Britain

Britain

• The British State: A Warning - book review

  

  Chris Nineham’s The British State argues that the left must confront the entrenched power of the British state to achieve radical change, writes Alex Snowdon

• Rebels and Friends: a play by Jacqueline Mulhallen

  

  Drama, art and Irish history come together at Unite the Union’s headquarters, finds Ellen Graubart

• At war with the powers that be

  

  Don’t be naive — the British state will move against a Corbyn government, writes Chris Nineham

• Defending the Indefensible: the British Army in Northern Ireland, 1969

  

  In deploying troops to Derry, Downing Street was propping up the Unionist government to shield itself from blame, argues Chris Bambery

• The Centenary of the 1919 Race Riots

  

  One hundred years after the race riots of 1919, author, activist and co-director of Writing on the Wall, Madeline Heneghan reflects on racism then and now

• Dirty tricks: the British State and the left

  

  Recent attacks on Corbyn are part of the British state's long history of undemining the left, writes Chris Nineham

• Boris Johnson as Prime Minister should not be tolerated

  

  Boris cannot be allowed to take control unopposed - we must demand a general election, argues Chris Nineham

• Ten things they don't tell you about D-Day

  

  As the commemorations of the 75 year anniversary of D-Day take place, Lindsey German reminds us of the truth about the end of the Second World War

• Bloody Sunday: one prosecution is not justice

  

  The British state would prefer we forget about the cold-blooded murder it sanctioned on Bloody Sunday, we can't let them escape justice, argues Chris Bambery

• Rees-Mogg's Imperial Denialism

  

  Rees-Mogg's obfuscation around imperial nostalgia is a cynical ploy to romanticise the atrocities commited under the British Empire, argues Dominic Alexander 

• Deportation flights: Tories have learned nothing from Windrush

  

  Despite the furore over the Windrush scandal last year the Tories show no signs of scaling back their racist deportation policies, argues Sean Ledwith

• London rallies against Venezuela coup and sanctions

  

  Over a hundred people packed out a rally in London at short notice to oppose Trump's push for regime change in Venezuela and Britain's role in it, reports Shabbir Lakha

• Cameroon: neo-colonised before independence

  

  Explo Nani-Kofi gives a brief history of how British and French colonialism defined Cameroon's power structures and maintains its influence in a rigged political system

• Contemporary Trotskyism - book review

  

  A valuable study of the Trotskyist tradition in Britain misses the importance of strategy in revolutionary organisation, argues Alex Snowdon

• Watch the Guardian's Larry Elliott take down those calling for a People's Vote

  

  Even the Guardian's economics editor thinks staying in the EU is a bad idea

• Notes on a dying ideology

  

  John Rees on how Brexit is an expression of a crisis for one set of establishment ideas

• Has the BBC smuggled a critique of Israel past the thought police? - TV review

  

  BBC One's Little Drummer Girl manages to cut through some of the usual BBC bias when it comes to Israel and even criticises Britain's role, argues Sofie Mason

• Aftermath: Art in the wake of World War One - review

  

  Modern art was a way of actively willing war towards an end says Alistair Cartwright in his review of the Aftermath exhibition at the Tate

• It happened here - film review

  

  Brownlow and Mollo's alternative vision of Nazi-led Britain in the 1940s resonates powerfully today, Tom Griffiths finds

• Systemic Islamophobia in Britain has deadly consequences

  

  The political mainstream's cynical use of Islamophobia leads directly to death and heartbreak, argues Maz Saleem

• Context is King - exhibition review

  

  John Rees looks at the Royal Academy’s prestige exhibition, 'Charles I: King and Collector'

• Paris and London: A Tale of Two Radical Cities

  

  Chris Bambery on the history of two great capital cities, and the architecture of power.

• Iolo Morganwg and the making of nationalisms

  

  The fakery of Celtic myths are part of a long tradition of nation-building in these islands, argues Chris Bambery

• Britain is hardening its foreign policy

  

  As the British state's new aircraft carrier, worth billions of pounds, springs a leak, Lindsey German takes a look at the war games being played

• Extreme Podiatry: the situation for refugees in Calais and Dunkirk

  

  The Jungle camp may have been demolished a year ago but refugees are still arriving in Calais and Dunkirk and suffering in intolerable conditions reports David Bailey

• Rosa Luxemburg on the politics of poverty and homelessness

  

  This winter people are dying needlessly. Rosa Luxemburg reminds us that politics is about more than negotiations between competing states.

• Charges dropped against activists that shut down Israel arms factory

  

  Having had the criminal charges for shutting down an Israeli arms factory against her dropped, Huda Ammori explains why this is a victory for BDS

• Letter to Theresa May from a Palestinian refugee

  

  A letter from an 11 year old Palestinian refugee to Theresa May asking her to rethink celebrating the Balfour Declaration centenary.

• Racist Trump will never be welcome here

  

  From the repeated attempts to pass the Muslim Ban to attacking NFL players, Trump is racist and is not welcome here argues Maz Saleem

• Balfour 100 years on - nothing to celebrate

  

  The Balfour Declaration was the prelude to violent settler colonialism in Palestine argues Alex Snowdon and explains why thousands will be protesting not celebrating.

• The Balfour Declaration: Palestine, Empire and Resistance - video

  

  Bernard Regan launches his new book "The Balfour Declaration" as the centenary of the infamous event that started the Israel-Palestine conflict approaches.

• How the Establishment Lost Control - book review

  

  Chris Nineham’s new book is both digestible for those new to radical politics and presents an engaging analysis for experienced activists, argues Martin Hall

• 'May Days' - poem

  

  A poem by William Alderson on the current state of Britian

• Is Britain breaking up? - video

  

  With Scottish independence looking more likely, and murmurings in Northern Ireland too, Tom Griffiths looks at the prospects for Britain breaking up

• Darcus Howe (1943 – 2017): the Mighty Lion remembered

  

  A trailbreaking activist, writer and broadcaster is remembered by Madeline Heneghan

• Class: Money and Power in Neoliberal Britain

  

  Buy online: A short, sharp analysis of class structure and combativity after forty years of neoliberal offensive

• Trotsky on 'gradualness' - key texts

  

  Trotsky's polemic against gradualness shows Britain's history has been shaped by conflict and revolution. This 'key text' is introduced by Alex Snowdon

• Jeremy Corbyn: anti-war protests have shaken British politics

  

  Jeremy Corbyn discusses the impact of the anti-war movement on British politics with Stop the War Coalition convenor Lindsey German

• 'Marauding migrants': demonising the victims of western wars

  

  The migrant crisis is not a threat to Britain but a human catastrophe for those fleeing for their lives, often as a result of Western intervention

• Lenin and the Labour Party - lessons for today?

  

  As Jeremy Corbyn's campaign for Labour leader gains seemingly unstoppable momentum, John Rees looks at some of the debates on the left at the time of the formation of the Labour Party

• How Corrupt is Britain?

  

  Lindy Syson finds that neoliberal capitalism extends corruption across society and the economy, reviewing the collection of studies, How Corrupt is Britain

• Liberté, Égalité, Vélocité

  

  Mark Perryman makes the case for a two-wheeled revolution

• The Green surge and the new politics in Britain

  

  The surge in membership of the Green party shows that British politics is not marching to the right - James Meadway looks at the implications for the Left

• Video: The Crisis of the British Regime

  

  Chris Bambery, Lindsey German, Liz Fekete and Danny Dorling discuss the crisis of the British regime, inequality and broken politics

• Britain's crisis continues

  

  Chris Bambery argues that, despite the No vote in the referendum last month, the British state remains mired in a deep crisis with no obvious way out

• Scottish Labour: living on borrowed time

  

  Following Yes majorities in party heartlands Chris Bambery examines a Scottish Labour under threat of annihilation

• The English Question: Democracy or jingoism?

  

  Alastair Stephens: we need to democratise the state in all its aspects, but for now the battle lines are clear: we want democracy restored not jingoism revived

• UK undead: 10 reasons democracy is dying

  

  Alastair Stephens looks at how democracy in the UK is dying at the hands of the neoliberal ruling elite

• Devolution, democracy and the fight to end austerity

  

  James Doran, a socialist activist in north-east England, considers some repercussions of the Scottish referendum for the anti-austerity movement

• Scotland's vote and politics after the referendum

  

  Lindsey German's take on the changed political landscape in the wake of the Scottish referendum result

• The Scottish referendum and the English Left – a contribution to debate

  

  Counterfire’s Alex Snowdon replies to two recent articles by Mark Perryman discussing the implications of the Scottish independence referendum for socialists in England

• After Scotland, turning into the English Left?

  

  Guest contributor Mark Perryman offers a personal contribution to debates about the implications of the Scottish referendum

• The crisis of the British regime: democracy, protest and the unions

  

  The British political regime faces a crisis of confidence. This report presents empirical evidence for the democratic deficit, growing protest, the state of the trade unions and the strategic implications for the left