Parliament

Parliament

• Rebels for life: next steps for the climate justice movement

  

  Recent climate activism has shifted the debate but unless the system of profit-seeking is addressed then the ecological danger will remain, argues Bill Perry

• Climate emergency and the power of protest

  

  The school strikes and Extinction Rebellion protests changed the political agenda, leading to Parliament declaring a climate emergency, reports Ellen Graubart

• Marxists, so-called Marxists, and parliamentary socialists

  

  John Rees tries to distil some sense from recent tabloid exchanges, and looks at the real relationship between Marxism, parliament and Jeremy Corbyn

• The Brexit crisis and the disintegration of Britain's political system

  

  Brexit is a crisis that cuts deep into the ruling class and Theresa May's failures have brought to the fore the cracks in Britain's political system, argues Sean Ledwith

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Good riddance… but the left must face up to this new danger

  

  Good that the splitters have gone, but this is a dangerous moment for the left, argues John Rees

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Theresa May fiddles while the country burns

  

  John Rees counts the days left for the Prime Minister

• 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

• Europe: time to look reality in the face - weekly briefing

  

  A People’s Brexit that unites the left is the only way to confront an increasingly bold neoliberal mafia, argues Lindsey German

• This rudderless government deserves a hostile environment – weekly briefing

  

  It’s up to us to make sure the nasty party pays for its crimes, argues Lindsey German

• Nationwide opposition to Syria airstrikes

  

  Thousands of people have taken to the streets in over 40 towns and cities across the country to voice their opposition to Theresa May's bombing of Syria

• When the ruling class can't rule in the old way - weekly briefing

  

  The establishment is losing control, but there is a way out for them, if the left lets its guard down, warns John Rees

• Context is King - exhibition review

  

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

• Despatches from the Tory civil war – weekly briefing

  

  It’s a mistake to allow ruling class divisions on the EU to be refracted onto our side, argues Lindsey German  

• The antidote to a very weak but very nasty government - weekly briefing

  

  Now is not the time for wait-and-see, even a small victory could break the back of this wretched regime, writes Lindsey German

• Draining People's Rights

  

  The Fens are a special case, and the Middle Level Commission must listen to the people, argues Jacqueline Mulhallen

• Sex, power, and money: parliament and politics - weekly briefing

  

  How far will this challenge to male privilege be allowed to go, asks Lindsey German 

• ​Crisis in France: the view from the left

  

  As her organisation mobilised a huge anti-government demonstration, deputy Danièle Obono spoke to Chris Nineham about Macron's meltdown, the far right's problems, and the movement

• Into battle: Manchester prepares for the upcoming Tory Party Conference

  

  Mancunian activists are already laying the groundwork for October’s crucial demonstration, reports Martin Hall
   

• This was the result they said we could never see - Post-Election briefing

  

  Blairism is dead and the left are back, now the real work begins, argues Lindsey German

• The Result: a very good night for Labour - and for the left - Election briefing #34

  

  A victory for Jeremy Corbyn that’s also a real advance for the working class, writes Lindsey German 

• The election which only one party deserves to win - Election briefing #33

  

  The tumult of the last few weeks is an indicator of far deeper and persistent divisions, argues Lindsey German 

• Theresa May doesn't seem to have any answers, and her scapegoating of Corbyn isn't working - election briefing #31

  

  The tories are flapping: they have underestimated Corbyn and the class he represents, observes Lindsey German

• This wasn't supposed to happen - Election briefing #29

  

  The mainstream media's "facts" about this election are rapidly revealing themselves to be self-serving prejudices, notes Lindsey German

• Apoplexy at Daily Mail about biased audience: bias is their job, after all – Election briefing #28

  

  The disarray of the so-called “natural party of government” is clear for all to see, writes Lindsey German

• It's the Empress who has no clothes, not Jeremy Corbyn - Election briefing #27

  

  The Tories’ threadbare campaign has their jitters rising swiftly to the surface, observes Lindsey German

• On balance, the Tories don't deserve to win – Election briefing #26

  

  As the Tories flounder towards Plan B, Corbyn strides into the mainstream, notes Lindsey German

• The war party has a lot to answer for - Election briefing #25

  

  We should demand honest accounting when it comes to links between domestic terrorism and overseas military intervention, writes Lindsey German

• Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr Jones? – Election briefing #21

  

  Jeremy Corbyn is defying the media and chiming with the working class, writes Lindsey German  

• Property owning democracy, anyone? – Election briefing #20

  

  Theresa May’s Poundland Thatcher isn’t convincing anyone, argues Lindsey German

• Tory manifesto isn't greater fairness between generations, it's an attack on every generation – Election briefing #19

  

  This cruel and regressive Tory manifesto gives another spur to the left, argues Lindsey German

• What exactly is wrong with taxing the rich and the corporations? - Election briefing #17

  

  Let’s start challenging inequality in the here-and-now, argues Lindsey German

• This is a manifesto worth fighting for - Election briefing #15

  

  There is every opportunity for the class to move forward with this clarion call, writes Lindsey German

• French election tells of a divided France

  

  Macron beat Le Pen to the presidency, but there is a parliamentary election still to come

• Theresa May knows all about the Nasty Party: she's leading it – Election briefing #13

  

  War, fraud and feather-nesting: business as usual for the Tories, notes Lindsey German

• Is Theresa May a secret Marxist? - Election briefing #12

  

  What’s behind Tory claims that privatisation cannot deliver fair energy prices, asks Lindsey German  

• Four weeks to turn this around - Election briefing #11

  

  Fighting to win and shifting the terrain on to our issues are the left’s urgent tasks, writes Lindsey German

• The good news, the bad news, and five weeks is a long time in politics - Election briefing #09

  

  Ukip’s demise is nurturing the Tories for now but this should not diminish Labour’s fight, argues Lindsey German  

• Even the Lords knows May's foreign policy is a shambles

  

  As the Lords international relations select committee attacks May's foreign policy, there is clearly far reaching opposition to her approach, writes Chris Nineham 

• Does Empress Theresa realise this is an election, not a coronation? - Election briefing #08

  

  Tory imperial pretension cannot conceal their damage and weakness, notes Lindsey German

• Bad press day? Headlines when it’s a black leftwing woman - Election briefing #07

  

  Is the interview with Diane Abbott really such big news, asks Lindsey German

• The Blair Rich Project - Election briefing #06

  

  What can possibly be motivating Tony Blair in this election campaign, asks Lindsey German

• Tories in a double bind over triple locks and taxes – Election briefing #05

  

  What are the Tories going to do about taxes, asks Lindsey German

• Right, left and centre: how the battle will shape up – Election briefing #04

  

  As parliament rises until after the election, it's worth looking at where we are, writes Lindsey German

• Is there a Tory revival in Scotland?

  

  An analysis of what is going on across the border, from Chris Bambery

• When the lying has to stop - Election briefing #03

  

  Labour's promises on the NHS will be popular, writes Lindsey German

• The vilification of a peacemonger - Election briefing #02

  

  The desire to skewer Jeremy Corbyn over questions of war and peace seemingly knows no bounds, notes Lindsey German

• Corbyn attacked for not wanting to start a nuclear war - Election briefing #01

  

  The deranged reaction to Jeremy Corbyn's pledge of no nuclear genocide is discussed by Lindsey German in the first of our daily election briefings

• Bring it on

  

  We need to make Theresa May's election gamble her last, argues John Rees

• Something rotten in the State of Stormont

  

  As voters go to the polls in Northern Ireland, Sean Ledwith looks at the current state of affairs

• The Nandy gang: fake pretenders unite around racism

  

  Beneath the ambition lurks the murky waters of reaction, notes Kevin Ovenden

• What PMQs told us about Brexit and the NHS

  

  In this week's Prime Minister's Questions, Corbyn and May battled on Brexit and the NHS. Cameron Panting takes a look at the reality behind the rhetoric

• Goodbye Tristram Hunt, you won't be missed

  

  As the Labour MP announces his resignation, Cameron Panting takes a look at the man and what he stood for

• Christmas 1641: 'the maddest Christmas that I ever saw'

  

  John Rees depicts one of the great popular mobilisations of the English Revolution, described by one eye-witness as ‘the maddest Christmas that ever I saw’

• Next stop… the People’s Brexit

  

  The missteps of the ruling class can create space for our side, notes Lindsey German 

• Antisemitism in the UK: the facts and the weaponised fiction

  

  The endless conflation of a world religion with a modern political movement continues unabated, notes Cameron Panting

• The argument for a new foreign policy

  

  We republish a chapter by Lindsey German from a new Verso report Corbyn and the Future of Labour

• Internationalism can’t be sacrificed to keep the Labour right happy

  

  Retreating over foreign policy will allow the right to regroup, argues John Rees

• Chilcot, parliament and Tony Blair’s lies

  

  The state is still using pro-war rhetoric to cloud the truth behind the War on Terror, argues Lindsey German 

• Brazil: the movement strikes back

  

  The lower house of Brazil's parliament has moved to annul Rousseff's impeachment, but only the movements can stop the coup. Orlando Hill introduces and translates an official statement from CUT

• Election results: Corbyn defies his critics

  

  Jeremy Corbyn has defied his many critics - whether Labour's right wing, the Tories or the media. Alex Snowdon analyses the election results

• Parliament and people power: the left and the movements after the demonstration

  

  As the Tories' trauma continues, Chris Nineham sketches out a strategy for radical change

• Students block Westminster Bridge

  

  Hundreds of students took to the streets on Tuesday, blocking traffic and causing severe disruption over Westminster Bridge

• Podemos comeback has broken the Spanish deadlock

  

  The result of the Spanish election is a major breakthrough for the left in Spain and beyond

• MPs complaints of bullying show contempt for democracy

  

  Many of those complaining fear greater accountability and the wave of anti-war feeling evident from Corbyn's election as Labour leader

• Why would you back this war? Its promoters voted for Iraq and Libya

  

  Advocates for the bombing of Syria led us into disaster in Iraq and Libya. Their judgement should not be trusted, argues Chris Nineham

• Tony Blair's ghost riders in action

  

  The crisis in Labour illustrates a modern fact of life: the old political structures are unable to contain the new political forces at work, writes Brian Heron

• Percy Bysshe Shelley: The Necessity of Atheism

  

  The second extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley: Poet and Revolutionary, sees the ferocious reaction produced by Shelley's pioneering advocacy of atheism

• Percy Bysshe Shelley: A Philosophical Review of Reform

  

  In this first extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley: Poet and Revolutionary, Jacqueline Mulhallen discusses Shelley’s radical politics in the wake of the Peterloo massacre

• Magna Carta: a tradition of rebellion

  

  Foundation of British democracy or historical relic? Dominic Alexander looks at how the meaning of Magna Carta has always been shaped by class struggle and rebellion

• How Labour lost

  

  With both main parties retrenching their commitment to austerity, the crisis of representation will be met, for now, outside of Parliament argues James Meadway

• Politics just got interesting - come and discuss what needs to be done

  

  Counterfire is organising a series of meetings around the country to discuss the election, the implications of the new situation and to prepare for action after May

• Eyes on the prize: the election and beyond

  

  The consensus at the centre of British politics is being prised open - and with this comes an opportunity to build a mass, radical left across this island

• Parliamentary change

  

  There is a deep political crisis going on in Britain. New politics, institutions and forms of organisation are required to defeat austerity and secure its alternative writes Brian Heron

• 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