Tories

Tories

• Socialists and trade unionists chart the way forward after Brexit

  

  Our Brexit, or Theirs – the LeFT Campaign’s North West event on Saturday saw a big turnout by trade unionists and socialists from across the region and beyond

• SOAS goes on the attack with major cuts to casual academic staff

  

  Claiming financial distress, SOAS has effectively sacked its precarious academics for the coming year in one fell swoop, reports Elaine Graham-Leigh

• The Corbyn Project was defeated by the historic strengths of conservatism and liberalism

  

  Mike Wayne takes stock of Labour's election defeat

• The crisis of the UK intensifies after Glasgow IndyRef2 march

  

  Despite torrential conditions, over 80,000 took to the streets to demand a Scottish independence referendum, reports Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• What caused Labour's decline: 2019 vs 2017

  

  An in-depth analysis of the statistics from the 2019 election shows beyond doubt that it was the collapse of the Labour Leave vote that proved fatal for Labour, reports Richard Crawford

• Rising up from the streets

  

  The recent election result will mean misery for the most vulnerable, but people with experience living on the street are fighting to resist, reports Norbert Lawrie

• Honouring Iain Duncan Smith is an insult to his victims

  

  The decimator of the welfare system and the architect of Universal Credit who has caused so much death and misery should not be honoured, argues Mona Kamal

• The class war election

  

  To fight the deliberate misrepresentation of Labour's radical policies, we must address the reasons underlying the systematic media bias, argues Des Freedman

• Protect the right to strike

  

  Workers are ready to fight the government's attack on their rights, reports Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• What are the lessons of GE 2019?

  

  There are many lessons to draw from the election but the Labour right will try and obscure these core questions in the coming weeks, argues David Moyles

• Beyond the Labour leadership election: let's not wait until 2024 for change

  

  Strategy is important for the left now and it must go beyond who leads Labour next, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Labour's defeat: how it happened

  

  As part of a series of opinion pieces on the election result, Brian Heron looks at where it went wrong for Labour

• 2017 - 2019: what changed?

  

  We need to analyse the last 2 years and place events in their proper context, argues Richard Allday

• London is Calling: remembering the iconic album 40 years on

  

  "‘Cause London is Drowning … And I live by the river." Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman recalls an epic album

• Young people didn't vote for Boris and they will stand against him

  

  Young people fought for Corbyn but will now face another Tory government. We need to channel our anger into activism, argues Lucy Nichols

• Scotland will be a key battleground in Tory Britain

  

  Scots have again rejected Tory rule and have to be ready for Tory vengeance, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• The energy for Labour in Bristol has been projected across the South West - campaign report

  

  In the last election, Bristol saw a massive swing to Labour, so this time Bristolians have led an energetic campaign in nearby seats, reports Nathan Street

• Hastings and Rye set to turn red - campaign report

  

  Chrissy Brand reports from Hastings and Rye where the tiny Tory majority of 346 votes in 2017 is set to be overturned by Labour

• Junior doctor: The NHS will not survive another 5 years of the Tories

  

  Only a Corbyn government can save the NHS, it's now or never, says junior doctor Raisa Ahmed

• The Cummings campaign: how the Tories embraced Trump’s tactics

  

  As the general election campaign comes toward a close, Sean Ledwith looks at the sinister Trumpian tactics Boris Johnson's Tories have used

• Ignore the naysayers and keep fighting – election briefing 11 December

  

  Lindsey German on trusting Tories and the Jeremy Corbyn she knows

• General Election 2019: a party political broadcast for the Tories

  

  Des Freedman analyses the role of media and how their anti-Corbyn bias is out in the open

• One nation or the one percent? - election briefing 10 December

  

  Lindsey German on the nasty party and media blindspots that benefit the ruling class

• Thatcher, the miners and why you should never believe a Tory promise

  

  Just like his idol Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson is lying through his teeth, argues John Westmoreland

• Decade of austerity: 10 reasons to get the Tories out

  

  Tory PM Boris Johnson cannot be allowed to pretend that ten years of Tory rule are nothing to do with him, argues Alex Snowdon 

• Antisemitism, politics, and voting Tory - election briefing 6 December

  

  Let’s stop apologising for having done nothing wrong, insists Lindsey German

• The problem with Nancy Astor

  

  Tory and media championing of the antisemitic Astor reveals an acute case of double standards, argues Katherine Connelly

• Labour can win: general election is all to play for

  

  Polls can be troublesome, but we can still learn from them and we can win, writes Alex Snowdon

• Mental health: a very political crisis

  

  A psychologist working in the community speaks out on the mental health crisis

• Buckle up, the propaganda war’s about to get a lot rougher - election briefing 28 November

  

  Lindsey German on the full extent of electoral media manipulation

• The BBC's anti-Corbyn bias shows it's not fit for purpose

  

  The BBC's overt political bias against Jeremy Corbyn should cause us to question what public service it's really providing, writes Morgan Daniels

• Our NHS is not for sale - all out to tell Trump

  

  With proof that the NHS is ‘on the table’, we need to make next week’s anti-Trump demo massive, argues Tom Lock Griffiths

• Beating the Tories online: effective political campaigning on Facebook

  

  A guide to winning the online battle during this election by Jim Scott

• On the canvassing trail in Lancashire

  

  Although there is no clear front-runner in Lancashire, there is hope in young voters and the widespread care for the NHS, reports Karen Buckley

• Lies, lies and more lies - election briefing 26 November

  

  Lindsey German on the smearing of Jeremy Corbyn  

• It's official: a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote for a Tory government

  

  The Lib Dems admitting they would prop up a Boris Johnson-led Tory government should end all talk of tactical voting, argues Chris Nineham

• What it will take to beat the Tories in Scotland

  

  The SNP’s disappointing drift rightwards and Labour’s confusion on the national question make it harder for the left both during and after the general election, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Trump's back for the election - all out on December 3rd

  

  Mass mobilisation against the Trump alliance will give the left a big election boost, argues Chris Nineham

• The true colours of the Brexit Party

  

  Faced with the threat of a Corbyn-led government, Farage abandons all anti-establishment pretence, writes Martin Hall

• Get organised, and get out there - campaign report

  

  We can get Corbyn elected, but it will take sustained effort, writes Isabel Carr

• Fire, floods and emergencies: these are what the election is about - election briefing 18 November

  

  Lindsey German on broken infrastructure, social crisis and covert war crimes  

• Bolton fire: the Tories have learnt nothing from Grenfell

  

  Ignored warnings show working-class lives mean nothing to the Tories, writes Lucy Nichols

• Fracking must stop for good, not just for the election: interview with activist at Preston North Road site

  

  After the government’s sudden u-turn over fracking, Counterfire’s Katherine Connelly spoke to Allan Todd, a Green Left member and Extinction Rebellion activist, about the cynical politics behind the announcement, the importance of the anti-fracking campaign and how we can ensure the victory isn’t as short-lived as the election campaign

• Boris Johnson: tragedy for the Tories

  

  Mike Wayne finds that Boris Johnson is not turning out to be the campaigning dynamo the Tories had hoped for

• Postal workers vs the establishment: the injustice of the injunction against CWU strike

  

  Despite a 97% vote in favour of strike action by CWU members, the High Court has granted Royal Mail an injunction to stop the strikes, writes David McAllister

• Flooding misery: the consequences of climate change and austerity

  

  The flooding of hundreds of Doncaster homes was probably caused in the first instance by climate change, but the devastation wreaked on families was avoidable, argues local resident John Westmoreland

• Bolivia: whose side are you on? - election briefing 13 November

  

  Lindsey German on Evo Morales and Farage’s gamble

• The nasty parties unite to stop Corbyn - election briefing 12 November

  

  Lindsey German on Farage’s non-aggression pact, media warmongering and imminent strikes 

• The world turned upside down - election briefing 11 November

  

  Lindsey German on topsy-turvy economics, media duplicity and Tory Islamophobia

• Why tactical voting is a bad idea

  

  Tactical voting benefits the Lib Dems and is a block to a people-powered movement for change, argues Dragan Plavšić

• Labour promises real social transformation

  

  With cynical spending plans from the Tories, Labour must go on the attack with its message of genuine change in favour of working people, argues David McAllister

• The mask keeps slipping - election briefing 7 November

  

  Lindsey German on the persistence of the nasty party and Labour's antisemitism smears

• Rees-Mogg: the ugly face of class privilege - daily election briefing 6 November

  

  Lindsey German on the nasty party, Lid Dem mendacity and striking lecturers 

• Boris Johnson should be booed out of every NHS hospital in Britain

  

  We are beyond the hypothetical. We must vote the Tories out or lose our NHS, argues Mona Kamal

• It’s common sense, Jacob Rees-Mogg should be sacked

  

  Jacob Rees-Mogg’s comments blaming Grenfell victims for their own deaths is beyond outrageous, writes Shabbir Lakha

• The battle that will shape a generation – weekly briefing

  

  ‘Anti-austerity first’ will be the watchword of our fight for the next five weeks, argues Lindsey German

• How Labour can win the election

  

  Mobilising the labour movement behind a radical anti-austerity programme is Corbyn's best bet to win, writes David McAllister

• It's going to be a tough battle, but Labour can win

  

  There is only one way to get a government which wants to improve working people's lives - and that's by voting for Corbyn, argues Lindsey German

• It's the government not the firefighters who are to blame for Grenfell

  

  The Grenfell inquiry is trying to shift the responsibility for the Grenfell tower fire onto the brave firefighters that risked their lives, reports Lucy Nichols

• The hostile environment and Fortress Europe are responsible for the 39 dead

  

  The shameful Tory and EU policies stopping safe passage for refugees are the cause of the tragic deaths of 39 people in the back of a lorry, argues Mona Kamal

• Johnson is planning the great escape, Labour mustn’t let him - weekly briefing

  

  Class politics has to be our guiding light as we make ready for battles in Westminster and beyond, asserts Lindsey German

• Police ban on Extinction Rebellion is an attack on our civil liberties

  

  The threat to our civil liberties from the police banning Extinction Rebellion protests is dangerous and we must resist, argues Sweta Choudhury

• Kick out the crooks - Counterfire freesheet October 2019

  

  Tory crisis, Corbynism, drive to war with Iran, austerity, climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Conservative Party Conference: don’t be fooled by the confidence trick

  

  Conservative Party Conference revealed the Tories are weak but are relying on the Labour right to help them out, argues Katherine Connelly

• Shut down the Tories!

  

  As the rain poured down, the left took to the streets, its enthusiasm not dampened. Chrissy Brand reports from the demo 

• A parliamentary crisis with no parliamentary solution - weekly briefing

  

  The quagmire of the mainstream cannot conceal that there's more to politics than Westminster, writes Lindsey German

• Steer left to beat Johnson's phoney populism

  

  To get rid of the Tories, Labour must fight the status quo with radical class politics, argues Alex Snowdon

• What really happened in the Supreme Court and why

  

  Dragan Plavšić assesses the wider political significance of the Supreme Court’s decision against Boris Johnson

• The left after Labour Party conference: don't let the spirit fade

  

  Conference boosted the left but parliamentary pressures and compromises already threaten the Corbyn project, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Why we can win: the left and Boris Johnson's crisis

  

  The way out of this crisis is to keep left, fight for Corbyn and stay on the streets, argues Chris Nineham

• The outlaw government must go!

  

  John Rees on the next step to elect a socialist government

• Stop Boris' Coup - Counterfire Freesheet September 2019

  

  All out for 29 September: Protest the Tory Party Conference, Central Manchester. Plus social care crisis, William Blake: artist and radical, how we won democracy, India's crackdown on Kashmir and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Tory crisis: does Boris Johnson have a way out?

  

  There is still hope for Labour to take power but they must take advantage of flagrant weaknesses in the Tory party, argues Alex Snowden

• Labour and a ‘national government’: how to dash the hopes of millions

  

  Looking back at the last time Labour joined a national government, John Westmoreland argues it would be a mistake for Labour to consider it now

• Suicide rates at 20 year high: an indictment of Tory austerity

  

  Rising suicide rates show the monumental human cost of Tory austerity and why we urgently need to get them out of power, argues Mona Kamal

• Stop Boris Johnson - general election now!

  

  We need the Tories out now to end austerity and transform society: Lindsey German at the People's Assembly Against Austerity demo

• Labour: these aren't clever tactics, they are the establishment's tactics

  

  The real trap is in playing the establishment's games, writes John Rees

• Johnson’s rottweiler: the toxic tactics of Dominic Cummings

  

  Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s senior advisor, is a fake anti-establishment figure cut in the mould of Steve Bannon, argues Sean Ledwith

• Labour can only expose Johnson if they represent a radical opposition

  

  Labour needs to champion democracy to counter Boris Johnson and put forward a class-based approach to overthrow the government, argues Alex Snowdon

• Don’t overestimate Boris Johnson…

  

  Working class voters will punish any Labour delay in taking down the Tories, argues John Rees

• Don't extradite Assange: Wish You Were Here

  

  Terina Hine reports from Monday's event in support of Julian Assange

• General election: unite and fight

  

  The left must seize the initiative in the coming general election, argues Lindsey German

• Resistance to the Tory coup should be about democracy, not Europe

  

  The left cannot fight Boris Johnson’s power grab if it appeals only to Remainers, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• No confidence in anti-democratic Boris Johnson

  

  Labour must get back to the priority of toppling Boris Johnson with a no confidence vote and reconnect with the movement on the streets, argues David McAllister

• The biggest attack on democracy since before universal suffrage

  

  The hard right have seized government and are now launching an attack on democracy, we have to fight back, argues Chris Nineham

• Boris Johnson proroguing Parliament is a Tory coup

  

  Boris Johnson's undemocratic manoeuvres must be stopped by mass opposition on the streets, argues Lindsey German

• Corbyn can't win if Labour won't bring down the government

  

  Labour's decision to make a vote of no confidence the last resort is a retreat that keeps the Tories in power, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Can Labour win a general election?

  

  Labour is at an electoral crossroads and must come out as a radical alternative to the establishment, argues Alex Snowdon

• Border chaos: why Priti Patel's plans can be stopped

  

  Boris Johnson and Priti Patel want to create a new hostile environment, but they can be stopped, argues Eleftheria Kousta

• The Tories' vision: work until you die

  

  The latest Tory proposal to raise the pension age to 75 is insidious, argues Jacqueline Mulhallen

• DWP deaths make me sick: shrouds on tour 2019

  

  Vince Laws contacted us about his upcoming exhibitions and we are happy to share his press release on Counterfire

• Boris Johnson’s law and order proposals are a scam

  

  As ever, Boris Johnson's gung-ho attitude is designed to distract, writes Eleftheria Kousta

• Peterloo: Manchester is still resisting

  

  Remembering Peterloo means keeping the fight on the streets, writes Penny Hicks

• How socialists should commemorate Peterloo

  

  Peterloo presents us with unfinished business, argues John Westmoreland 

• The poisonous politics of Priti Patel

  

  The disgraced former minister Priti Patel is back in government with her own brand of toxic politics that must be opposed by the left, argues David McAllister

• Swinson’s choice: better a no deal Brexit than Corbyn

  

  For the Liberal Democrats, a no deal Brexit seems preferable to a left wing Labour government under Corbyn, argues Alex Snowdon

• The women of Peterloo

  

  We can learn from the inspirational struggle of working-class women against a violent and corrupt Tory government 200 years ago in our fight against the Tories today, argues Katherine Connelly

• Britain's Trump: why we must bring down Boris Johnson's alt-right government

  

  Boris Johnson is 'turbo-charging' racism and inequality in Britain with his alt-right cabinet committed to austerity, argues Sean Ledwith

• Johnson's Cabinet: a turn right and no resolution in sight

  

  Boris Johnson is setting up a war cabinet, but at the same time has exposed just how crisis-ridden his government is from day one, argues Martin Hall

• Nasty but vulnerable: why we can get rid of Boris

  

  Boris Johnson is dangerous and it is imperative we build a movement to stop him, argues Katherine Connelly

• Boris Johnson is a racist, sexist, warmonger who must be stopped - video

  

  "If you try to have a war with Iran... you will create a mass movement against war in this country of the sort that you haven’t seen in more than a decade"

• Not my Prime Minister - People's Assembly kicks off week of protest

  

  On the eve of Boris Johnson's coronation as Prime Minister, Londoners gathered outside Downing Street to show their opposition, reports Chrissy Brand

• The Tories have no divine right to lead

  

  Getting rid of the Tories is the primary task of the left, but to achieve this we must build on the momentum that a Boris Johnson premiership will create

• Nightmare time: why the left has to come out fighting – weekly briefing

  

  No chance of a summer recess for those committed to ending austerity, inequality and warmongering, argues Lindsey German

• Murad Qureshi - Standing up for Londoners

  

  Murad Qureshi is standing to be a Labour candidate for the London Assembly. He sent Counterfire his campaign statement and we are happy to share his reasons for standing.

• Saving Essex libraries: protest works, so we'll keep campaigning

  

  NEU member Jean Quinn speaks with Katherine Connelly about the successes of the Save Our Libraries Essex campaign

• Stop Boris: General Election Now - Counterfire Freesheet July 2019

  

  No new Tory Prime Minister, protest the Tory party conference, revolt in Sudan, does modern monetary theory work, stop the drive to war with Iran, the British state and what Engels said about revolution in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Labour's lost Leave voters

  

  The left should be the champions of democracy, but Labour backing a second referendum lets the right claim it instead, argues Lindsey German

• Tory values meet the rights and wrongs of women - weekly briefing

  

  The nasty party displays its true colours as it flounders towards a new stewardship, observes Lindsey German   

• Iran - unrepentant warmongers and gullible fools are at it again: weekly briefing

  

  It’s action stations for the anti-war movement as reheated imperial aggression through the prism of Donald Trump makes a bold return, argues Lindsey German 

• The London working class have not forgotten Grenfell

  

  The second demonstration in two days about the horrific disaster at Grenfell Tower shows that the anger and solidarity are still strong, reports Orlando Hill

• Rubberboat in a sharkpool: Tories exploit the Assange case

  

  The political question of the justice of extraditing Julian Assange has been lost to the Tories' internal squabbling, argues Sean Ledwith

• 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

• Cracking up… in every sense of the word - weekly briefing

  

  Drug scandals are just the icing on the cake for an imploding and decrepit Tory party, argues Lindsey German

• General election now: why 100,000 Tories will be wrong

  

  With Theresa May slowly becoming something of the past, Katherine Connelly looks to the future

• Take the fight to the Tories: they are unfit to govern - Counterfire freesheet June 2019

  

  Tory meltdown, the crisis in British Steel, how we should remember D-Day, a Marxist analysis of Game of Thrones and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• European elections: results and prospects

  

  The European election results show a catastrophe for the Tories, a bad night for Labour and the main beneficiary was Farage's Brexit Party, writes Alex Snowdon

• Why Theresa May is the most disastrous Tory PM ever

  

  Following Theresa May's resignation, Chris Nineham looks at her record as Prime Minister and what the left should do next

• The Brexit delusion: why you should vote Labour

  

  The only sensible option for the left in the EU elections is to vote for Labour, argues Shabbir Lakha

• It's time for the Labour left to step up to the plate

  

  For Labour to beat the right, the left must stop retreating, argues John Rees

• Nia Griffith has to go, say Labour members

  

  Over 1,500 Labour Party members have signed an open letter calling for Nia Griffith’s resignation, reports Shabbir Lakha

• Dump Trump: Protest the State Visit, June 3/4/5 - Counterfire freesheet May 2019

  

  Protest against Trump's state visit, austerity and record levels of inequality, Algeria in revolt, Marxism made easy, Palestine, eco-demands and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• UK inequality: the facts speak for themselves

  

  Getting rid of the Tories will only be step one for our side, argues Sean Ledwith

• The social cost of austerity is detrimental to us all

  

  A new report shows austerity is strangling the UK economy and impoverishing working people, writes John Rees

• Theresa’s Titanic can’t be rescued by Labour - weekly briefing

  

  A general election with a People’s Brexit is our escape route from this Westminster quagmire, argues Lindsey German 

• Local elections: a clear rejection of the Tories and austerity

  

  The local election results have been devastating for the Tories, and the lesson for Labour is that it must be bolder and more radical, argues Shabbir Lakha

• The dawn of Thatcherism, 40 years on

  

  When economic liberalism fused with social conservatism: Tom Whittaker looks at the origins, impacts and legacy of Thatcher's politics, four decades on

• Brexit delayed: now what?

  

  As Brexit drags on into the autumn, both opportunities and problems present themselves, argues Martin Hall

• Seven demands for stopping climate change

  

  Environmental activist and author, Elaine Graham-Leigh, highlights seven key demands the movement against climate change needs to be making

• What's to blame for knife crime?

  

  As more young lives are being tragically lost to knife crime, we must demand an end to austerity and investment in our communities, the very opposite of the Tories response of racism and repression, argues Julie Al-Hinai

• Knife crime and youth violence: poverty, powerlessness and a way ahead

  

  A commission has found that austerity has played a central role in creating the conditions for the spike in knife crime around the country, reports Kiri Tunks

• Neoliberalism and Brexit: why Brexit is about more than just Brexit

  

  Brexit must be viewed through the window of the struggle against neoliberalism, argues Dragan Plavšić

• Bungled Brexit beggars belief - weekly briefing

  

  General Election Now has to be the clarion call for all those resisting war, austerity and inequality, argues Lindsey German

• Third time unlucky for Theresa May

  

  As Theresa May's disastrous reign draws to a close, Shabbir Lakha assesses the political landscape

• Brexit deadlock: the only way out of this mess is a general election

  

  The Brexit deadlock can only be broken with a general election, writes David McAllister

• Keep fighting for Corbyn: Stop the attacks - Counterfire freesheet March 2019

  

  The soft coup against Corbyn and the weaponisation of antisemitism, Tory Brexit crisis, Winston Churchill, Venezuela, climate change, Palestine and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• She’s going down: now is not the time to prop up the Tories – weekly briefing

  

  Our side needs to stand firm in the face of Theresa May’s inversion of strong and stable, argues Lindsey German

• Brexit crisis continued: Theresa May's inept authoritarianism

  

  Theresa May blaming Parliament for her failures reveals her distaste for democracy and inability to keep her ship afloat, argues Morgan Daniels

• Who's to blame for the rise of Islamophobic terrorist attacks?

  

  After the terrorist attack in Christchurch and now the attacks on Birmingham mosques, Shabbir Lakha finds that it's leading politicians and the media fuelling Islamophobia

• Don’t criminalise and scapegoat our homeless rough sleepers with PSPOs: blame Tory austerity

  

  PSPOs are another heartless and poorly conceived reaction to problems caused by austerity, argues Karen Buckley

• Call it by its name: Islamophobia, and it comes from the top – weekly briefing

  

  Capitalism always has a pre-eminent form of racism; it’s our task to identify, locate and defeat it, argues Lindsey German

• Brexit delayed: general election now!

  

  This week’s parliamentary back-and-forth shows the Tories cannot deliver Brexit and a general election is the only sensible outcome, argues Martin Hall

• May's Brexit deal is dead: we need a general election now

  

  Theresa May's second catastrophic defeat in Parliament is a masterclass in Tory failure. The only way out is a general election, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Theresa - the powerful new song from Cabinet of Millionaires

  

  Unlike the Prime Minister, Cabinet of Millionaires' Theresa is reliably good, with a catchy tune and a powerful message, writes Graham Lockwood

• Peak inequality: Britain's ticking time bomb - review

  

  Danny Dorling’s Peak Inequality provides powerful evidence of the damage that rising inequality has had across housing, education, health and demography, finds Sean Ledwith

• Don't deport Explo: stand up to the hostile environment - video

  

  The Home Office are uprooting 29 years of Explo's life because of a few hours. Don't let them deport him on a technicality. Let's not let them get away with it. Share the video and sign the petition now.

• The second referendum delusion

  

  The second referendum announcement on Monday is exactly the kind of concession to the right that Jeremy Corbyn should not make, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Labour backing a second referendum is a mistake

  

  Labour announcing it will support efforts to push for a second referendum is a mistake, here's why:

• Red light for Amber

  

  As the effects of austerity make Hastings look more like a warzone than a seaside town, Amber Rudd looks on idly, reports Chrissy Brand

• Is Sajid Javid's deprivation of Shamima Begum's citizenship legal?

  

  Looking at the law, it's clear that the Home Office decision to strip Shamima Begum of her citizenship is incorrect, argues Attiq Malik

• Chuka's core values: privatisation, austerity and war

  

  What the 7 MPs who quit Labour have in common is their voting records supporting welfare cuts, privatisation and foreign intervention, writes Mona Kamal

• Corbynistas! Up your game, or lose the game

  

  Waiting for the Tories to fail is a losing strategy, argues John Rees

• School climate strike: thousands of students shut down Parliament Square

  

  School students brought Westminster to a standstill as around ten thousand protested against government inaction on climate change, reports Thomas Gibbs

• Gavin Williamson: delusional and dangerous

  

  Gavin Williamson's latest speech with jingoistic rhetoric and calling for more military spending shows just how out of touch with reality he is, argues Lindsey German

• Marxism and the Brexit crisis

  

  The Brexit crisis is best understood through a strong methodological framework, argues John Rees

• Lambeth says 'keep our NHS public!'

  

  Despite the adverse weather conditions, local activists are giving their all to defend our NHS, reports Ellen Graubart

• The Rhyming Guide to the Stansted 15

  

  From error to terror, Potent Whisper rhymes in solidarity with the Stansted 15

• Labour’s immigration fudge – pandering to the right doesn’t work

  

  Labour’s failure to oppose the Tory Immigration Bill shows that appeasing the right is always a mistake, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Tacking right with a smile. May has her moment.

  

  Theresa May temporarily unites her party by appeasing the hard right Tories and DUP. Whether or not it lasts, we need an alternative plan for Brexit, argues Chris Nineham

• Explo Nani-Kofi: fighting back against the hostile environment

  

  A leading anti-war activist and UK resident of 29 years speaks about the machinations of the Home Office and the campaign to reinstate his indefinite leave to remain

• Workers from the MoJ and BEIS go on strike and take to the streets

  

  Despite the cold, picket lines outside the Ministry of Justice and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were vibrant and defiant, reports Shabbir Lakha

• Question Time's attacks on Diane Abbott are part of a pattern

  

  The vile treatment of Diane Abbott on the BBC's Question Time fits a theme of undermining left wing voices and pandering to the right, argues Des Freedman

• It’s austerity, stupid

  

  Eyes on the prize that matters most, an end to both the Tory government and austerity, argues John Rees

• Tories don’t want May’s deal, but they fear Labour: now’s the time to stand firm – weekly briefing

  

  The logjam shan’t be broken without a fight and the front line for our side is the urgent demand for a general election, argues Lindsey German

• There's no refugee crisis in Britain, only a hostile environment and racist scapegoating

  

  The current Tory-manufactured “refugee crisis” is part of the same hostile environment that this government has created for its own citizens, argues Cathy Augustine

• No confidence in May, and no confidence in this failing government: a general election is the only option

  

  This government is sustained by class hatred alone.  But they are weak and we must keep up the pressure for a general election

• No government should survive this kind of rout. May must go.

  

  After the catastrophic loss in Parliament, it's clear the Tories are unable to govern and Theresa May should already have resigned, argues Chris Nineham

• This zombie Tory government has go to go, we need a general election

  

  Power concedes nothing without demand, and it's time we demand a general election to get the Tories out

• They've got to go! General election now - Counterfire freesheet January 2019

  

  Tory Brexit crisis, the fightback against austerity, Eurovision boycott campaign, Trump and Syria, remembering Rosa Luxemburg, Yellow Vests and protests across Europe in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• The travesty that is Theresa May’s government has to end – weekly briefing

  

  As Tory rule hits an unprecedented crisis, the left must keep its eyes on the prize: the boldest and strongest of Corbyn victories, argues Lindsey German

• Yellow Vests against austerity march through London - photos

  

  Thousands of people marched through London wearing yellow vests and demanding a General Election, reports Shabbir Lakha

• Universities in 2019: facing the perfect storm

  

  As the Tories' mismanagement of higher education continues, Des Freedman looks at the battles ahead

• Brexit: the uncivil war - review

  

  Channel 4's feature-length drama on the EU referendum presents voters as dupes but also shows the cluelessness of the establishment, argues Martin Hall

• 12 reasons to protest on Saturday for a General Election Now

  

  The Tories have fashioned a Britain of destitution and booming social injustice. We need to mobilise to force a general election, writes William Hendy

• Our ten most popular articles of 2018

  

  The most popular articles on Counterfire this year

• The Tories want a national government because they want to break Corbyn - weekly briefing

  

  The only way forward for our side is an emboldened working class and a radical set of politics stage centre in the mainstream, argues Lindsey German  

• The establishment seems to have forgotten we live in a parliamentary democracy: let's remind them

  

  We must demand a general election to resolve this crisis, argues Chris Nineham

• Theresa May: more than a lame duck, less than a dead duck

  

  Theresa May clinching the confidence vote solves nothing for her or the country, argues John Rees

• Rage at the Home Office - solidarity with the Stansted 15

  

  The courage of the Stansted 15 in stopping this cruel deportation flight is an inspiration, not a crime, argues Ellen Graubart, reporting on the protest outside the Home Office

• Whether Theresa May wins or loses this no confidence vote, her time is up

  

  There is no clear way out for May, and only one solution for the country - she has got to go

• The Tories are incapable of delivering Brexit: we must push them out and do it ourselves

  

  A number of contradictions are causing the Tories to lose grip; Reuben Bard-Rosenberg looks at why they have no clear way of holding on

• May's deal is dead: this is what must happen next

  

  Only a general election can break the impasse, and to make it happen we need to get out on the streets and pile the pressure on, argues Martin Hall

• There's only one way out of this mess, and that’s a general election – weekly briefing

  

  The Tories shan’t topple on their own, we need to build and maintain the pressure against them, argues Lindsey German

• West Wales' warning to the Tories

  

  In one of the most deprived areas in northern Europe people have had enough, writes Jim Scott

• Austerity Britain is destroying our mental health

  

  As those most affected by austerity Britain blame themselves, we must turn attention to the real culprits, argues Karen Buckley

• Why you should be on the protest that could bring down the government

  

  John Rees on why the coming demonstration on the night of the Brexit vote could be the beginning of the end for the Tory government

• Class questions are the way to defeat austerity, not a rerun of the referendum - weekly briefing

  

  The Brexit blizzard is there to blind us; it's time to take out the Tories and that means a general election, argues Lindsey German

• The People's Assembly launch the Britain is Broken campaign

  

  Austerity has failed but it continues to wreak havoc for millions of people. Shabbir Lakha reports from the launch of a new campaign to end austerity

• 5 things a Corbyn government can't do if we stay in the EU

  

  If a Corbyn-led government is bound by the EU's framework, then it will face big obstacles in delivering its socialist policies, argues Tom Gibbs

• Food banks gone, rough sleeping gone: this is what the end of austerity should look like

  

  Austerity has fundamentally reshaped our society and continues to intensify inequality.  It must be ended and those responsible must be held to account, insists Counterfire

• Jeremy Corbyn joins teachers to demand an end to education cuts

  

  The National Education Union organised a march and rally in Westminster on Tuesday, declaring "enough is enough" and launched an indicative strike ballot

• End Foodbank Britain: General Election Now - Counterfire Freesheet December 2018

  

  Brexit crisis, arms sales to Yemen, the devastation caused by austerity, tackling the far right, Palestine, books of the year and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• All hands on deck to save Theresa May’s ship from sinking – but what we need is a change of government - weekly briefing

  

  The establishment's operation to save May's Brexit deal is in full swing. We have to make sure they can't find a way out of this crisis, argues Lindsey German

• A state of disunion: Europe after Brexit

  

  Liberals lament Britain leaving the European Union, but the politics of the bloc is increasingly right wing and nasty, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• The New Project Fear

  

  The Tories are in crisis and are not fit to govern, argues Katherine Connelly 

• Is austerity over? The picture from the North East shows it isn't

  

  Theresa May recently said that austerity was coming to an end. Tony Dowling from the People's Assembly North East explains why this isn't true

• Stop Tommy Robinson, All out for 17 November - Counterfire Freesheet November 2018

  

  Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Universal Credit: the cruellest cut

  

  The Tory government's welfare reform programme ruins lives and must be scrapped, argues Steph Pike

• EU summit: nothing much happens, but the crisis continues

  

  Little progress was made in the Brexit negotiations, and Tory MPs are losing patience with May, finds Martin Hall

• We must stop Universal Credit now: it's already wrecking lives

  

  The government has pushed the full roll-out of Universal Credit further down the road, but we must stop it altogether, argues John Rees