An interview with Harry Barnes, former Labour MP and ILP friend, which appears on the Irish Labour Watch website: http://irishlabourwatch.wordpress.com Harry talks about his political influences, the politics of Northern Ireland, Iraq, Libya, new Labour, the Robin Hood Tax, and much more besides. Read the full interview here. Read Harry Barnes’ own blog here....
Thousands ‘surviving, not living’ in coalition Britain
Ahead of the march for the alternative, set to see thousands throng the capital to protest against the government cuts, the country’s biggest union reveals that many people in the UK are now “surviving, not living”. An independent poll tracked the concerns of 140,000 working people over four months from December 2010 until the...
Budget serves last rites on Big Society, says Unite
George Osborne read the last rites for the Big Society in his Budget, as he did not stump up the cash to revive the Prime Minister’s pet project. Unite, the largest union in the country, said that the Chancellor failed to plug the £4.5bn shortfall in funding for the not for profit sector and...
Sheffield’s day of rage?
William Brown reports on the protest at the Liberal Democrats spring conference in Sheffield and argues that the anti-cuts movement urgently needs to find leadership and popular appeal....
Iraq’s third big issue
We must look beyond the two issues that dominate discussions of Iraq, and unite in support of Iraq’s trade unions, says former MP HARRY BARNES In Britain, our minds are often focussed on two big issues concerning Iraq. First, should we have been involved in its invasion? Secondly, should our troops now be withdrawn?...
Coalition of the careless
WILL BROWN reports on the sorry tale of a ‘left wing’ attack on Iraqi trade unionists. As Gary Kent’s article makes clear, support for Iraq’s trade unions has been a contentious issue on the British left. Indeed, it has grabbed media attention and exposed some woeful political judgements by the Stop the War Coalition...
The battle for democracy in Iraq
GARY KENT urges the British Labour movement to support Iraq’s emerging trade unions and grassroots democrats. All the Iraqis I know were exiled by Saddam Hussein, as were four million other people. They detested Saddam’s murderous regime, which was modelled explicitly on those of Stalin and Hitler. The victims ran into the millions. My...