differences within Britain have also taken institutional form, resulting in a fragmented political landscape.

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