Mass Movement

John Mullen looks at the direction of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the new French left after their electoral breakthrough earlier in the year

Counterfire's Shabbir Lakha speaks to Nirmala Rajasingam, an organiser with GotaGoGama London and active in the South Asia Solidarity Group, about the background to the mass protests in Sri Lanka that ousted the President and the next steps for the movement

As Cop26 approaches, Feyzi Ismail explains why it looks unlikely to deliver and outlines a socialist approach to averting climate catastrophe 

Rather than Starmer’s bland patriotic appeal, Kevin Ovenden argues for the revolutionary tradition of winning broad support for socialists through building mass movements

The story of Snowden’s whistleblowing reveals the importance of genuinely free journalism, but only mass movements can truly defend civil liberties, argues Peter Stäuber

We repost excerpts from an email sent by a Counterfire member to friends and colleagues

Looking at how we got to where we are, Tony Dowling argues that the left must pivot to the streets

Win or lose, Labour's strategy in this general election campaign gives us an insight into the priorities for the fight after the results are announced on Friday, argues John Rees

The spirit of the Seattle protests two decades ago marked the birth of the anti-globalisation movement - a legacy that endures today, argue Chris Nineham and Feyzi Ismail

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

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

We need a bigger, stronger extra-parliamentary left.

Although the Bolsonaro regime doesn't look like collapsing immediately, its structure and support are waning and the mass movement is growing, argues Orlando Hill

The republican movement must not revert to futile militarism but build an alternative mass class-based politics fighting for a socialist Ireland, argues Vincent Doherty

The working class has hit the streets in Algeria, reviving hopes of revolutionary change in the region and beyond, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

The life of the influential revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg provides inspiration and lessons for today, writes Judy Cox

Saturday saw the Gilets Jaunes revolt continue on a grand scale, as the President scrambles to repress the movement and cajole the public. John Mullen reports from Paris

Mass protests across Europe show that a new politics is on the horizon, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

The Yellow Vests outwitted Macron's repressive state forces to stage a surprise mobilisation in Paris and storm towns and roundabouts across France, reports Susan Ram

The movement brought anger to the streets again across France in defiance of state efforts to divide and disrupt it this week, reports Susan Ram

Opposing Macron's neoliberal education reforms and police repression, tens of thousands of students are out on strike, vowing to join up the struggles, reports Jack Sherwood

Danièle Obono, a deputy of La France Insoumise, speaks to Feyzi Ismail about the Yellow Vest movement, the police and the origins of Macron's crisis

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

Saturday's huge Gilets Jaunes mobilisation across France defied Macron's Project Fear, as high school students facing state repression join a movement that continues to rise. John Mullen reports from Paris

Yellow Vests mass protests enjoyed a third weekend of militant action across France, with trades unionists and other groups supporting. John Mullen reports from Paris

Elaine Graham-Leigh and Tom Lock Griffiths discuss the Marxist perspective on ecology and the fight against climate change in the third episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

The crisis for Theresa May and the Tories continues to deepen, their only lifeline would be a second referendum, argues Lindsey German

Our movements need media that inspire mass participation, amplifying analysis to reach new audiences turning to the left, writes Des Freedman

The defeat for the Palestinian cause at the hands of the Labour Party’s NEC should not be underestimated

Be part of a socialist organisation committed to fundamental change

Some clips from the speeches made at The Corbyn Moment event in London filmed and edited by Paul Merron

From student dissent to militant strikes and a radical alternative, the ingredients are there for mass rebellion, writes John Mullen

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

Across France, hundreds of thousands of people, spearheaded by combative rail workers, mobilise against Macron’s neoliberal assault on the public sector  

Chris Nineham is interviewed about his book 'How the Establishment Lost Control'

If Corbynism is to be more than a moment, Mark Perryman argues this requires new kinds of left politics

A successful left wing movement has to break completely with the organs of capitalist class power and forge an emancipatory politics from the bottom up, argues Stathis Kouvelakis

For seven years the Tory government has been waging economic terrorism against its own citizens - we must fight to kick them out, argues Steph Pike

Prejudice against Muslims is high across Europe, but in Britain there are grounds for optimism thanks to a mass movement against Islamophobia

Enacting a Republic to break from Spanish state repression is close on the horizon for the movement, and there is evidence that mobilisation can reach new heights, reports Jack Sherwood from Barcelona

In conversation with Brian Eno, Chris Nineham launched his book How the Establishment Lost Control. Video by Paul Merron.

As the Catalan government stand immobilised and imprisoned, the base of the movement has taken the lead with a “week of struggle” and general strike ahead, reports Jack Woodvale

After the defeat for the government over its welfare reforms, we have to do everything we can to sweep it away

A classic history of the years before World War I is also a source of inspiration for those who wish to create a more equal and just society, argues Alex Snowdon

Solidarity from across the movement will be vital as Royal Mail threatens to avert next week‘s strike

In a time of the rebirth of mass politics, the right is fighting back. The left must meet this challenge, argues Kevin Ovenden

Labour's Brexit dilemma, Trump and North Korea, and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 20, September 2017

In this final extract from How the Establishment Lost Control Chris Nineham outlines why a radical extra-parliamentary movement is needed to secure decisive change

The French president is hoping to push through a series of Thatcherite reforms, but the workers are not going to lie down and take it, writes John Mullen

In this first of three extracts from How the Establishment Lost Control Chris Nineham looks at the sudden revolt of public opinion against the ruling neoliberal consensus

Alex Kenny from the National Union of Teachers talks to Counterfire’s Chris Nineham

Chris Nineham's book on the insurgent mood in Britain, and how it all went wrong for the ruling class

In major cities, citizens have taken to the streets to protest against the judicial farce that led to the sentencing of former president Lula da Silva

A hundred thousand people took to the streets on Saturday to oppose the Tories and put them on notice, Jonathan Maunders reports.

The Conservatives’ ship may be sinking faster than expected, but we should be anything but complacent, writes Kara Bryan

Whatever happens on Thursday, we need to get ready to take to the streets to defend a left wing government, or to force out a right wing one

We need a democratic movement that can break the Westminster consensus

Although most people are relieved by the election result, we are going to have to fight the new president’s policies

Dave Randall, activist, musician and writer, talks about the politics of music and his recently published book

On International Women's Day, thousands of women in Ireland went on strike and took to the streets reports Amy O'Donoghue

A new political alignment is taking place against Corbyn and the left, argues John Rees

Indigenous people and 'water protectors' were cleared out of the Oceti camp this week following Trump's go ahead to the DAPL reports Kara Bryan

The roots of the precarious state of our welfare system lie in the Tories' austerity policies, writes Ollie Turnbull

The rising resistance against the US president represents a huge opportunity for those on the left to make the case for a different kind of world

Rather than criticising people who are demonstrating for the first time, we should embrace them

On Saturday Bristolians marched against Trump's 'Muslim Ban' and 'Theresa the Appeaser'. Owen Lloyd-Jones reports on the sound system powered demonstration

The Orange one’s disastrous 10 days in office, reviewed by Kara Bryan

We need to unite people from all walks of life in the battles of the coming weeks, writes Kevin Ovenden

5 million people. 670 protests. 75 countries. The Women's March was the biggest global protest event since the 2003 protests against the Iraq War.

There will always be forces that seek to destroy the NHS, so the fight to defend it must be one that every generation takes on, writes junior doctor Mona Kamal

Tony McKenna’s cultural essays show the rich possibilities of Marxist analysis for a range of art and literature, argues Sean Ledwith

Standing Rock shows us that organised resistance and mass movements work argues Shabbir Lakha

John Rees was interviewed for the Panama Magazine by Argentinian writer Mariano Schuster

Jodi Dean in Crowds and Party boldly reasserts the need for socialist organisation, as a necessary antidote to neoliberal individualism, finds Lindsey German

As the lines are being drawn, Shabbir Lakha turns the tables on Owen Jones and his soft left assault on Jeremy Corbyn’s social movement

This is a decisive battle, and it's even bigger than Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, argues John Rees

Chris Nineham takes a snapshot of the current political crisis and argues for a fast and sharp strategic realignment

Rosa Luxemburg argued that the majority of people would be won to socialism through struggle, writes Paul Vernell in this introduction to The Mass Strike

An interview with John Rees about his book 'Democracy in the Age of Mass Movements'