Page 33 - Weekly Worker News Today

Letters PCS merger? The Public and Commercial Services union is claiming that its forthcoming conference in June will be the most democratic across the trade union movement. Branches can register as many delegates as they like, but only one will be allowed to vote and they will use their card vote on every motion (the number of votes each branch will have will be the number of members of that branch). I have no quibble with branches having more delegates than they would normally be allowed to h...

Recent issues

Coups, putsches and revolutions Not only real, but counterfactual history too, can provide valuable political insights. Derek James reports on the Spring Communist University, held over the long bank holiday weekend of April 30-May 3 Organised by the CPGB and Labour Party Marxists, Spring 2021 CU, was designed, in part, to cast a sharp light on the momentous January 6 events in Washington. Titled ‘Coups, putsches and revolutions’, its aim was, though, designed not just to assess what exactl...

Weekly Worker Print edition Please note that, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have had to suspend printing the Weekly Worker, which will remain online-only until the end of the crisis. Unfortunately, in view of the coronavirus crisis and the physical problems posed, we have had no alternative but to suspend printing the Weekly Worker until further notice. Once the crisis is over, we will extend the subscription of everyone who is sent the print edition, unless they advise us otherwise....

Chatham House ‘left’ Who stands for what and who says what - such basic information should not be treated as the private property of a select few. Derek James calls for openness After over a year of ‘political lockdown’ following Labour’s general election defeat in 2019, the election of Keir Starmer as Labour leader and the continuing witch-hunt, the Labour left now stands at something of a crossroads. The ‘official left’, in the form of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs and the...

Two days left Robbie Rix reports on the Weekly Worker fighting fund As I write, there are just two days left to reach our £2,000 fighting fund target for April, but at the moment we don’t even have £1,500. Unfortunately the last week has been another disappointing one - a mere £170 came our way, taking the running total to just £1,457. There were, despite that, a couple of highlights which stood out: £50 donations from both DB (via PayPal) and JT (standing order). Other SOs were from DR ...

Necessity of social control We do not trust the government, writes Eddie Ford. But nor do we support unrestricted liberty Several thousand demonstrated on April 24 in central London under the banner, ‘Unite for Freedom’. Marching closely together, some carried home-made ‘No to vaccine passports’ placards, while others paraded alongside a giant, inflatable syringe, and most chanted slogans such as, ‘Freedom!’, ‘Take off your mask!’ and ‘Lockdowns kill’. Looking at those atten...

Recent issues

Recent issues

Letters Writing in Weekly Worker, Ammar Kazmi asks me to “promptly explain” and “correct” what I wrote in my article, ‘Defend David Miller’, about the professor’s “alignment with pro-Shia groups” (Letters, March 18). I am very happy to respond - not to correct or retract, but to further emphasise the main points. The thrust of the article was to defend David Miller, his rights to free expression and broader academic freedom in the face of a concerted assault. The defence of f...