BSW Newsletter, 27 February 2025 After the German General Election. [LA notes: BSW gained 4.97% of the popular vote. They need 5% to qualify to enter the Bundestag. Note how unique they are: the only socialist, non-authoritarian, non-imperialist party in German politics.] This is the newsletter of Sahra Wagenknecht, Member of the German Bundestag. In … Continue reading Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance
Labour Affairs is reprinting the address of Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China to the 61st Munich Security Conference. In his address Wang Yi sets out the principles for international relations: Equal treatment of nations. Respect for international law. Practice of multilateralism (i.e. look for solutions that respect the interests of all … Continue reading China Talks Peace and Good Sense
Throughout January, there has been much excitement in the main stream media about the state of the government finances. Apparently the ‘bond vigilantes’, by reducing the amount they were prepared to pay for a government bond, were expressing their displeasure with proposed government policies. We were told that Reeves was ‘all out of money’ and would likely … Continue reading Reeves’ False Debt and Interest Problems
Labour Affairs Group There are now four main pieces of counter-terrorism legislation: the Terrorism Act 2000, the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, and the Terrorism Act 2006. Plus The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (which includes the “Prevent” programme). In fact this list may not be exhaustive, as the anti-terror legislation keeps … Continue reading Use of the Terrorism Acts against Palestine supporters
Eamon Dyas Although placing limits on freedom of expression has always been a feature of western democracies — particularly in angst-ridden Germany — I’ve noticed since Covid an upsurge in the way in which public figures in the west are increasingly describing freedom of expression as a privilege. In Britain the establishment’s use of antisemitism … Continue reading Is freedom of expression a privilege or an essential ingredient of democracy?
By Labour Affairs Rail maintenance budgets slashed The need for an energetic trade union leader for the RMT has not gone away. The issues within the industry that led to the industrial action have not been resolved. Scot Rail, state owned, is pushing ahead with a programme to reduce booking office hours, in some cases … Continue reading Mick Lynch retires
By Eamon Dyas I had meant to continue the previous article (Labour Affairs December 2024) on the attitude of the US to Europe’s relationship with Russian energy. But at the time of writing the newspapers and airways were dominated by the news of the decision by Kiev to end, on 31 December 2024, the long-standing … Continue reading Ukraine and the supply of Russian gas to Europe—Part 1
Dave Gardner Human beings need to live in association with each other. They can live in societies without a state, but the world of today is dominated by states. But each of these states is composed of different kinds of social groups based on family, economic, religious and linguistic ties. The state relates not just … Continue reading Civil Society and Socialism
Reflections on questions concerning global warming Part Six: 5% of scientists can't be wrong or Science Whoring By Richard Jones I intended to write about attribution. I will, but mostly just to introduce the concept and the bare bones of the problem, as nothing I could write would compare with simply referring readers to the recent … Continue reading 5% of scientists can’t be wrong or Science Whoring
Eamon Dyas With Starmer reluctant to use home grown state funds to stimulate the economy he’s relying on blood money from the Ukrainian conflict as an alternative source. At what point does that policy - ostensibly designed to encourage Kiev to keep going - mean that the government’s domestic policy for growth has come to … Continue reading Growth through War?
John Clayden In an interview with Kim Iversen, Richard Werner covers a lot of ground . Kim's first question is "Who really runs the world? I always thought it was the central banks". Richard Werner: "Your instincts are right it is the central banks." He then gives a résumé of his career starting studying economics … Continue reading Conversation with an economist: Richard Werner and the threat from central banking
(Reprinted from Church and State 2025) British Premier Sir Keir Starmer took part in mid-December, in his official capacity as British Prime Minister, in the Jewish celebration of the festival of Hanukkah. A segment of his speech played by the media suggested that Hanukkah was about meditation conducive to peace, rather like what Christmas has become in … Continue reading Celebrating Hanukkah!
Gwydion M. Williams “It’s not that she’s black, but she’s black” Labour’s Submissive Tendency Unsuccessful Strife, and Afterwards Slovakia Dares to Disobey the Anglosphere Will Trump Dump Kiev? Snippets How Russia Was Lost Trump Endorses Greater Israel Trump Wants the World: Does the World Say No? Afghan Failure Australian decline Lynching the Audience “It’s not … Continue reading Notes on the News
Catherine Dunlop Farage has a reputation for being against immigrants, but is he? What does his programme say? what does he say in interviews? And crucially, what does he propose to do about the factors that drive immigration ? The UK population has increased by around 8.2 million since the start of the twenty-first century. The UK population was … Continue reading Is the Reform party against immigration?
Three Israeli captives released in exchange for 183 Palestinians (Middle East Eye, 8 February 2025) US State Department informs Congress of $7.4 billion arms sale to Israel (Times of Israel, 7 February 2025) The Middle East's longest-reigning king heads into a standoff with Trump (Sean Mathews, Middle East Eye, 7 February 2025) The damage of … Continue reading Palestine Links February 2025
BSW on Democracy and the banning of political parties: The efforts to ban the AfD (Alternativ für Deutschland) are a political folly in which BSW is not participating. The fact that support for the AfD has doubled in the past three years is not due to the particularly brilliant policies of Weidel and Co. but … Continue reading Sahra Wagenknecht Newsletters December 2024/January 2025
Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) (The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice) Party Building: Letter to Supporters, December 2025 Dear supporter(s), The frequent and active help of our supporters was of decisive importance for BSW. Without you, we would never have been able to achieve our successes this year. We would like to thank you … Continue reading Sahra Wagenknecht on the challenges of building a new leftwing party
The British government, with the support of the opposition, is currently engaged in acts of war against the Russian Federation. It has approved the use of British made and supplied missiles to the Ukrainian state in order to attack targets within pre 2014 Russia. The Russian government has made it clear that such actions constitute … Continue reading Britain on the Brink of War with Russia—Editorial
Labour Affairs 