My article “What has happened to the British Labour Movement, and what does it mean for the left in the Unions?”1 has attracted two critical responses in this journal.2 I am grateful to the authors of these papers for their… Continue Reading
“The past is never dead. It is not even past.” William Faulkner. The strong verbal opposition from union leaders to the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill (now Act) 2023 is a good moment to survey the resistance—industrial, legal, and political—to… Continue Reading
Two issues dominated world politics as International Socialism went to press: the war in Ukraine and the developing economic crisis.1 First, the war. Russia’s initial offensive failed to topple Volodymyr Zelensky’s government in Kiev. Instead, Russian forces have refocused their… Continue Reading
The role of trade unions and organised labour in preventing catastrophic climate change is a burgeoning field of research.1 Many academic contributions investigate climate policy issues but leave aside discussion of workers’ action.2 In contrast, this article focuses on past… Continue Reading
Making sense of the continuing low level of strike activity in the UK takes on greater urgency with the publication of provisional figures for 2017. These show record lows—by some margin—for two of the three main indicators: number of strikes… Continue Reading
From the early summer to the early winter of 2017 several industrial action campaigns were making the news, both nationally and at more regional and local levels. Rail workers employed by Mersey Rail, Northern Rail and Southern Rail were mounting… Continue Reading
During the blisteringly hot summer of 1976 a group of Asian workers, predominantly women, walked out on strike at a small factory in north west London. Most were recently arrived migrants from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya and were as unlikely… Continue Reading
Gajendra Singh, The Testimonies of Indian Soldiers and the Two World Wars (Bloomsbury, 2014), £27.99 The 100th anniversary of the First World War has brought into scope the “hidden” role of Britain’s Indian colonial soldiers. The recruitment of Indian… Continue Reading
The mass strike of 30 November 2011 (N30) was the broadest and biggest ever British public sector strike and involved the largest number of women workers in any British strike. It has been discussed several times in this journal, with… Continue Reading
This article addresses a key issue for socialists: the current low level of strikes.1 As Alex Callinicos recently put it: The absence of any generalised upturn in workers’ struggle isn’t just a negative factor: it actively shapes the situation. Mass… Continue Reading