State

The throne behind the power – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the loss and replacement of a UK monarch
Queen Elizabeth II: Symbol of state power - obituary

Historian Chris Bambery looks back at the life of Queen Elizabeth II and finds she was a potent symbol of the British state who will be hard for the establishment to replace
A chance to derail the Tories – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the RMT’s national strike and reaction from Paul Mason
Paul Mason: blinded by the right - weekly briefing

Counterfire has temporarily suspended access to this article after Paul Mason threatened us with legal action. We are consulting our lawyers.
How does a socialist turn into a nark?

Kevin Ovenden on Paul Mason's alleged plans to collude with the state to attack the anti-war left
Poverty and the law: How the state regulates the poor

John Clarke on the devlopment of the working class and the law and how the latter is a tool of the capitalist state to control the former
Lenin on the state - video

Holly Rigby discusses Lenin's theory on the capitalist state and the need for revolutionary struggle against it
Spies, lies and sabotage: How the state infiltrated the far left

As the Undercover Policing Inquiry unearths more on the nefarious activities of the police and intelligence services, we republish the opening statement of the legal representatives of Lindsey German in relation to her testimony in the Inquiry
Canada’s ‘Trucker’ convoy leaves its mark

John Clarke on the removal of the Freedom Convoy, repressive state powers and how the left should respond
Last orders for Johnson – weekly briefing

Lindsey German gives an overview of the Tory PM’s terminal days
The Last Witches of England. A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition - book review

A study of the last witchcraft executions in England is very revealing about the roots of witch-panics in conflicts fuelled by capitalism and the state, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
The role of the Police

Police organisation has historically been created in order to control exploited and oppressed communities, and this remains the case, argues John Clarke.
Sexual violence, economic violence: why women still need our rights – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on Sarah Everard's murder and its aftermath
There's no reconciliation without justice: The British state's crimes in Northern Ireland

As the verdict from the Ballymurphy Massacre Inquest deems all victims were innocent when murdered by British soldiers, Mike Milotte’s account of the transgressions of the British state during the troubles is a clear argument against Boris’ amnesty
The price we pay for the prince – weekly briefing

Lindsey German considers the role of ruling class figureheads in maintaining the status quo
Police bill: the protestors aren’t for turning – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on today’s new laws, some recent victories and the Shrewsbury 24
Who polices the police? – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on our protests, their state and the tragedy of Sarah Everard
Budget: are the Tories Keynesians now?

Increases in public spending do not automatically equate to a progressive redistribution of wealth, argues Susan Newman
Shamima Begum ruling: the racist product of Britain’s wars

Keeping Shamima Begum stateless and blocking her from re-entering the UK is setting a dangerous precedent, argues Lucy Nichols.
Shrewsbury 24: Pickets shine a light on the dark state

John Westmoreland reports on a court case that has exposed the state’s use of violence and intimidation against workers in the 1970s
Issa Amro update: Palestine’s permanent state of oppression

The Israeli state’s clampdown on Youth Against Settlements is relentless but our side isn’t taking it lying down, reports Natalie Strecker
Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes - book review

Keenie Meenie exposes, with thorough research, the activities of a booming, highly lucrative outsourced industry, and its intimate ties with the British State, finds Susan Ram
Immigration Nation and the brutality of America’s borders

Immigration Nation gives a damning overview of America’s cruel immigration system and the power of the American State, writes Lucy Nichols
Can socialism come through Parliament? - explainer

Morgan Daniels looks at the prospect of achieving socialism through Parliament
The coming culture war - CounterBlast 15 June

No amount of Westminster window-dressing can dampen this global revolt against racism, writes Lucy Nichols
Crisis capitalism: why state intervention is not socialism

Capitalism hasn't been suspended. Change that benefits ordinary people can only come by pressure from below, argues Dominic Alexander
Engels was right, class society and women's oppression aren't inevitable or irreversible

As part of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at Engels' The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State
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
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
Lenin, state and revolution: an introduction

In the week of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, we repost Dragan Plavšić's take on this classic text
Capital’s dilemma: the conundrum of neoliberalism and Covid-19

Gramsci’s morbid symptoms reassert themselves in the age of coronavirus, writes Shashikant Tripathi
A Knight’s leadership heralds a return for the Labour right – CounterBlast 4 April

This grave result is at loggerheads with the dictates of our present reality, observes Alex Snowdon
A People Betrayed - book review

Paul Preston’s A People Betrayed is a searing and thorough account of how the Spanish state developed with corruption endemic to its functioning, finds Chris Bambery
Coronavirus, the market and the state

The state and the market are opposite sides of the same capitalist coin, writes Dragan Plavšić
Coronavirus, the market and who controls society? – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on COVID-19 and its impact
US Elections: The Establishment finds its Man

Against overwhelming Establishment support for Biden, the left must resist the idea that Biden is a more credible opponent of Trump than Sanders, argues Kate O'Neil
Dear Extinction Rebellion, the police are not your friends

The police are an institutionally racist, anti-working class organisation and no amount of love-bombing will change that, argues Shabbir Lakha
Born to rule over us? – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on privilege and democracy, state control, and standing up to the Jewish Board of Deputies
Cyprus: an attack on women everywhere

We must all do our part to fight systematic rape culture, writes Elly Badcock
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 Age of Surveillance Capitalism - book review

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism raises important questions about the authoritarian use of digital technologies, but the solution needs to be radical, argues Reece Goscinski
Government funds for anti-Corbyn group a hint of things to come

The smearing of Jeremy Corbyn by a group taking money from the Home Office is only to be expected, argues Josh Newman
The British State: A Warning - book review

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

In the first of two excerpts from ‘The British State: A Warning’, Chris Nineham examines how neoliberalism has shaped our state institutions
Vote Labour and get ready to fight - Counterfire freesheet November 2019

Corbyn and the British state, CWU and UCU strike ballots, why we say no to Nato and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
The British State: A Warning

As the left prepares for the possibility of taking power, Chris Nineham's timely new book analyses the British state and what the left can expect
How the British State sabotaged the last left Labour government

Electing a Corbyn government is just the start, in order to take on the state the left must remember the lessons from the 70s, writes Chris Nineham
At war with the powers that be

Don’t be naive — the British state will move against a Corbyn government, writes Chris Nineham
Civil liberties in Spain? The clampdown against the Catalan independence movement

The sentences handed out to the Catalan leaders shows the lengths the Spanish state will go to to maintain its control of Catalonia, argues Chris Bambery
A story of class-based, state-sponsored fakery - The Capture review

The Capture tackles the growing fakery of the world we live in but does it have any answers?
What’s been going on in the Supreme Court?

Dragan Plavšić looks at what lies behind the arguments
Power to the People

Democratic rights don’t fall from the sky, they are fought for and won, insists Alex Snowdon
Defending the Indefensible: the British Army in Northern Ireland, 1969

In deploying troops to Derry, Downing Street was propping up the Unionist government to shield itself from blame, argues Chris Bambery
Iran: stop this war before it starts

We shouldn't be fooled, the British state has been deliberately ramping up military aggression with Iran, argues Alistair Cartwright
What is Modern Monetary Theory, and can it work?

Modern Monetary Theory will not offer us the full-blooded attack on capitalist economic organisation that we need, argues Susan Newman
Dirty tricks: the British State and the left

Recent attacks on Corbyn are part of the British state's long history of undemining the left, writes Chris Nineham
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
It’s badly wrong when whistleblowers rot in jail but war criminals walk free - weekly briefing

Liberals muddying the waters around the WikiLeaks fallout is all about letting the warmongers off the hook, argues Lindsey German
Referendum: first time farce, second time tragedy – weekly briefing

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour must reorientate on class politics to create a bulwark against the right and the far right, argues Lindsey German
A slow coup against Corbyn has started. We must stand up against it.

A coordinated campaign against Jeremy Corbyn is underway and the left inside and outside the Labour Party must stand against it, argues Chris Nineham
Deportation flights: Tories have learned nothing from Windrush

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

As protests across Europe are generalising, UK activists must seize the time, writes Dragan Plavšić
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
Brexit as the organic crisis of the British state

Brexit is exposing the crises inherent in contemporary British and European capitalism, argues Sean Ledwith
Kavanaugh, Trump and the degradation of US politics

Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court marks a shift to the right, and Trump's antisemitic rhetoric shows the rot at the core of the US state, argues Sean Ledwith
Taking control is the way to end the misery of 21st century work - weekly briefing

Organising in the workplace must be central to our reshaping of mainstream politics, argues Lindsey German
The deep state vs. Jeremy Corbyn: three decades of spying, smearing, and intimidating

History shows that the deep state will always mobilise all its resources against even a relatively moderate left-reformist like Corbyn
Learnt nothing and forgotten everything: the next crash is coming - weekly briefing

Finance capital is a game for the rich and when it goes wrong it's our side who are expected to pay the price, argues Lindsey German
Zimbabwe after Mugabe: his successor struggles to maintain grip on power

What we are seeing in the first elections after Mugabe is the deep state clutching to power, but can it hold on? Asks Shabbir Lakha
Spy Kids: children being used for covert ops

New revelations of police and intelligence agencies using children as spies is a chilling practice of child exploitation argues Jamie Wright
A win for women in Ireland, a reminder of what's holding back the North

After the victory for Yes today, the reactionary politics holding Northern Ireland back is a construct of British imperialism, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg
Not One Step Back: Catalonia rises in protest as 5 ex-ministers imprisoned

Escalating repression by the Spanish state has sparked huge anger and an appetite for militant action, reports Mathew Barton from Tarragona
What's happening in Catalonia is an assault on democracy

As the wave of repression from the Spanish state continues, Catalonia needs our solidarity now more than ever, argues Chris Bambery
A weak and unpopular establishment is losing control - video

Chris Nineham is interviewed about his book 'How the Establishment Lost Control'
What does Corbyn's Brexit speech really mean?

Jeremy Corbyn has outlined the Labour party's position on Brexit - in particular, regarding the customs union - Martin Hall breaks it down
Unco-operative capitalism - weekly briefing

The showdown between public need and private greed will mean taking on the banks and the City from the get-go, argues Lindsey German
Carillion: two kinds of bailout, two class interests

This can go one of two ways. Let's make sure it goes the way of the workers
Look who isn't coming to dinner - weekly briefing

Trump deflected is an object lesson in the power of protest but it is only a beginning, writes Lindsey German
Today’s fringe is tomorrow’s respectable racism - weekly briefing

POTUS' tweets are a symptom not a cause: our side has to start presenting credible alternatives, argues Lindsey German
Man gets engaged to woman

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement is an inspiration to all of us normal folk
Why socialists should support Catalonia

The national question has returned to mainland Europe and we have to choose a side, argues Dragan Plavšić
Zimbabwe: Change to keep things the same

The coup against Robert Mugabe is about maintaining control
Catalonia: resistance lights the path to victory

Saturday’s stunning demonstration was the largest since the referendum, and mass disobedience and community organising lay behind it
The many crises of the British state

The British state is enveloped in crisis more than at any point for 30 years. One more push could topple this government, argues Chris Bambery
Crisis in Catalonia - live updates

Live updates of the fast-moving situation in Catalonia
The new taboo: terrorism and its causes

As the media blizzard around the Westminster attacks begins to recede, Chris Nineham looks to some home truths
Martin McGuinness and the armed struggle in context

What actually sustained one of the final stages of England’s oldest imperialism, asks Lindsey German
Double or quits: Scottish independence on the march

Once again a challenge to the union can provide space for proper oppositional forces to develop, argues Brian Heron
Get your rosaries off my ovaries: thousands march in Dublin for #Strike4Repeal

A new generation of female activists is refuelling Ireland’s reproductive struggles, observes Kara Bryan
Lenin's State and Revolution

Lenin's State and Revolution offers crucial insights to those campaigning to change the world 100 years later, explains Paul Vernell
Article 50, democracy and the People’s Brexit

Current debates around Brexit are awash with ideology, Shabbir Lakha helps us beat a path toward strategy
Starting as you mean to go on: Trump and the movement

Recent protests contain the seeds of future victories but nothing is automatic, notes Lindsey German
The British state and The City - part 3

The third in a three-part series, in which Chris Bambery takes a look at the intertwined history of the state and the City of London
The British state and The City - part 2

The second in a three-part series, in which Chris Bambery takes a look at the intertwined history of the state and the City of London
The British state and The City - part 1

The first in a three-part series, in which Chris Bambery takes a look at the intertwined history of the state and the City of London
Signs of change in the Balkans? The Bulgarian and Moldovan elections

Is the stifling pro-western consensus that has dominated Balkan and eastern European politics for the last quarter of a century finally on the wane, asks Dragan Plavšić
Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?

This short, sharp and powerful collection of essays is a stirring inspiration in the search for liberation and justice, finds Adam Tomes
Morroco’s Makhzen: repression and resistance

Fallout from the Arab Spring continues to permeate North African struggles, writes Richard Greeman
Burkini ban: the Islamophobia that lies beneath the beach secularism

Is France's left doing enough to challenge the new wave of state Islamophobia, asks John Mullen
Immigration detention and the private sector: state coercion on the cheap

A support group gathers disturbing testimony from people deported by commercial contractors, reports Lotte LS
Brazil coup: will the left respond?

Héctor Rios takes a look at the context of the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff
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
James Connolly: a revolutionary remembered

12 May marks the centenary of the state murder of working class hero James Connolly. Chris Bambery reflects
Don’t just watch: The logic of Corbyn’s rise revealed

Corbyn's rise is only the most recent expression of a long term trend towards a more radical and left-wing politics, argues Chris Nineham
Why is the BBC biased? Podcast

We talked to Des Freedman, Media Professor at Goldsmiths University about the contradictions of the media, and the supposedly neutral BBC
The principles of liberation: how Lenin rescued Marx

Chris Nineham reviews 'Reconstructing Lenin. An intellectual biography' by Tamas Krausz
Classic texts: a summary of Lenin’s State and Revolution

Can the state be taken over because it is a neutral space or does it have to be overthrown? Paul Vernell looks at Lenin's answer
Crisis and Control: The Militarisation of Protest Policing

In a period of social and economic crisis, Crisis and Control by Lesley J Wood, provides an understanding of the state logic that leads to increased police militarisation, finds Adam Tomes
Gramsci’s Leninism

Chris Walsh explores Antonio Gramsci as a Leninist, the originality of his thinking and the relevance of Gramsci today
Marxism and the crisis - a strategy for the left

John Rees looks at the left's analysis of the crisis and outlines a strategy for resisting our rulers attempts to make us pay for it

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State

State

Lindsey German on the loss and replacement of a UK monarch

Historian Chris Bambery looks back at the life of Queen Elizabeth II and finds she was a potent symbol of the British state who will be hard for the establishment to replace

Lindsey German on the RMT’s national strike and reaction from Paul Mason

Counterfire has temporarily suspended access to this article after Paul Mason threatened us with legal action. We are consulting our lawyers.

Kevin Ovenden on Paul Mason's alleged plans to collude with the state to attack the anti-war left

John Clarke on the devlopment of the working class and the law and how the latter is a tool of the capitalist state to control the former

Holly Rigby discusses Lenin's theory on the capitalist state and the need for revolutionary struggle against it

As the Undercover Policing Inquiry unearths more on the nefarious activities of the police and intelligence services, we republish the opening statement of the legal representatives of Lindsey German in relation to her testimony in the Inquiry

John Clarke on the removal of the Freedom Convoy, repressive state powers and how the left should respond

Lindsey German gives an overview of the Tory PM’s terminal days

A study of the last witchcraft executions in England is very revealing about the roots of witch-panics in conflicts fuelled by capitalism and the state, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Police organisation has historically been created in order to control exploited and oppressed communities, and this remains the case, argues John Clarke.

Lindsey German on Sarah Everard's murder and its aftermath

As the verdict from the Ballymurphy Massacre Inquest deems all victims were innocent when murdered by British soldiers, Mike Milotte’s account of the transgressions of the British state during the troubles is a clear argument against Boris’ amnesty

Lindsey German considers the role of ruling class figureheads in maintaining the status quo

Lindsey German on today’s new laws, some recent victories and the Shrewsbury 24

Lindsey German on our protests, their state and the tragedy of Sarah Everard

Increases in public spending do not automatically equate to a progressive redistribution of wealth, argues Susan Newman

Keeping Shamima Begum stateless and blocking her from re-entering the UK is setting a dangerous precedent, argues Lucy Nichols.

John Westmoreland reports on a court case that has exposed the state’s use of violence and intimidation against workers in the 1970s

The Israeli state’s clampdown on Youth Against Settlements is relentless but our side isn’t taking it lying down, reports Natalie Strecker

Keenie Meenie exposes, with thorough research, the activities of a booming, highly lucrative outsourced industry, and its intimate ties with the British State, finds Susan Ram

Immigration Nation gives a damning overview of America’s cruel immigration system and the power of the American State, writes Lucy Nichols

Morgan Daniels looks at the prospect of achieving socialism through Parliament

No amount of Westminster window-dressing can dampen this global revolt against racism, writes Lucy Nichols

Capitalism hasn't been suspended. Change that benefits ordinary people can only come by pressure from below, argues Dominic Alexander

As part of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at Engels' The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State

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

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

In the week of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, we repost Dragan Plavšić's take on this classic text

Gramsci’s morbid symptoms reassert themselves in the age of coronavirus, writes Shashikant Tripathi

This grave result is at loggerheads with the dictates of our present reality, observes Alex Snowdon

Paul Preston’s A People Betrayed is a searing and thorough account of how the Spanish state developed with corruption endemic to its functioning, finds Chris Bambery

The state and the market are opposite sides of the same capitalist coin, writes Dragan Plavšić

Lindsey German on COVID-19 and its impact

Against overwhelming Establishment support for Biden, the left must resist the idea that Biden is a more credible opponent of Trump than Sanders, argues Kate O'Neil

The police are an institutionally racist, anti-working class organisation and no amount of love-bombing will change that, argues Shabbir Lakha

Lindsey German on privilege and democracy, state control, and standing up to the Jewish Board of Deputies

We must all do our part to fight systematic rape culture, writes Elly Badcock

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 Age of Surveillance Capitalism raises important questions about the authoritarian use of digital technologies, but the solution needs to be radical, argues Reece Goscinski

The smearing of Jeremy Corbyn by a group taking money from the Home Office is only to be expected, argues Josh Newman

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

In the first of two excerpts from ‘The British State: A Warning’, Chris Nineham examines how neoliberalism has shaped our state institutions

Corbyn and the British state, CWU and UCU strike ballots, why we say no to Nato and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

As the left prepares for the possibility of taking power, Chris Nineham's timely new book analyses the British state and what the left can expect

Electing a Corbyn government is just the start, in order to take on the state the left must remember the lessons from the 70s, writes Chris Nineham

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

The sentences handed out to the Catalan leaders shows the lengths the Spanish state will go to to maintain its control of Catalonia, argues Chris Bambery

The Capture tackles the growing fakery of the world we live in but does it have any answers?

Dragan Plavšić looks at what lies behind the arguments

Democratic rights don’t fall from the sky, they are fought for and won, insists Alex Snowdon

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

We shouldn't be fooled, the British state has been deliberately ramping up military aggression with Iran, argues Alistair Cartwright

Modern Monetary Theory will not offer us the full-blooded attack on capitalist economic organisation that we need, argues Susan Newman

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

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

Liberals muddying the waters around the WikiLeaks fallout is all about letting the warmongers off the hook, argues Lindsey German

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour must reorientate on class politics to create a bulwark against the right and the far right, argues Lindsey German

A coordinated campaign against Jeremy Corbyn is underway and the left inside and outside the Labour Party must stand against it, argues Chris Nineham

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

As protests across Europe are generalising, UK activists must seize the time, writes Dragan Plavšić

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

Brexit is exposing the crises inherent in contemporary British and European capitalism, argues Sean Ledwith

Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court marks a shift to the right, and Trump's antisemitic rhetoric shows the rot at the core of the US state, argues Sean Ledwith

Organising in the workplace must be central to our reshaping of mainstream politics, argues Lindsey German

History shows that the deep state will always mobilise all its resources against even a relatively moderate left-reformist like Corbyn

Finance capital is a game for the rich and when it goes wrong it's our side who are expected to pay the price, argues Lindsey German

What we are seeing in the first elections after Mugabe is the deep state clutching to power, but can it hold on? Asks Shabbir Lakha

New revelations of police and intelligence agencies using children as spies is a chilling practice of child exploitation argues Jamie Wright

After the victory for Yes today, the reactionary politics holding Northern Ireland back is a construct of British imperialism, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

Escalating repression by the Spanish state has sparked huge anger and an appetite for militant action, reports Mathew Barton from Tarragona

As the wave of repression from the Spanish state continues, Catalonia needs our solidarity now more than ever, argues Chris Bambery