History - Counterfire

Redistribution, rent strikes and revolt – the Poplar rebellion 100 years on

The commemoration of the heroic stance taken by Poplar council and the workers 100 years ago has many lessons for activists today, writes John Westmoreland

Transforming the past: Walter Scott and the historical novel

On the 250th anniversary of the Walter Scott's birth, we repost Chris Bambery's article celebrating his novels, which provide a unique insight into the emergence of the modern world

Anti-capitalism reborn – why Genoa still matters

Twenty years ago hundreds of thousands confronted the world's elites in the Italian city of Genoa. Chris Nineham looks at the significance of the events and their legacy

John Berger: the nature of mass demonstrations

As we build for the People's Assembly national demonstration on 26 June, we republish John Berger's May 1968 article on the role of mass demonstrations in social change

‘The people are the waters’: social revolt in London, 1196-1381

From the 12th century to the Rising of 1381, class conflicts and revolutionary movements were a fundamental thread of English history, argues Dominic Alexander

Zionism and the origins of Israeli apartheid

The key to understanding Israel is to situate it as a settler-colonialist project requiring the dispossession of the Palestinians, argues Alex Snowdon

How British imperialism shaped Israel’s birth

The British Empire’s central role in the Zionist project and the subsequent violent displacement of the Palestinians is described by Alex Snowdon

‘Arm the Protestants’: a state born in sectarian violence

One hundred years since the partition of Ireland into north and south, Chris Bambery looks at the determination by government, police and big business to hold on to a part of Britain’s fading empire

Chartism: the first great working class movement

Chartism was a mass movement for political and social change in the 1830s and 1840s - John Westmoreland looks at the crucial lessons it provides for activists today

The 1926 General Strike: when workers brought Britain to a standstill

On International Workers' Day, Chris Bambery recalls the General Strike of 1926, the power of the working class and the lessons to be learnt in the struggle today

Karl Marx and the Paris Commune

Marx’s analysis of the Paris Commune is a brilliant example of the interaction between revolutionary theory and practice, argues Katherine Connelly

To the barricades! The life of Louis Auguste Blanqui

To his great credit Louis Auguste Blanqui was jailed by every regime that ruled France between 1815 and 1880. John Westmoreland assesses his legacy

Redistribution, rent strikes and revolt – the Poplar rebellion 100 years on

The commemoration of the heroic stance taken by Poplar council and the workers 100 years ago has many lessons for activists today, writes John Westmoreland

Transforming the past: Walter Scott and the historical novel

On the 250th anniversary of the Walter Scott's birth, we repost Chris Bambery's article celebrating his novels, which provide a unique insight into the emergence of the modern world

Anti-capitalism reborn – why Genoa still matters

Twenty years ago hundreds of thousands confronted the world's elites in the Italian city of Genoa. Chris Nineham looks at the significance of the events and their legacy

John Berger: the nature of mass demonstrations

As we build for the People's Assembly national demonstration on 26 June, we republish John Berger's May 1968 article on the role of mass demonstrations in social change

‘The people are the waters’: social revolt in London, 1196-1381

From the 12th century to the Rising of 1381, class conflicts and revolutionary movements were a fundamental thread of English history, argues Dominic Alexander

Zionism and the origins of Israeli apartheid

The key to understanding Israel is to situate it as a settler-colonialist project requiring the dispossession of the Palestinians, argues Alex Snowdon

How British imperialism shaped Israel’s birth

The British Empire’s central role in the Zionist project and the subsequent violent displacement of the Palestinians is described by Alex Snowdon

‘Arm the Protestants’: a state born in sectarian violence

One hundred years since the partition of Ireland into north and south, Chris Bambery looks at the determination by government, police and big business to hold on to a part of Britain’s fading empire

Chartism: the first great working class movement

Chartism was a mass movement for political and social change in the 1830s and 1840s - John Westmoreland looks at the crucial lessons it provides for activists today

The 1926 General Strike: when workers brought Britain to a standstill

On International Workers' Day, Chris Bambery recalls the General Strike of 1926, the power of the working class and the lessons to be learnt in the struggle today

Karl Marx and the Paris Commune

Marx’s analysis of the Paris Commune is a brilliant example of the interaction between revolutionary theory and practice, argues Katherine Connelly

To the barricades! The life of Louis Auguste Blanqui

To his great credit Louis Auguste Blanqui was jailed by every regime that ruled France between 1815 and 1880. John Westmoreland assesses his legacy

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The commemoration of the heroic stance taken by Poplar council and the workers 100 years ago has many lessons for activists today, writes John Westmoreland

On the 250th anniversary of the Walter Scott's birth, we repost Chris Bambery's article celebrating his novels, which provide a unique insight into the emergence of the modern world

Twenty years ago hundreds of thousands confronted the world's elites in the Italian city of Genoa. Chris Nineham looks at the significance of the events and their legacy

As we build for the People's Assembly national demonstration on 26 June, we republish John Berger's May 1968 article on the role of mass demonstrations in social change

From the 12th century to the Rising of 1381, class conflicts and revolutionary movements were a fundamental thread of English history, argues Dominic Alexander

The key to understanding Israel is to situate it as a settler-colonialist project requiring the dispossession of the Palestinians, argues Alex Snowdon

The British Empire’s central role in the Zionist project and the subsequent violent displacement of the Palestinians is described by Alex Snowdon

One hundred years since the partition of Ireland into north and south, Chris Bambery looks at the determination by government, police and big business to hold on to a part of Britain’s fading empire

Chartism was a mass movement for political and social change in the 1830s and 1840s - John Westmoreland looks at the crucial lessons it provides for activists today

On International Workers' Day, Chris Bambery recalls the General Strike of 1926, the power of the working class and the lessons to be learnt in the struggle today

Marx’s analysis of the Paris Commune is a brilliant example of the interaction between revolutionary theory and practice, argues Katherine Connelly

To his great credit Louis Auguste Blanqui was jailed by every regime that ruled France between 1815 and 1880. John Westmoreland assesses his legacy