Author Public Reading Rooms
No war on Iran
Kate Hudson writes: As the situation in the Gulf gets more dangerous by the day, responsibility for the escalating crisis has to be laid at the appropriate door. There can be no doubt that the driving force is the long-standing US drive for regime change in Iran. It couldn’t have been clearer in George Bush’s Axis of Evil speech in 2002; now it’s revived with a vengeance by the Trump administration, with John Bolton leading the charge. The latest development involves UK impounding of an Iranian oil tanker, deemed to be breaking EU sanctions on Syria. Now Iran has returned…
Shipwreck of the Third Way: Tony Blair, New Labour and Inequality
Phil Hearse writes: As a general election approaches, especially one which might lead to a Johnson or Johnson-Farage government, (and, less likely, a Corbyn government) the record of the last Labour government is bound to come up. As memories fade, rose-tinted spectacles can be deliberately deployed to airbrush past realities. At the end of June, Tony Blair took to twitter to attack Jeremy Corbyn’s speech which proposed Labour’s objective should be equality and not ‘social mobility’. Blair took issue with Corbyn’s claim that for decades governments had resisted the objective of equality. Speaking at the Nation Education Union conference, Corbyn…
Do Remainers want to abandon the working class?
Phil Hearse writes: Jon Cruddas’s new Guardian article has a simple message, widely backed by left-wing Brexiteers, that Labour will lose its traditional working class base if it backs a ‘Remain’ position on Brexit. Moreover, he argues, there is a growing false position that wants Labour to stop being a party based on the traditional working class, and move towards a less class specific urban base in ‘Remainia’ – the clear implication being that this is a capitulation to middle class interests and values. Cruddas takes as a key example of this false position articles by Paul Mason. He…
24 June 2019 | Don’t Attack Iran: Downing Street Protest
Assemble at 5pm. More details here
20 July 2019 | Stop Brexit: Left Bloc on the March for Change
As the Tory Party is taken over by an extreme right-wing Brexiter, join the left bloc to march against Brexit. More info at Facebook
18 June 2019 Mutiny! A Radical Interactive Debate on the Political Crisis
Thousands of people have been convinced that socialism is possible after years of defeat. This is part of a series of discussions to define what socialism means in the 21st century, hosted by socialists active in the Labour Party, unions and elsewhere. Mutiny’s Participatory Public Debate Political Crisis. Climate Crisis. Time to Organise! 6.30-9.00pm, Tuesday 18 June Room 3E, Student Central Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY Join us to debate how we fight Brexit, Climate Catastrophe, and Corporate Power. Timetable 6.30pm: Welcome and lead-offs from the panel on creeping fascism, climate catastrophe, and corporate power. 7.00pm: Discussion groups: What sort…
18 Aug 2019 | Peterloo March for Democracy – 200th anniversary
Join with the Peterloo Massacre Bi-Centenary March for Democracy in Manchester on Sunday 18th August. Gather at Whitworth Park Oxford Road 11.30 am to set off at 12:00 for Rally at Albert Square. More details on Facebook
20-27 Sept 2019 | Global Climate Strike
Global climate strikes and a week of actions to demand an end to the age of fossil fuels and emergency action to avoid climate breakdown. More info here
8-10 Nov 2019 | European Forum, Brussels
The annual event for progressive, environmental and left forces will take place in Brussels. More details here