Tories

Tories

• The Tories have chipped away at the NHS for years and now its under threat

  

  The NHS isn't failing, its been under attack through austerity and stealth privatisation for years, says Alia Butt

• ‘Be sensible’ says Boris Johnson as he recklessly ends the lockdown - CounterBlast

  

  While new Covid infections and deaths continue, it is disgraceful that the Tories are patronisingly telling us to be sensible, says Penny Hicks

• Boris is playing a grim game - CounterBlast

  

  The new haphazard approach of leaving local areas to impose their own small lockdowns shows callous disregard for lives, argues Lucy Nichols

• The battle is on: and the left can’t win in Labour - weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on Labour, the left and taking on the Tories

• Starmer’s ruthless at rooting out the left, not antisemitism - CounterBlast

  

  In a week where the Tories are covering for corruption and risking working people’s lives, Keir Starmer is attacking the left instead of the government says Penny Hicks

• Three years on from Grenfell and people still aren't safe

  

  Tragedies like Grenfell are an inevitable consequence of placing profit over lives and this week at Ferrier Point was too close, reports Lucy Nichols

• Starmer plays to the right: where now for the left?

  

  Starmer has signalled war on Labour's left with the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey. It is a deliberate attempt to root out Corbynism from positions of influence

• Are the Tories just making it up as they go? - CounterBlast 19 June

  

  The Tories have lowered their covid temperature gauge after already easing the lockdown, what are they playing at?

• Lives and livelihoods: Britain’s pandemic economy

  

  Michael Roberts takes a look at economic implications of the government's failures

• Don’t let cynical ploys derail BLM - CounterBlast 13 June

  

  The Black Lives Matter movement in the UK is coming under pressure from a number of directions, writes Alex Snowdon

• Boris Johnson, statues and staying in the streets

  

  As Johnson launches lazy attacks on the movement, now is no time to retreat, argues Lindsey German

• The Tories are at each other's throats, why isn't Labour seizing its chance? - CounterBlast 11 June

  

  When the Tories are caught between their donors and the polls, we deserve better than the present docile opposition, argues Chris Nineham

• Government defeat on schools shows organised resistance can win - CounterBlast 9 June

  

  Teachers and parents have successfully pushed the government back, writes Shabbir Lakha

• 'Are there no food banks?' The Poor Laws and Charles Dickens at 150

  

  Dickens’s acute observations of social inequality illuminate the cruelty of our government 150 years after his death, says Katherine Connelly

• On the front line: back to school too soon

  

  Teachers are working hard to support children returning to school in difficult circumstances, writes Alex Snowdon

• Coronavirus: death rate higher if you’re poor and BAME

  

  The report into disproportionate BAME deaths from Covid-19 confirms that structural racism is at the heart of the problem, writes Lucy Nichols

• Heroes today, gone tomorrow: the hypocrisy of the immigration bill

  

  Government claps for key workers ring hollow as they force through the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, writes Alia Butt

• Rasputin: scandal, murder and revolution

  

  Dominic Cummings has been compared to another powerful, dangerous and despised political adviser: Rasputin. John Westmoreland recounts the story of Russia’s ‘mad monk’

• Teachers tell Johnson to follow the science - CounterBlast 31 May

  

  Scientists speaking out against the government put pressure on Boris Johnson to delay school re-opening, writes David McAllister

• Not until it's safe: stay away on 1st June

  

  Many primary schools will re-open for large numbers of children on Monday. This is too soon, argues NEU activist Tony Dowling

• The Coronavirus Trilemma

  

  We must push for the kind of transformative solutions that the government will do everything it can to avoid, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• 5 things the Cummings crisis teaches us which make the country virtually ungovernable - CounterBlast 28 May

  

  The bizarre and obsessive defence of Dominic Cummings shows that the current crop of Tories are incompetent as well as callous, argues Chris Nineham

• The China syndrome: why Trump’s obsession could lead to war – long read

  

  The US policy to counter the growing economic and political strengths of China have taken a dangerous turn, says Chris Nineham

• Herd today, gone tomorrow? – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on Cummings, Covid and the reassertion of working class organisation  

• Cummings' contempt deepens Tory crisis - CounterBlast 25 May

  

  One rule for them, another rule for us

• We won't send our children back until it's safe

  

  This government are not to be trusted over their plans to reopen schools on June 1st, explains Jos Forester-Melville, a parent from the North East

• TfL price hike: risk your life going to work and pay for the privilege

  

  The fares and congestion charge changes will hit the very people being forced to go back to work in the capital the hardest, argues Shadia Edwards-Dashti

• Do as I say, not as I do: Cummings must go

  

  The revelations about Boris Johnson’s chief adviser breaking lockdown rules should be the end of his career, writes Sean Ledwith

• This crisis has exposed the Tory class for what they're really like - CounterBlast 21 May

  

  Is there a day that goes by that you don't just groan at something stupid the Tories have done again?

• Teacher speaks out against government plans for school opening

  

  Sarah Kilpatrick, a secondary school teacher in Gateshead and Assistant Secretary of her NEU branch, looks at why fulfilling NEU's five tests are critical for the safe opening of schools

• Tube drivers: In dubious battle

  

  Tube driver and ASLEF branch chair Unjum Mirza describes the growing conflicts over worker and passenger safety on London Underground

• Contagion revisited: how Hollywood got its pandemic prediction upside down

  

  Chaotic leadership vs calm public: how reality was different from Contagion's plotlines, says Chris Nineham

• Liverpool defies Johnson's dangerous schools plan

  

  Liverpool Council has taken a stand against the government's reckless plan to begin opening schools on 1st June, reports Don Davies

• Why teachers won't go back until it's safe

  

  Teachers have been working in the interests of children all through lockdown: the government hasn't, argues David McAllister

• Laura Smith: why we should listen to our teaching unions

  

  Teaching unions are right to set tests for the government to meet to protect their members, children, and families, says Laura Smith

• The daily deception

  

  It's not the public that wants to end lockdown - it's the government, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

• Austerity reloaded: Tories want us to pay for crisis

  

  The Tories are talking about more austerity and we need to shut it down, argues Kevin Potter 

• Let our ‘heroes’ live - don’t end the lockdown

  

  Thank our key workers by listening to what they are saying, says Alia Butt

• Why does Sadiq Khan say that Transport for London has no money?

  

  Transport for London’s problems go back far further than the virus to Thatcherite spending cuts and austerity, argues Kevin Crane

• Doctor speaks out: this isn't freedom, it's a death sentence

  

  Physical distancing restrictions are not simply a matter of preserving NHS capacity, they are about saving lives, says Red Elmahdi

• It is not safe to reopen schools - Kevin Courtney on Sky News

  

  The National Education Union's joint General Secretary Kevin Courtney spoke to Sky News on why the government's plan to reopen schools is reckless and irresponsible

• Johnson’s gamble will cost thousands more lives – weekly briefing

  

  Alex Snowdon on Tory recklessness and the workers fighting back

• Britain in World War Two: when workers wouldn't go back to normal

  

  The history of working-class struggle during the Second World War that transformed Britain for the better should be remembered on VE day, writes John Westmoreland

• Teachers: why we won't be rushed back to school

  

  As the government moves towards lifting lockdown, Alex Kenny from the National Education Union executive explains why school staff are not returning until it is safe

• Government failures laid bare by highest death toll in Europe - CounterBlast 5 May

  

  News that the UK has the worst death rate in Europe is a grimly unsurprising indictment of Government inadequacy, argues Mona Kamal

• Government and opposition: all in it together? – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on Covid-19, Labour collusion, the dictates of capital and remembering WW2

• After failing to meet 100,000 tests target, Hancock must resign

  

  After a campaign of deceit and blame dodging to cover up brutal incompetence and disregard for lives, Matt Hancock must walk or be pushed, argues Shabbir Lakha

• The government keeps moving their own goalposts - CounterBlast 1 May

  

  As the government fails its own tests and scrambles to ‘get the economy going again’, we must demand that people are put before profit, writes Cameron Panting

• Palestine activists win Supreme Court battle against UK Government

  

  In a historic victory, the government's attempts to outlaw Palestine solidarity has been pushed back after a successful legal battle, reports Sara Sammak

• Who pays? Socialists and state intervention part 2 – long read

  

  In the second part of his article, Chris Nineham examines the recent development of the state and how the Coronavirus will impact on government policy and the left

• Cummings and Sage: 'following the science' was always herd immunity

  

  It should be blatantly obvious that someone who effectively advocates the culling of a vulnerable section of the population should not be allowed anywhere near public health policy, argues Lucy Nichols

• Who pays? Socialists and state intervention part 1 – long read

  

  State intervention is back. In part one of a two-part article, Chris Nineham looks at the myths and politics behind state involvement in the economy

• Lockdown? This government should be locked up – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on Covid-19, class crises and the escalation of global tensions

• A minute's silence that will speak volumes - CounterBlast 26 April

  

  On International Workers' Memorial Day, we will remember the avoidable deaths of thousands caused by government incompetence, writes Chris Nineham

• The Tories are the real criminals - CounterBlast 25 April

  

  The government is doing everything it can to deflect from its own failures and blame anyone else, writes Lucy Nichols

• The Tories' complete disengagement from what is needed - CounterBlast 24 April

  

  The Tories couldn't even keep their own website for testing running for more then a couple of hours, how are they going to deliver 100,000 tests a day by next week?

• (B)ordering Britain: Law, Race and Empire - book review

  

  (B)ordering Britain presents a powerful case that immigration law is rooted in the racism of Empire, and that migrant solidarity must be anti-imperialist, finds Alyssa Cassata

• How long can the government distort facts - CounterBlast 22 April

  

  While the government continues to distort facts, labour movement outside parliament has started to bear fruits inside, says David McAllister

• Tories fail to meet already inadequate standards - CounterBlast 21 April

  

  The Tories have brought back their election spin team to cover up their hideous failings in this crisis, reports Shabbir Lakha

• PPE and testing: not just another Tory scandal

  

  Government failings are putting life-saving NHS staff at risk, and the latest PPE scandal is guaranteed to make matters far worse, argues Alia Butt

• The government's callousness is clear for all to see - CounterBlast 19 April

  

  Boris Johnson's government has blood on its hands, says Tom Griffiths

• Thick as thieves: coronavirus and the media

  

  Timid, bland, uncritical - British news media have failed in holding the government to account over the coronavirus crisis, explains Des Freedman 

• Learning from the Lockdown: 10 ways UK education should change after the pandemic

  

  The neoliberal model of education must be scrapped and replaced with a more humane system, argues Sean Ledwith

• Hang your head in shame, Hancock - CounterBlast 17 April

  

  The NHS is not a charity, the Tories shouldn't be boasting about people crowdfunding for it, says Penny Hicks

• Profit over people still the mantra, as school meal vouchers don't reach families

  

  Rightly lack of PPE and testing is making news, but amongst the other scandals is the school meals voucher programme, explains Helen Rutherford-Gregory

• Sir Keir Starmer’s deadly crusade: supporting big business and undermining unions - CounterBlast 15 April

  

  Keir Starmer's "forensic" opposition amounts to siding with the government against unions and public health it seems, writes Katherine Connelly

• The coronavirus care home crisis: this is what herd immunity looks like - CounterBlast April 14

  

  The government's attitude to the elderly in care homes is unconscionable, argues Shabbir Lakha

• UK's national scandal: time for accountability and change

  

  In this thorough and damning account of the government's catastrophic failures dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, Dr Raisa Ahmed argues we cannot return to 'normal'

• The government must commit to end homelessness for good, not just during COVID-19

  

  COVID-19 has given the government the impetus to house the homeless, but this should not be a temporary solution, argues Norbert Lawrie

• Socialists in a time of plague

  

  John Rees provides an overview of a landscape darkened by the establishments’ failure to deal with the coronavirus pandemic

• NHS workers without PPE dying isn't just a tragedy, it's indirect murder

  

  Doctors and Hearses by Potent Whisper

• Covid-19, lockdown, and civil liberties

  

  As the crisis continues, we need to make sure that our rights are not permanently eroded, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Inadequate PPE is a national scandal - CounterBlast 10 April

  

  As the death toll rises, the government comes under massive pressure to deliver PPE, reports Alex Snowdon 

• When capitalism turns caring for the vulnerable into a burden

  

  The resurgence of DNACPR should be challenged, the idea that one life is more worthy than another could lead to dangerous consequences, argues Elly Badcock

• It's always us and them - CounterBlast 9 April

  

  The tide is turning, with the public and even the press seeing through the Tory failings over Coronavirus, says Chrissy Brand

• In defence of Corbynism

  

  Although a Corbyn-led government would undoubtedly have spared a great deal of tragedy, the gains made in the last five years are undeniable, argues Ben Myers

• NHS staff being denied proper PPE and testing is criminal - video

  

  The government is failing NHS frontline workers and costing lives, says Alia Butt

• Do not resuscitate: how the Tories are targeting the weak and old

  

  Elderly and disabled people being asked to refuse treatment shows the Tories are sticking with herd immunity and it's unacceptable, argues Lucy Nichols

• Austerity has left the NHS unable to deal with this pandemic effectively - video

  

  Mona Kamal speaks to Double Down News about the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic which has come at a time when the NHS is at its weakest

• The Matt Hancock Show: government spin and outright lies - CounterBriefing 3 April

  

  The Tories are lying to us. Penny Hicks responds to the government’s daily briefing

• It’s not business as usual, Secretary - CounterBriefing 1 April

  

  Thanking business at this time is grossly insensitive and irresponsible, argues Katherine Connelly

• The virus makes you ill but it's the government that kills you

  

  The Rhyming Guide to Covid-19

• The deadly Tory game of catch-up - CounterBriefing 31 March

  

  The government are full of praise for citizens and health staff but their actions show them up, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Working people shouldn't be penalised for staying at home

  

  From sick pay you can't live on to bad credit scores, the government is pushing working people further into financial difficulty, writes Laura Smith

• Staff and workers still remain exposed - CounterBriefing 30 March

  

  The attempt to look competent by providing regular updates the government is just trying to hide its inadequacies, says David McAllister

• Crisis management Tory style - CounterBriefing 29 March

  

  Another day and another suit delivering the same excuses as the fear and anxiety mounts for the rest of us, writes Chrissy Brand

• Test, test, test: the politics of coronavirus in microcosm

  

  A crisis is always an opportunity for the right; our side has to start setting the terms of its own agenda, writes Kevin Potter 

• The elephant locked in the room - CounterBriefing 27 March

  

  From the inevitable effects of austerity to the prime minister falling ill, the Tories are going through a rough patch of exposing their own failings, writes Lucy Nichols

• Millions clapped for our NHS in a show of mass solidarity - video roundup

  

  Millions of people around the country mobilised en masse in from their homes in a moving tribute to the NHS and brave healthcare workers

• Dominic Cummings vs the people - podcast

  

  Following his article Coronavirus: the politics of Cummings' cull, Sean Ledwith speaks to Parallax Views

• Supply chains: a neoliberal crisis

  

  Alastair Cartwright explains how the current economic system is prone to failure and what needs to be done to change it

• Clap for the NHS: fight for testing and protection

  

  As testing continues not to be rolled out, NHS workers and those in their care are increasingly at risk, argues Alia Butt. Clap for them this Thursday

• As the coronavirus death toll rises, so does the government’s ineptitude - CounterBriefing 24 March

  

  Despite the confident front, Boris's lockdown address is full of holes and the measures taken are inadequate and behind time, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Boris Johnson's lacklustre lockdown skips key measures - CounterBriefing 23 March

  

  Boris Johnson's lockdown is weeks late, only after public pressure, and ignores the central questions around testing and necessary support for millions, argues David McAllister

• Tory arrogance is threatening our lives - weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on the unfolding crisis and its implications

• Johnson squandered precious time to deal with Covid-19, NHS workers demand urgent action

  

  Austerity has put the NHS in dire straits, and government inaction now is limiting the NHS further in its ability to tackle the outbreak, writes Mona Kamal

• Coronavirus and anti-racism: no scapegoating, no excuses

  

  This UN Anti-Racism Day, we must make sure that Coronavirus doesn't make any space for racism, writes Lucy Nichols

• No more gambles, put people first - CounterBriefing 20 March

  

  Our pressure on the government is working and we must push harder, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Coronavirus: the politics of Cummings’ cull

  

  Not as stupid as was hoped, ordinary working people can resist Cummings and his super-weirdos, writes Sean Ledwith

• Criminal negligence while the virus lets rip - CounterBriefing 19 March

  

  In the second CounterBriefing, Chris Nineham looks at the verbal gymnastics of the government to cover its own back after its policy has been declared utterly impractical

• Put people before profit to fight Coronavirus

  

  The government's response to the Coronavirus puts big business first, but we need real solutions that benefit the public instead, argues Richard Allday

• Protest shut the schools, now demand mass testing - CounterBriefing 18 March

  

  In the first CounterBriefing, Katherine Connelly responds to the government's u-turn on school closures after pressure from below

• The People vs The Government - People's Assembly statement

  

  The People's Assembly Against Austerity's statement on the coronavirus crisis and the demands we're making

• Coronavirus is exposing capitalism - video

  

  Kevin Ovenden speaks to Double Down News on how the nature of capitalism is being shown for what it is in this crisis

• Covid-19: Shut the schools now

  

  As coronavirus spreads, the long-term consequences of not closing schools are likely to be devastating

• Coronavirus, science, and politics

  

  Some notes on Coronavirus, science, and politics by John Rees

• Austerity isn't over, the movement must bring back the resistance

  

  The People's Assembly's national watch party outlined how Tory austerity is continuing and how the anti-austerity movement must respond, reports Isabel Carr

• Lewisham Hospital workers walk out and demand to be paid and protected

  

  The coronavirus crisis exposes the rot at the heart of Tory policy on the NHS as workers on the frontline of combating the pandemic are the worst treated, reports Tom Griffiths

• Sunak just proved you can spend big but still back the rich

  

  The budget big spend offers nothing to working people argues Chris Nineham

• No Limits. The Disabled People's Movement: A Radical History - book review

  

  A history of the disabled people’s movement highlights its historical successes, as well as showing how and why a new fightback is needed, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Class and the Coronavirus

  

  We have to challenge the government’s response to Coronavirus which threatens to hit the poorest hardest and fails to address the structural problems around public health, argues Katherine Connelly 

• Trouble at the top – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on Cummings and goings, public health and the war on Afghanistan

• Time to take a stand: the crucial case of Julian Assange

  

  The British State's sinister maneouvres around the extradition of Julian Assange are a flagrant injustice and are being rightly challenged, reports Alistair Cartwright 

• A flood of anger

  

  Outrage at government inaction is growing in the country's flood-hit areas, reports John Westmoreland

• Patel's new immigration system: racist and anti-working class

  

  The government's attacks on immigration and the public sector are an attack on us all, writes Alia Butt

• The socialist argument against the Tory anti-immigrant offensive

  

  The labour movement cannot give any credence to the Tories' arguments and must ferociously oppose this anti-immigration clampdown says Kevin Ovenden

• The pipsqueaks and yellow bellies of 10 Downing Street

  

  Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle points to the continued rifts within the Tory party and the problems the government faces, writes Pete Morgan

• Windrush all over again: Johnson's racist society takes shape

  

  Boris Johnson's hard-right government have shown their authoritarian hand in defying the courts to deport dozens of British-Jamaicans with spurious justifications, reports Mona Kamal

• The Tories and the directions of travel

  

  Martin Hall assesses which way Boris Johnson's government is heading and the contradictions he faces

• Retreat is a luxury the left cannot afford

  

  The left must turn to rebuilding dynamic extra-parliamentary resistance to the Tories 

• Enough is enough: Liverpool Mayor stands up to Tory cuts

  

  After the Tories announced a new round of cuts, Liverpool's Mayor Anderson spoke out and refused to implement them, reports Madeline Heneghan

• Leaving the EU: this is about what sort of society we want – and it isn’t Johnson’s

  

  As Britain leaves the EU at 11pm tonight, the future is up for grabs, and the fight continues, argues Martin Hall

• The government's attacks on Gypsies, Roma and Travellers are an attack on us all

  

  The government consultation aiming to criminalise the lives of some of Britain's most vulnerable and persecuted groups is disgraceful and must be resisted by us all, writes Norbert Lawrie

• 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