Democracy

Democracy

• Meghan and Harry: the royal descent of an archaic institution

  

  The monarchy serves only to normalise inequality, so let Harry and Meghan go forth and shake it up, writes Sofie Mason

• 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

• Ten points to remember before polling day – election briefing 9 December

  

  We’re in the last days of the election, so here are a few things to bear in mind, writes Lindsey German

• The manifesto that will change the terms of debate - election briefing 22 November

  

  Lindsey German on Labour’s manifesto and private landlords in modern Britain

• Fight for the soul of Hong Kong

  

  As the battleground shifts to universities, pro-democracy demonstrators continue to be met with violence in Hong Kong, reports Alex Doe

• 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

• The Great Firewall of China - book review

  

  Hopes for the internet as a tool of liberation fall foul of the dominance of corporate interests, in the West as well as China, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• From protest to revolt in days: a new phase of global resistance

  

  Insurgent protest is spreading across the globe like wildfire as people take to the streets demanding fundamental change, writes Chris Nineham

• Huge numbers join Catalonia's general strike for freedom

  

  Hundreds of thousands marched in Barcelona and around the territory today in defence of democracy and their right to independence, reports Chris Bambery

• Londoners defy the XR ban to defend the right to protest

  

  In defiance of the police ban on Extinction Rebellion protests in London, thousands protested in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, reports Chris Nineham

• 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

• The Hong Kong protests: where next?

  

  Looking to the West for help is counterproductive for the protests, argues Dragan Plavšić

• Kashmir crisis: how the left should respond

  

  It is time for the international left to throw its weight behind the Kashmiri struggle for democracy, argues Sweta Tapan Choudhury

• 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

• Hong Kong: crucible of resistance

  

  As protesters continue to take to the streets en masse in Hong Kong, Sean Ledwith argues that the global labour movement must stand in solidarity

• 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

• Power to the People

  

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

• 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

• Sails and Winds: A Cultural History of Valencia - book review

  

  Michael Eaude’s history of Valencia reveals much about the Spanish state’s hard line against aspirations for independence or simply greater autonomy, argues Chris Bambery

• 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

• General election: unite and fight

  

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

• Their democracy and ours – weekly briefing

  

  Current attacks on democracy have to meet maximum resistance but this is not an end within itself, 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

• Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre - book review

  

  This graphic history of Peterloo is a poignant piece of people’s history told through stunning artwork and the voices of those who were there, finds Adam Tomes

• Westminster is broken, it's time for Scotland to quit

  

  The latest attack on democracy by Boris Johnson highlights that the UK is not a union of equals, it's time for Scottish independence, argues Chris Bambery

• 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

• Vote with your feet – weekly briefing

  

  Recent events have demonstrated the inextricable link between democratic demands and the fight for socialism, argues Lindsey German    

• Evasive 'democracy': Israel bans Omar and Tlaib

  

  Israel's refusal of two US congresswomen is unacceptable but highlights the strength of BDS, writes Thomas Gibbs

• 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

• 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

• What did Engels say about revolution?

  

  Engels was a revolutionary democrat and a revolutionary realist, argues Dragan Plavšić

• 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"

• 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

• The problem with citizens’ assemblies

  

  As a citizens' assembly to deal with climate change is announced, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the idea’s limitations

• 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

• Sudan Solidarity - interview with Sidgi Kaballo

  

  Sidgi Kaballo speaks to Counterfire about the situation in Sudan and the importance of international solidarity with the Sudanese people

• 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

• Trump attacks Sadiq Khan - his kingmaking must stop

  

  President Trump's incendiary interventions in British politics are completely unacceptable and must be called out, argues David McAllister

• The 2019 Indian General Elections: what’s at stake?

  

  With results due to be announced on Thursday May 23, Susan Ram explores the mammoth voting operation in terms of issues, significance and possible outcomes

• William Godwin: A political life - book review

  

  A new biography lauds William Godwin, but some contemporary radicals of the 1790s offer better inspiration for the modern left, argues Dominic Alexander

• Algeria in revolt: the fight for democracy - interview

  

  Following the resignation of President Bouteflika, Josh Newman interviews Lotfi Djouadi on the situation on the ground in Algeria

• Arab Spring redux: the uprisings in Algeria and Sudan

  

  Giant popular uprisings in Algeria, Sudan and beyond are a fresh eruption of the processes that set the Arab world alight in 2011, reports Susan Ram

• Algerian uprising ousts President Bouteflika – and it isn’t stopping there

  

  Algeria's revolutionary revival gives hope of reconnecting with the Arab Spring legacy, writes Eleftheria Kousta

• 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

• Venezuela in the shadow of Trump

  

  Venezuela must be defended from Trump's push for regime change and attempt to export his toxic brand of right wing politics, argues Sean Ledwith

• Venezuela: a coup made in Washington: not for the first time – weekly briefing

  

  US imperial adventurism is back with a vengeance and has to be called out clearly for what it is, argues Lindsey German  

• 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

• 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

• 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

• France: unsubmissive and on the streets

  

  Feyzi Ismail reports from Paris, where the Gilets Jaunes have been demonstrating for the fourth weekend consecutively, and with more protests planned

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

  

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

• May's Brexit deal is a dead duck: the only option now is a general election

  

  May and her party are completely incapable of delivering a viable deal, writes Chris Nineham

• Why we say no to a second referendum

  

  Re-running the EU referendum would be massively undemocratic and could spell the end of Corbynism, argues Susan Ram

• Corbyn and the mainstream media: a case-study in fake news

  

  Since Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, the media attacks have been relentless. T. J Coles, author of new book Real Fake News, examines

• Labour's conference and what it tells us about how the left can win

  

  The left surge at Labour conference was impressive - now, if we want to win, we need to mobilise the whole movement

• The left is growing: why the setbacks at Labour conference?

  

  The left has seen a number of defeats at Labour Conference, but on the ground, there is burgeoning resistance, writes Chris Nineham

• Is the Labour Party a machine or a movement?

  

  Corbynism and the prospect of a Labour government are at risk if the NEC undermines the membership and democracy 

• Turkey police attack Saturday Mothers vigil

  

  A statement from Solidarity with the People of Turkey on the recent attack against the Saturday Mothers

• 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

• Israel enshrines apartheid into law

  

  While the Labour right try to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, Israel just enshrined apartheid into law argues Mark Porciani

• Why Trump won't forget his visit

  

  Chris Nineham argues why it is important that the movements go on to the offensive against Donald Trump in the next few days

• All roads lead to the Trump protest on 13 July – weekly briefing

  

  Trump is scared of the UK protest movement; let’s make sure that his fear is confirmed, writes 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

• The Italian coup and the growing crisis in the EU

  

  The unelected Italian President has carried out a soft coup which is highly undemocratic and which has thrown the country and the EU into mounting chaos, argues Chris Bambery

• The bigotry of Arlene Foster won’t stop women on the march - weekly briefing

  

  The democratic shockwaves of women’s liberation can still create real problems for our rulers, writes Lindsey German   

• Be part of a socialist organisation committed to fundamental change

  

  We have a once in a generation chance for change, and must take it

• Rethinking Democracy: Socialist Register 2018 - review

  

  Socialism and democracy belong together, and recent popular movements of the left make possible a fight for authentic democracy, argues Sean Ledwith

• Catalonia kicks off - in images - street revolt meets police attacks

  

  Major revolt is underway after the Spanish state imprisoned a further 5 ex-ministers (total = 9) and issued European Arrest Warrants on 6 others in exile, inc. the ex-President

• Catalan Spring? Resistance fills the streets as ex-President arrested in Germany

  

  Marching on the motorways and confronting police violence, the mass movement has returned with a new defiance, reports Jack Hazeldine

• 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

• The War? The Suffragettes? How did women win the right to vote?

  

  On the centenary of women winning the right to vote, Katherine Connelly explores how they fought for their rights and resisted war

• Statue commemorating working class Suffragette Alice Hawkins unveiled

  

  Marking a hundred years of some women winning the right to vote, a statue of Suffragette Alice Hawkins was erected in Leicester. Jacqueline Mulhallen reports

• 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

• No one likes neoliberalism: the year that the mask slipped – weekly briefing

  

  The rollercoaster of polarisation was in full flow this year and shows no sign of relenting, writes Lindsey German

• Why socialists should support Catalonia

  

  The national question has returned to mainland Europe and we have to choose a side, argues Dragan Plavšić   

• A very British coup: May's power grab

  

  Theresa May lost her majority in June, but she's trying to use the Repeal bill to undemocratically cling on to power argues Josh Holmes

• In France, the election boycott intensifies: Macron’s ‘landslide victory’ reveals its feet of clay

  

  The majority of the French electorate did not vote in the second round of France's legislative elections. Susan Ram analyses the implications

• The election of the French parliament: a huge shake-up, but polarisation continues

  

  The victory of "the centre" is only temporary, argues John Mullen

• The election which showed that class is back - Final Election briefing (for now)

  

  All change - and things are shifting in our direction at last, writes Lindsey German

• The election result: What happened in Scotland?

  

  A look at the difference in this election on either side of the border, from Chris Bambery

• 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

• Vote Labour, but don't stop there

  

  Political consciousness in Britain has shifted, argues Jamie Wright

• 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 

• Win or lose, change has already come

  

  John Rees on how to assess the election result

• Would you trust this woman with your security? Seriously? - Election briefing #32

  

  The chickens are truly coming home to roost for Theresa May as she approaches the final hurdle, writes 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

• The days of timidity are over

  

  It's time to stand up for our democratic rights, and that shouldn't be restricted to the vote we have in the general election

• 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

• 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  

• Student to student: why this time you must vote

  

  People are cynical about politics, and with good reason, but this election is different, writes student Jamie Wright

• 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

• A change is gonna come: these policies are a real alternative - Election briefing #18

  

  Labour have produced a class-based programme that we can all get behind, writes 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

• If you believe the Tories on this, you'll believe anything - Election briefing #16

  

  Theresa May's pitch to working class voters is laughable, 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

• What’s worse than an election expenses scandal? Letting them get away with it…

  

  There’s a whole system of power that needs to change here, writes Jonathan Maunders

• A manifesto that is anything but chaotic - Election briefing #14

  

  Popular policies take centre stage and Labour forward with one serious misstep, writes Lindsey German

• 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

• 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

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

  

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

• Turkish Referendum: Erdoğan’s narrow win

  

  The victory for the Yes campaign is far less than Erdoğan was hoping for and shows a country divided argues Shabbir Lakha

• Will Hutton and Gerald Coyne: PR for the bosses’ man

  

  The liberal media is overplaying its hand in coverage of the Unite General Secretary election, writes the Angry Trucker

• Neoliberalism and local democracy: why the mayoral elections will solve nothing for the left

  

  The hue, cry and bunting of devolved power holds no rewards for our side, argues John Westmoreland 

• Why we need organisation: politics and structure

  

  Are Lenin’s Bolsheviks still the template for radical socialists in the 21st century, asks Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Italy Referendum: No to Renzi

  

  Matteo Renzi has resigned following a No vote in the Italy's Referendum, Chris Bambery analyses the vote and the opportunities for the left.

• Leveller! A political insult for all ages

  

  John Rees, author of the new book The Leveller Revolution, looks at the contemporary relevance of the Levellers

• 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

• What is really going on at Trump Tower and why it isn't fascism

  

  Inappropriate use of the F-word misleads and disorientates at a time when clarity is key, warns Chris Nineham

• This is where the work begins: on the streets against Trump

  

  Indignation and anguish against Trump from thousands of young school students, as they walk out of classes and militancy mounts

• Counterfire Conference December 2016 Resolutions

  

  Resolutions passed for Counterfire Conference December 2016

• As dangerous abroad as at home: Trump and foreign policy

  

  We shouldn't believe that Trump's claims to isolationism will lead to a safer world, argues Lindsey German

• The Trump victory: how it happened and how to respond - part 2

  

  Counterfire publishes more reactions to Trump's election, as world politics is thrown into crisis once again

• The Trump disaster: the chickens come home to roost

  

  How did America elect its most reactionary President ever, asks John Rees

• The Trump victory: how it happened and how to respond - part 1

  

  Counterfire publishes more reactions to the US elections, as world politics is thrown into crisis once again

• How did we get to this? Clinton and the damage done

  

  Clinton’s utter failure to inspire the growing movement in American society for real change has given Trump an opening

• Counterfire Conference December 2016

  

  Join this crucial discussion about the left and the movements in the year ahead

• US elections: death of a salesman or reincarnation of the salesman as politician?

  

  Whoever wins the presidency, American society will be the loser if it cannot build a political movement based on a different ideology, explains Jude Fernando

• Questions three months on from the murder of Jo Cox MP

  

  Kevin Ovenden considers the aftermath of the brutal assassination that rocked domestic politics and identifies currents the mainstream is anxious to ignore 

• Make austerity history: keeping our eyes on the prize

  

  In the run-up to to next month’s crucial standoff against the Tories in Birmingham, Mick Wattam assesses the balance of forces 

• Corbyn, democracy and the movement

  

  Opposing imperialism through the movement on the streets is imperative, argues Lindsey German

• Make America hate again? Trump, the Republicans and US decline

  

  Sean Ledwith considers Donald Trump's ascendancy within the context of the history of the Republican Party and American power

• The Secret Left-wing Diary of Owen Smith, aged 46 and a half

  

  Counterfire has gained exclusive access to the diary of Labour leadership hopeful Owen Smith

• Jeremy Corbyn's new politics is a threat to the establishment

  

  This moment offers an opportunity for radical change, but the path to victory lies in political confrontation, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Failed coup, new clampdown

  

  President Erdoğan is using the defeat of the coup in Turkey to repress opposition, as this analysis from the Turkish and Kurdish Centre Day-Mer explains

• 7 reasons anti-imperialists should vote for Lexit

  

  Anti-imperialists must vote leave, argues Sean Ledwith

• Should we stay or should we go?

  

  Alex Gordon, convenor of Lexit – The Left Leave Campaign and former president of the RMT trade union, talks to Counterfire about the upcoming EU referendum

• 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

• One simple argument about the existence of the state of Israel

  

   

  John Rees explains why a secular, democratic state across historic Palestine has nothing in common with anti-semitism

• The Tories and academies: a coup against democracy

  

  As the Tories plan to turn every school into an academy, Alastair Stephens takes a look at the motives behind the drive

• Brazil: Rousseff, the left and the coup

  

  As the right attempts a coup, the workers and their allies are determined to fight back, reports Orlando Hill

• Undemocratic and irreformable: why we must vote to leave the EU

  

  As the Tories descend into civil war, we argue that a vote to leave the EU would be a blow against the neoliberal order 

• Carta a favor da saída da Grã Bretanha da União Europeia

  

  This is a Portuguese translation of the letter by trade unionists and socialists in favour of an exit from the EU

• For a Europe of peoples

  

  The EU is fundamentally undemocratic and cannot be reformed, argues Chris Bambery

• Debt or Democracy: Public Money For Sustainability and Social Justice

  

  Mainstream economics mystifies the nature of money. Mellor’s Debt or Democracy explodes the myths, and provides the social alternative, argues Phil Armstrong

• 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

• Conference 2016 Resolutions

  

  Resolutions passed for Counterfire National Conference 2016

• 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

• Trouble in the Tarai: a new political crisis for Nepal

  

  Following the catastrophic earthquake that hit Nepal in April, the country is experiencing a new crisis, which this time is entirely political in nature, writes Fraser Sugden

• The Dignity of Chartism

  

  Dorothy Thompson’s writing on Chartism showed early working-class politics as it really was, a real challenge to the ruling class of the time, argues John Westmoreland

• Japanese protest movements signal new political energy

  

  William Andrews outlines the character of the new protest movements in Japan, as the government attempts to adopt new security legislation

• Hoist by their own petard: the Tories' Lords imbroglio

  

  The Tories' tax credits debacle in the upper chamber is just the latest episode in the continuing crisis of democratic legitimacy, writes Alastair Stephens

• A coup in the EU: Portugal's left win election but are banned from power

  

  Portugal’s president, has blocked a Left-wing coalition government even though it secured an absolute majority in the Portuguese parliament on an anti austerity mandate reports Nick Wright

• Suffragette: on the side of the rebels

  

  Suffragette is a compelling and moving portrayal of the courage of ordinary women who dared to challenge the power of the British state

• Marshland: Life, death, redemption

  

  A recently released Spanish thriller casts light on the country’s compromised transition to democracy. Marshland by Alberto Rodríguez is reviewed by Jim Aindow

• 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

• Jeremy Corbyn can't win - say Labour's losers

  

  Jeremy Corbyn, the candidate who 'can't win an election', is currently winning the Labour leadership election observes Charles B Anthony

• Confronting TTIP means confronting the undemocratic EU

  

  If we want to fight TTIP we need to confront the undemocratic and unaccountable European Union argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• EU referendum: why the Left needs to campaign for a No vote

  

  We need a broad, progressive campaign against EU membership, based on internationalism and solidarity and in opposition to the British establishment. We cannot leave the anti-EU argument to the racist right

• John Berger: the nature of mass demonstrations

  Demonstrations express political ambitions before the political means necessary to realise them have been created argues John Berger in this article by from May 1968

• Ten reasons why the story of Magna Carta is about rebellion

  

  Unfortunately for David Cameron, the real lesson of the Magna Carta story is that only a determined mass movement can win political and social equality

• The smear campaign against Rabina Khan

  

  Charlotte Gerada writes on the smear campaign against Rabina Khan that the media won't discuss

• 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

• The force may be with you

  

  Theresa May’s proposed new anti-terror laws further demonise Muslims and threaten the rights of everyone who opposes the government argues Elly Badcock

• Scotland's 'Democratic Revolution'

  

  David Jamieson looks at how mass disaffection with austerity led to the SNP's landslide and the prospect of a radical left electoral challenge

• 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

• Ten demonstrations that changed the world

  

  As the 20 June demo approaches, it’s worth remembering that mass marches have been crucial to all the most important struggles - Chris Nineham looks at ten of them

• Will another electoral coup take place in Tower Hamlets?

  

  With the Tower Hamlets mayoral election round the corner, Dilly Hussain questions whether another ‘coup’ awaits Lutfur Rahman’s successor

• A light shines on the democratic deficit

  

  Caryl Churchill’s classic English revolution drama could not come at a better moment nor be performed in a better place, says John Rees

• Bully for Cameron – or why the Tories are natural bullies!

  

  A government that got the votes of just 25% of the elctorate wants workers to jump through yet more hoops before being able to take lawful industrial action writes Richard Allday

• Phoenix time

  

  John Rees looks at what can rise from the ashes of the election

• Video: Defend Democracy in Tower Hamlets | 30 April 2015

  

  Speeches from the public rally in Tower Hamlets called in support of former mayor Lutfur Rahman who was deposed after a controversial rulling by the Election Commissioner

• Rabina Khan: Why I'm standing for Mayor of Tower Hamlets

  

  In this statement from her election blog Rabina Khan explains why she is standing for Mayor of Tower Hamlets in the forthcoming election on June 11

• Blowing the Roof off the Twenty-First Century

  

  The contradiction between capitalism and democracy, and the need for independent media, is well explored in McChesney’s Blowing the Roof off the 21^st Century, finds Peter Stauber

• Election scenarios: the crisis of British politics

  

  This is a whole new chapter in politics, for the British political system is in a state of deep crisis writes Alastair Stephens

• Tower Hamlets: the real electoral fraud is about to begin

  

  John Rees on the outrageous dismissal of Tower Hamlet's first elected Muslim Mayor

• Establishment campaign to subvert the next government has already begun

  

  The establishment's anti-SNP hysteria is aimed at the post election world - they want to nip in the bud any chance of real change

• 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

• It's Scotland, stupid

  

  The significance of this election will be greater than any since Margaret Thatcher came to power argues John Rees

• Democracy threatened by 'counter extremism'

  

  The government's new 'counter extremism' strategy is an attack on the very democratic values it claims to defend argues Tower Hamlets Deputy Mayor Oliur Rahman

• John Lilburne: free-born 400 years ago…and still the man of the hour

  

  Saturday 14 March sees the Lilburne 400 conference in London. The Leveller leader should be remembered for many reasons, not least his commitment to building revolutionary organisation, says John Rees

• What are the choices? The left, the elections and how to get to a better place

  

  Establishment politics is fracturing, but the General Election outcome won't represent the anger with the elite. Chris Nineham outlines a strategy for popular opposition and generating a new left

• Confronting EU illusions

  

  How can we voice opposition to the EU without sounding like Nigel Farage? Well the obvious answer is not to stay silent about the EU’s lack of democracy writes Chris Bambery

• Rifkind, Straw and everyday corporate influence in Westminster

  

  Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind can't see what they have done wrong because they swim in a sea of corporate influence

• Their Magna Carta and ours

  

  Magna Carta was a small but significant crack in the edifice of class oppression which remains to be fully torn down writes Sean Ledwith

• 'Domestic Extremism' and the war on dissent

  

  Joshua Virasami writes about the current state of affairs with policing and the use of the term 'Domestic Extremist'

• Breaking the Magic Kingdom’s code

  

  Dan Hind's new book on the constitution of the British state makes the radical case for a republic. Socialists should take up the argument for democratisation, says James Doran

• Lutfur Rahman Election Petition is an insult to democracy

  

  An 'Election Petition' - a legal challenge to Lutfur Rahman's mayoral election victory - begins this week. Sean Rillo Raczka explains why it's an attack on democracy

• The crisis of British politics

  

  A resolution on the crisis of British politics passed at Counterfire National Conference 2015. Submitted by the Steering Committee

• Welcome to dodgy Dave’s second-hand democracy sale!

  

  Richard Allday responds to the latest Tory attacks on democracy, from curtailing trade union rights to eroding the powers of local authorities

• Greece: every cook is debating

  

  The battle lines in Athens today are about more than the conventional politics of who will form a government, its policies and prospects, but of the transformation of politics itself

• Syriza: facing down Europe's pro-austerity elite

  

  The whole of Europe's pro-austerity elite will try and scare and intimidate the Greek people into not voting the left wing Syriza into office. We have been here before writes Chris Bambery

• 2014: Twelve things that shaped this year’s politics

  

  Lindsey German looks at twelve features of last year that will shape politics in the year ahead

• The Establishment: And how they get away with it

  

  Owen Jones’ The Establishmentis a valuable dissection of the networks of power and ideology, but the concept of the ruling class adds a needed dimension, argues Sean Ledwith