Spaniards are facing a political moment of truth when they go to the polls on 20 December this year when even the future of the state is in question. GEORGINA BLAKELEY traces the impact of the 15-M Movement which erupted so dramatically onto the Spanish political scene four years ago. On 15 May 2011, demonstrations...
Dark Times for the NHS
Although it was called off at the last minute, the junior doctors’ strike showed just how close to the edge Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has pushed the medical profession. Final-year medical student DAN SELLWOOD explains why his colleagues were prepared to put down their stethoscopes in favour of a one-day walkout. Doctors and the British...
John McNair’s Spanish Diary
With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, John McNair became the ILP’s representative in Barcelona, channelling money and medical supplies to support the republican cause and liaising with the ILP contingent which fought alongside the POUM militia. McNair’s graphic account of the war was reprinted in the ILP’s Socialist Leader in 1974 and later...
The Corbyn Effect
Converting supporters and new members into active campaigners is the challenge for Labour today, but will Momentum help? asks MIKE DAVIS. Democratic socialism is back on the agenda. For the first time in 30 years members and supporters are talking about what socialism means in the 21st century. If the Corbyn leadership can be sustained...
Challenging the Welfare Myths
GERRY LAVERY of Unite Community Leeds reports from a conference in Birmingham set up ‘to challenge the myths around welfare and build a coalition to fight for our safety net’. The well-attended conference on Saturday 31 October was called by Unite Community (Unite the Union’s community wing) and the Public Services and Commercial Services Union...
Make the Living Wage Compulsory
While recent rate increases are welcome, the Living Wage Foundation’s voluntary approach to employers is not working, says ERNIE JACQUES....
ILP Profiles: Mary Barbour – Govan’s Local Hero
CATRIONA BURNESS marks the centenary of the Glasgow rent strikes with a narrative account of the life of Mary Barbour, the ILPer who lent her name to the ‘army’ of women who led resistance to profit-hungry property owners 100 years ago. The Remember Mary Barbour Association is campaigning to see a statue raised to Barbour...
Labour Together Looks to Unite the Party
The post-Corbyn re-organisation of internal Labour Party forces continued last week with the launch of Labour Together by prominent MPs and council leaders, including Jon Cruddas, Lisa Nandy, Steve Reed, Judith Blake and Nick Forbes. Coming just a fortnight after the formation of Momentum, Labour Together’s founders claim their aim is to “provide a space...
Corbyn Team To Build ‘Momentum’
The team behind Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour Party leader have set up a grassroots network to create “a mass movement for real progressive change” from the energy and enthusiasm generated by his campaign. Described as “the successor entity to the Jeremy Corbyn for Leadership campaign”, Momentum is independent of the party leadership and wants...
Which Way to Labour’s Radical Future?
Election defeat and Corbyn’s victory framed the discussions at the ILP’s joint conference with Compass last weekend where the prospects of Labour’s renewal and signs of radical hope were uppermost in people’s minds....
Is JC Labour’s New Messiah?
Only time will tell whether Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader is the beginning of the party’s renewal or yet another stage in its decay. It’s a question of head as well as heart, says JONATHAN TIMBERS. Jeremy Corbyn’s overwhelming election vcitory by a new mass Labour Party could be a sign that public discourse...
On the Stump: Considering Corbyn’s Contenders
WILL BROWN reports on how two of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership rivals performed at recent public meetings in Sheffield. Much has been written about the Corbyn campaign and the obvious attractions of his candidacy. But for those who retain serious doubts about his ability to unite and lead the party, about his stances on foreign policy...