By Eamon Dyas Over the past year there have been several exhibitions and events in the UK commemorating the 40th anniversary of the British miners’ strike including “One Year! Photographs from the Miners’ Strike 1984-85: An exhibition based on the Martin Parr Foundation’s collection” which has toured various UK venues. Martin Parr has been an … Continue reading The significance of the 1984-85 Miners’s strike
Working class
Letters about the ‘Unite the Kingdom, Freedom of Speech’ March on 13th September
Letter to the Morning Star published 27/9/25 THE Star’s front page reporting on the Unite the Kingdom rally under the headline of ‘Rampage’ does a disservice to your esteemed paper (M Star September 15). For it is a ludicrous misrepresentation of the day. If “thousands of far-right demonstrators” “went on a rampage” as this article claimed, then … Continue reading Letters about the ‘Unite the Kingdom, Freedom of Speech’ March on 13th September
An Unhealthy Relationship—the Labour Party and the Unions
Pete Whitelegg It will hardly come as a surprise to anyone who has followed politics over the past few years that Parliament plays an almost secondary role in determining the political agenda, at least in terms of domestic politics. Although Labour won an unprecedented number of seats at the last election, that agenda has been … Continue reading An Unhealthy Relationship—the Labour Party and the Unions
Class Guerilla War in the Sixties.
John ClaydenI was working for New Century, a large window cleaning firm in London with an office in Red Lion Square. While cleaning the office of the chief executive of 20th Century Fox high up in Soho Square I removed some newspapers he had placed on an internal window ledge before stepping out to do … Continue reading Class Guerilla War in the Sixties.
Why the Workers’ Struggle is a Class Struggle
Dave Gardner [The photo above is of Ernest Bevin] “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” (Warren Buffett, investor and capitalist, 2006). The quote above blurts out a truth which the political establishment and media of this country would like to keep from us. We … Continue reading Why the Workers’ Struggle is a Class Struggle
The British ‘Left’ and the Workers Party of Britain
One alternative to the current political order Tim Pendry (WPB) This last week has seen news that Jeremy Corbyn attended talks about the formation of a new political party The Collective. In fact, Corbyn has not said anything about endorsing an initiative that was, in fact, announced before the election. What is really going on here is … Continue reading The British ‘Left’ and the Workers Party of Britain
Workers Party’s Good Results
The Workers Party of Britain did a lot better than previous efforts at a Left Alternative. No seats were won, but here are the top ten results. Constituency Share %.Birmingham Yardley29.3Rochdale29.2Birmingham Hodge Hill & Solihull North26.6Blackburn18.3Derby South13.9Bolton South & Walkden12.7Manchester Rusholme12.6Peterborough12.1Oldham East & Saddleworth11.6Gorton & Denton10.3 https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-uk-election-results/parties/workers-party-of-britain/
Workers’ Party of Britain Education & Youth Manifesto
The WPB recognises that a new young party of the Left needs to mobilise voters and activists from the new generation. The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn seemed to recognise this and published a Youth Manifesto in 2019. There does not seem to have been any significant policy thinking in this area since the fall of … Continue reading Workers’ Party of Britain Education & Youth Manifesto
Levelling Up will never happen under the Uniparty
The Scandal of Northern Inequality Nikola Bryce (Workers Party) “Inequalities between our regions are not inevitable. They are a product of policy choices in the design of our economy and democracy…” State of the North – Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) Report 2024 By Nikola Bryce (Workers Party GB Writers Group) In February 2022 the Tories … Continue reading Levelling Up will never happen under the Uniparty
A Brief Glimpse at the Seventies Squatting Movement
John Clayden"A people without knowledge of its past is like a tree without roots". Marcus Garvey This was on a banner in Catford Market with Bob Marley playing in the background, where I was canvassing for the Lewisham mayoral candidate John Hamilton recently. The same sentiment naturally applies to the working class: the working class must … Continue reading A Brief Glimpse at the Seventies Squatting Movement
Workers Party Victory in Rochdale
Workers Party Victory in Rochdale—Thursday 29 February 2024 Labour Affairs congratulates George Galloway on his victory. George Galloway has won a landslide victory in the Rochdale by-election, saying his victory showed Keir Starmer has paid a “high price” for his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict as Labour’s suspended candidate slumped to fourth in its former … Continue reading Workers Party Victory in Rochdale
Apprenticeships—by a Former Apprentice
John Clayden Government Training Centres were I think set up during the war or just after and were nationwide and were set up with trade union cooperation but were later destroyed by Thatcher. The one in Perivale West London I attended covered the various building trades and engineering trades, sheet metal work as well … Continue reading Apprenticeships—by a Former Apprentice
Fan-Controlled Football Clubs in Germany—a Success Story
In the February issue of Labour Affairs we outlined the Workers Party policy advocating that fans take control over their own local football clubs. It was noted that this is still to a large extent the case in countries such as Germany. There fan-controlled clubs are able successfully to fight off threats from powerful financial … Continue reading Fan-Controlled Football Clubs in Germany—a Success Story
Campaign for fan-owned Football
Restoring Football to the Community Part of the Workers Party of Britain programme https://workerspartybritain.org Football, with its roots firmly in working class Britain, should become the “people’s game” once again. In recent years external predatory capitalist forces have stolen the game from the people. We see ever-increasing commercialisation and exploitative merchandising. Financial institutions, particularly from … Continue reading Campaign for fan-owned Football
LABOUR AND HOUSING – Part 14.
The problem of housing the less-affluent working class. By Eamon Dyas We have now arrived at the point where the second Labour minority government took power in 1929. In terms of housing policy the most significant difference between this second Labour administration and its predecessor was the absence of John Wheatley, from Ramsay MacDonald’s 1929 … Continue reading LABOUR AND HOUSING – Part 14.
Party Politics, Trade Unions and the Scope of Collective Action.
Dave Gardner In the July/August editorial of Labour Affairs, we drew attention to the British trade unions at their most influential period between the Second World War and the late 1970s. It is worth asking ‘What is a trade union?’ before going on to the question of the role that they may or may not play … Continue reading Party Politics, Trade Unions and the Scope of Collective Action.
How to pay for it. The case for the elimination of the cap on child benefit.
An imaginary interview between the BBC and a progressive Labour Party by Michal Lerner BBC: Labour says that it will eliminate the cap on child benefit. That will cost some £1.3 billion. How will Labour pay for it? LP: A Labour government will pay for it the way British governments pay for everything that has been approved by … Continue reading How to pay for it. The case for the elimination of the cap on child benefit.
France’s hopeless left opposition
Froggy In France political movements and the remaining political parties (Socialist party, Communist party) hold annual ‘summer universities’ rather than conferences. The Melenchon outfit with a ridiculous name designed to put off adults (France Insoumise/France Unbowed) held its summer university where a grown up actually spoke. This is François Ruffin, deputy for France Insoumise in Northern France. He … Continue reading France’s hopeless left opposition
Labour Affairs 