Louise Nousratpour
Sunday October 25, 2009
The Morning Star
Newport anti-fascists scored a major victory this weekend when an impressive show of local unity stopped the English Defence League's (EDL) attempt to spread its racist poison in Wales.
The EDL had planned a rally in the city's John Frost Square on Saturday to launch the Welsh Defence League, but a 500-strong counterprotest and a complete lack of local support forced it to cancel.
This followed the fascists' disastrous visit to Swansea last weekend, where they were driven off by a larger counterdemonstration.
"Newport is a multicultural city with an industrial background," explained Ian Titherington of Searchlight Cymru, "and today's fantastic turnout shows that racists are not welcome here."
Campaigners, joined by local politicians and faith groups, occupied the square to celebrate multicultural Newport with live music, including a drum band and an impressive performance from the Cor Cochion Caerdydd (Cardiff Red Choir).
Unite Against Fascism marched through the city centre before joining the rally, which also heard speeches from Welsh Assembly Minister John Griffiths and local Labour MP Paul Flynn.
Mr Titherington, while welcoming support from local politicians, blamed the rise in fascism on the main political parties' failure to address working-class concerns about unemployment, housing and the impact of public-service cuts.
He urged support for the newly formed Newport Communities Against Racism - a broad community-based coalition - arguing: "Such grass-roots organisations are the most potent ways of facing up to and defeating organised fascism. We must get involved at local level."
Communist Party of Britain general secretary Robert Griffiths told the crowd: "Fighting fascism is a great Welsh tradition and our united display of opposition today is a testimony to that."
He attacked government failure to invest fully in working-class communities, where fascists are active, adding: "We must go back to the slogan of 'drowning the fascists in a sea of mass activity'."
Mr Flynn said that such a show of force proved how "weak and ineffectual" the EDL was in Wales.
Writing on his blog later, he said: "The side of the square allocated to the EDL remained almost deserted.
"There were frequent rumours that the fascists were on their way. At one o'clock there were reports of a dozen football hooligans getting tanked up in city centre pubs."
Blairites' plan to stay in power
Louise Nousratpour
Thursday October 15, 2009
The Morning Star
A group of Blairite former ministers published a set of proposals on Thursday which they claimed would keep Labour in power.
The 10-strong group of MPs, including former home secretary Charles Clarke, warned of "another generation of Thatcherite government" unless Labour adopted their "progressive vision" for the future.
But Labour MP John McDonnell lambasted their policies as "bankrupt" and described the group as "the last reactionary twitchings of the corpse that was new Labour."
Among the proposals launched at Westminister on Thursday were calls for stronger anti-terror laws, a well-equipped army ready for future intervention, public spending cuts, continued privatisation in public services and a firm opposition to more council homes.
In his essays, Mr Clarke hinted at resurrecting the defeated idea of a 90-day pre-charge detention for terror suspects and defended identity cards.
He also talked about "hard choices" in public spending and called for "user-charging" in key public services.
On defence, Nick Palmer wrote that Britain should "focus on the types of intervention where we have particular skills."
And Nick Raynsford rejected the need for council housing in favour of "mixed tenure" developments in partnership with the private sector.
Mr McDonnell warned: "This group of estranged Blairites wants to take us back to a set of policies based upon the principles that got us into this mess."
Communist Party of Britain general secretary Rob Griffths stressed that the only way Labour can up its chances of winning the next election is if the party "changes direction and adopts genuinely popular left-wing policies for public ownership, investment in productive industry, progressive taxation and end the war in Afghanistan."
Thursday October 15, 2009
The Morning Star
A group of Blairite former ministers published a set of proposals on Thursday which they claimed would keep Labour in power.
The 10-strong group of MPs, including former home secretary Charles Clarke, warned of "another generation of Thatcherite government" unless Labour adopted their "progressive vision" for the future.
But Labour MP John McDonnell lambasted their policies as "bankrupt" and described the group as "the last reactionary twitchings of the corpse that was new Labour."
Among the proposals launched at Westminister on Thursday were calls for stronger anti-terror laws, a well-equipped army ready for future intervention, public spending cuts, continued privatisation in public services and a firm opposition to more council homes.
In his essays, Mr Clarke hinted at resurrecting the defeated idea of a 90-day pre-charge detention for terror suspects and defended identity cards.
He also talked about "hard choices" in public spending and called for "user-charging" in key public services.
On defence, Nick Palmer wrote that Britain should "focus on the types of intervention where we have particular skills."
And Nick Raynsford rejected the need for council housing in favour of "mixed tenure" developments in partnership with the private sector.
Mr McDonnell warned: "This group of estranged Blairites wants to take us back to a set of policies based upon the principles that got us into this mess."
Communist Party of Britain general secretary Rob Griffths stressed that the only way Labour can up its chances of winning the next election is if the party "changes direction and adopts genuinely popular left-wing policies for public ownership, investment in productive industry, progressive taxation and end the war in Afghanistan."
Tories aim to hit the poor hardest
Louise Nousratpour
Tuesday October 6, 2009
The Morning Star
Shadow chancellor seeks to outdo Labour's attacks as he sets out public spending cuts.
The Tories and new Labour have fought a callous bidding war to prove who is best at making the poor and the sick pay for the bankers' crisis.
Today, Shadow chancellor George Osborne revealed his Thatcherite agenda in a conference speech focused on public spending cuts, including a one-year freeze on the majority of public-sector workers.
Under his plans, only the one million earning under £18,000 would get a rise.
The Tory proposal goes beyond Chancellor Alistair Darling's call for a salary freeze for the 750,000 highest-paid public servants.
Mr Osborne repeatedly claimed that the whole country was "in this together," but his belt-tightening policies were only aimed at the poor and the vulnerable.
He confirmed plans to raise the state retirement age for men from 65 to 66 in 2016, rather than 2026 as new Labour plans. For women, the pension age will be equalised by 2020.
Left economist Andrew Fisher pointed out that this would disproportionately hit the poorest, who have a life expectancy of 72 compared with 79 for the better off.
Mr Osborne also wants to introduce means-testing to the child tax credit at a lower level in order to claw back money from better-off families.
Another tax to hit the poor was next on the agenda, as he announced plans to raise VAT from the current 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent.
Mr Osborne then promised to raise inheritance tax thresholds to £1 million and declared his opposition to the government's 50p top rate of income tax from 2011.
The endless list of spending cuts will shave a mere £7 billion a year off the record £175bn public deficit caused by the bail-out of the banks. Another £13 billion a year will be saved once the retirement age is raised in 2016.
But the Tax Justice Network pointed out that Britain could save £100 billion a year just by preventing tax dodging in tax havens which are "politically connected to Britain."
The organisation's John Christensen also defended the 50p top rate tax, saying: "The likes of Mr Osborne argue that if we tax the rich, they will threaten to leave the country.
"Let them leave - it means they weren't interested in contributing to the wellbeing of our society in the first place."
Communist Party of Britain leader Rob Griffiths warned that "new Labour is paving the way for an even more right-wing Tory government unless the labour movement, at this late hour, forces the government to change course fundamentally."
UNISON leader Dave Prentis said Mr Osborne's "commitment to the free market underlines the real Tory agenda - it's one that hasn't changed since Thatcher."
Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson added: "This was a speech written on the back of a Bullingdon Club membership card."
Tuesday October 6, 2009
The Morning Star
Shadow chancellor seeks to outdo Labour's attacks as he sets out public spending cuts.
The Tories and new Labour have fought a callous bidding war to prove who is best at making the poor and the sick pay for the bankers' crisis.
Today, Shadow chancellor George Osborne revealed his Thatcherite agenda in a conference speech focused on public spending cuts, including a one-year freeze on the majority of public-sector workers.
Under his plans, only the one million earning under £18,000 would get a rise.
The Tory proposal goes beyond Chancellor Alistair Darling's call for a salary freeze for the 750,000 highest-paid public servants.
Mr Osborne repeatedly claimed that the whole country was "in this together," but his belt-tightening policies were only aimed at the poor and the vulnerable.
He confirmed plans to raise the state retirement age for men from 65 to 66 in 2016, rather than 2026 as new Labour plans. For women, the pension age will be equalised by 2020.
Left economist Andrew Fisher pointed out that this would disproportionately hit the poorest, who have a life expectancy of 72 compared with 79 for the better off.
Mr Osborne also wants to introduce means-testing to the child tax credit at a lower level in order to claw back money from better-off families.
Another tax to hit the poor was next on the agenda, as he announced plans to raise VAT from the current 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent.
Mr Osborne then promised to raise inheritance tax thresholds to £1 million and declared his opposition to the government's 50p top rate of income tax from 2011.
The endless list of spending cuts will shave a mere £7 billion a year off the record £175bn public deficit caused by the bail-out of the banks. Another £13 billion a year will be saved once the retirement age is raised in 2016.
But the Tax Justice Network pointed out that Britain could save £100 billion a year just by preventing tax dodging in tax havens which are "politically connected to Britain."
The organisation's John Christensen also defended the 50p top rate tax, saying: "The likes of Mr Osborne argue that if we tax the rich, they will threaten to leave the country.
"Let them leave - it means they weren't interested in contributing to the wellbeing of our society in the first place."
Communist Party of Britain leader Rob Griffiths warned that "new Labour is paving the way for an even more right-wing Tory government unless the labour movement, at this late hour, forces the government to change course fundamentally."
UNISON leader Dave Prentis said Mr Osborne's "commitment to the free market underlines the real Tory agenda - it's one that hasn't changed since Thatcher."
Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson added: "This was a speech written on the back of a Bullingdon Club membership card."
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