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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September 11: an opportunity or a crime?
The US saw the attacks as an act of war — so instead of simply setting out to catch the perpetrators, decided to 'go massive' with a disastrous display of military might that has now laid bare the declining status of the US empire, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
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
TOMORROW is the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers. We will be hearing a lot about the horrors of that day, when 2,977 people were killed because 19 terrorists flew planes into buildings.
It’s also 20 years since the US government decided to respond to the attacks by lashing out with a series of wild military adventures: US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld planned to “go massive” and attack targets he knew were completely unrelated to the terrorists — including Iraq — on the day the Twin Towers fell. Hundreds of thousands of people have died because the US government — with British support — decided to use the event to demonstrate Western military might, instead of seeking justice.
We know how Rumsfeld reacted to the fall of the Twin Towers because we have access to the handwritten notes of his orders on September 11 2001. The notes were kept by Rumsfeld’s aide Stephen Cambone, who wrote down his orders to his various officials. According to these notes, on the afternoon of September 11, about five hours after the first plane hit the Twin Towers, Rumsfeld said, “Near term target needs — go massive — sweep it all up, things related and not.”
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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
