Britain
Kilometres from the ashes of Grenfell Tower
British royals spend millions on palace improvements
By Laura Tiernan, 11 October 2018
More than £1.4 million will be spent to make Kensington Palace more comfortable for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Trial of “Stansted 15” anti-deportation protesters begins in UK
By Margot Miller, 10 October 2018
The activists locked themselves around a government-chartered Boeing 767 on the night of March 28, 2017, to prevent take-off.
Labour Party-run councils escalate austerity in UK
By Alice Summers, 8 October 2018
Far from standing up to Tory-led austerity measures, Labour councils are blazing the trail when it comes to attacks on public services.
UK: No to Driver Only Trains in any form, mobilise against rail union sellout
By Michael Barnes, 6 October 2018
The struggle by rail workers in defense of jobs is in danger, due to the systematic sabotage of their fight by the unions.
US, UK and NATO allies ramp up anti-Russia offensive over “cyber spying” and Skripals
By Robert Stevens, 5 October 2018
To frame the demand for the seven arrests, the US utilised all the material gathered by its NATO allies against Russia over the Skripal/novichok affair.
Risk of no-deal Brexit staggers European companies and economy
By Alex Lantier, 5 October 2018
With mass layoffs prepared in auto firms, plans in ruling circles are well advanced to place the cost of any Brexit crisis firmly on the backs of workers internationally.
Brexit and growing social divide dominate crisis-ridden Tory conference
By Robert Stevens, 4 October 2018
Both wings of the Tories are concerned that Prime Minister May’s downfall could lead to a Corbyn-led Labour government that would be unable to keep the working class in check.
UK nurses vote to remove Royal College of Nursing leadership after pay deal sellout
By Ajanta Silva, 3 October 2018
There is growing opposition among nurses and health care workers to a deal that includes an effective cut in real wages following years of attacks on wages and conditions.
Julian Assange appoints new WikiLeaks’ editor-in-chief
By Patrick O’Connor, 1 October 2018
Kristinn Hrafnsson’s appointment is testament to WikiLeaks’ invaluable contribution to genuine journalism.
Meghan Markle’s Grenfell cookbook: The royal family in damage control mode
By Laura Tiernan, 29 September 2018
Markle’s “first solo project” is an attempt to restore public faith in the monarchy, present a caring and “culturally diverse” image and prevent the working class from challenging the wealth, privilege and power of the British ruling class.
Jeremy Corbyn calls for unity with Labour’s right-wing and the “business world”
By Robert Stevens, 29 September 2018
Addressing those who have spent years slandering him and his supporters, Corbyn pleaded that it was necessary “to focus on what unites us. We are on a journey together and can only complete it together.”
Vote “yes” on resolution to force out Royal College of Nursing leadership! Build rank-and-file committees!
By NHS FightBack, 28 September 2018
The resolution gives voice to the growing rebellion among nurses and health workers against the RCN executive’s collusion with the Conservative government.
Toronto International Film Festival 2018
An interview with Mike Leigh, director of Peterloo: “You don’t run out of steam if what you do … is to literally hold the mirror up to nature”
By David Walsh, 28 September 2018
The WSWS spoke to British filmmaker Mike Leigh in Toronto.
Auto manufacturers in UK cut production, threaten jobs as Brexit crisis deepens
By Margot Miller, 27 September 2018
The UK car industry faces massive disruption if the government fails to agree unfettered access to the EU single market, with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs threatened.
UK Labour conference passes Brexit motion with option for “people’s vote”
By Thomas Scripps, 26 September 2018
Labour Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, speaking for the Blairites and dominant sections of British business, sees the latest compromise as a step toward committing Labour to retaining membership of the EU.
UK military step up marches and parades on streets of Britain
By Thomas Scripps, 26 September 2018
The show of force in Inverness, Scotland is one particularly extreme example of a succession of military parades that have taken place across Britain in the last few months.
Guardian newspaper condemned for publishing “deliberate lies” about Julian Assange
By James Cogan, 25 September 2018
Former British whistleblower Craig Murray linked the newspaper’s allegations directly to the Mueller investigation in the United States.
At conference of British Labour Party
Corbyn and trade unions block deselection of right-wing MPs
By Chris Marsden, 25 September 2018
Anger was generated among Labour Party conference delegates by the rotten compromise stitched up by the National Executive Committee in a two-day meeting prior to the conference.
MI5’s anti-Corbyn campaign and the slandering of Michael Foot
By Chris Marsden, 25 September 2018
What is revealed by the renewed slander campaign against Foot is a dirty plot by the security services to bring down a Labour government, had it won the 1983 general election, that now reads like a dry run for today’s campaign against Corbyn.
EU summit marked by Brexit threats and ultimatums
By Chris Marsden, 22 September 2018
Theresa May's address was met with silence and her implied threats were stonewalled, as the main players within the EU combined the next day to declare her proposals to be “unworkable.”
Manchester “anti-Semitism” protest
Blairites and Tories share platform calling for Corbyn’s removal
By Robert Stevens, 22 September 2018
Tory MP Chris Green not only called for Corbyn’s removal, but suggested how the Blairites could defy the democratic will of their own party’s members.
UK government attempt to gag teachers as cuts deepen
By Tania Kent, 21 September 2018
The government reaction must be seen as a warning: not only will school cuts continue unabated but that they will move forcefully against any attempts to block their austerity agenda.
UK: Corbyn’s media policies leave corporate domination unchanged, silent on censorship
By Joe Mount and Julie Hyland, 20 September 2018
There was not a single proposal by the Labour Party leader challenging the corporate oligarchy’s domination of the media.
UK: Fresh novichok allegations used to escalate anti-Russia offensive
By Thomas Scripps, 19 September 2018
The crucial question is not to uncover every aspect of the dealings between spies of capitalist states, but to understand to what ends the British narrative of the Skripal affair is being pursued.
Labour’s John McDonnell embraces Blairite “new economy” plan
By Laura Tiernan, 19 September 2018
Labour’s endorsement of the IPPR plan makes clear that, behind the talk about governing “for the many, not the few,” Corbyn and his allies are adopting trade war policies.
Economist magazine calls for soldier MPs to lead UK
By Julie Hyland, 18 September 2018
The Bagehot column celebrates that the tradition of soldier-statesman is “now being renewed, after a succession of wars in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.”
London: 8,000 council homes set for demolition
By Alice Summers, 18 September 2018
The continuing social cleansing of the city will see over 31,000 social housing residents forced to leave their homes.
UN special rapporteur to examine extreme poverty in the UK
By Barry Mason, 17 September 2018
That the UK now requires such a visit demonstrates the impact of more than £110 billion in austerity cuts and the destruction of one million public sector jobs.
UK Food Foundation: Four million children have poor diets
By Liz Smith, 17 September 2018
The situation worsened during the summer school holidays, with an estimated 3 million children nationwide at risk of going hungry.
Tory faction fight over Brexit escalates as leadership challenge to May threatened
By Robert Stevens, 15 September 2018
The “hard Brexit” wing of the ruling Tories is facing a backlash due to concerns in business circles over the economic consequences.
Mehring Books UK publishes The Heritage We Defend 30th anniversary edition
15 September 2018
The new edition of the foundational 1988 work by David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, is now available for order in the UK and Ireland.
Grenfell Fire: Fire Brigades Union warned of cladding dangers 19 years ago
By Paul Bond, 14 September 2018
The FBU report proves that every aspect of fire safety had failed at Grenfell Tower, due to decades of deregulation and cuts, long before the fire broke out.
British nationalist Nigel Farage addresses co-thinkers in Australia
By James Cogan, 13 September 2018
Farage was sponsored by corporate interests and welcomed by prominent powerbrokers within the governing Liberal Party.
UK: Rival Socialist Party members vie for position as deputy leader of civil servants union
By Robert Stevens, 13 September 2018
The sordid episode demonstrates that the pseudo-left organisations have no independence from the trade union bureaucracy.
Trades Union Congress in Britain silent on anti-Corbyn coup plot
By Robert Stevens, 12 September 2018
The TUC crowed that this year’s congress marked the 150th anniversary of its founding, but not one platform speaker even referred to the attack on the leader of the Labour party established by the unions.
Huge rise in deaths of homeless people in the UK
By Dennis Moore, 11 September 2018
Across Britain, it is common to see tents and encampments set up in cleared wooded areas, underneath bridges, underpasses, or the less noisy areas of city centres.
Wonga payday loans collapse shows extent of UK poverty
By Dennis Moore, 11 September 2018
Under conditions of deeper austerity and growing financial insecurity, the collapse of Wonga will not bring an end to the payday lending crisis for millions of people.
Britain: No-confidence motions passed against leading Blairite MPs
By Paul Mitchell, 8 September 2018
The Blairites have no compunction about defying Labour members and will only go if they are forced out.
British media blacks out self-immolation of woman at Barnet council office
By Tom Pearce, 8 September 2018
The Conservative-run Barnet council has long been known for its cost-cutting and privatisation of services.
UK “identifies” Russian agents in attempted Skripal assassination
By Robert Stevens, 7 September 2018
The government’s narrative, supplied by the same security services that faked “evidence” of Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction,” cannot be taken at face value.
May stakes out Britain’s imperialist ambitions in Africa
By Jean Shaoul, 7 September 2018
While aid has always been about Britain’s geo-strategic interests, in future it will be used not to alleviate poverty, but to boost Britain’s business interests.
Retreat by Corbynites on anti-Semitism definition emboldens UK right wing
By Robert Stevens and Chris Marsden, 6 September 2018
Once again, Corbyn and his immediate coterie have capitulated in the hope of appeasing their critics and maintaining party unity.
Report by Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media undermines claims of chemical attack in Douma
By Paul Bond, 6 September 2018
In the face of the orchestrated attack on the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media as “Apologists for Assad,” the careful work by Paul McKeigue, Jake Mason, David Miller and Piers Robinson is all the more noteworthy.
“Five Eyes” summit in Australia ramps up internet censorship
By Mike Head, 5 September 2018
Ministers from the US-led global surveillance network revealed stepped-up measures against Chinese and Russian “foreign interference” and greater control over social media.
The Socialist Equality Party and the anti-Corbyn coup plot: A reply to a reader
By Chris Marsden, 5 September 2018
The SEP does not cede leadership to Corbyn, nor stand aside from a political fight that is pitching tens of thousands of workers and youth against a rightist cabal of pro-austerity and pro-war criminals.
UK: Momentum’s Jon Lansman aids witch-hunt against Corbyn, joins Blairites at Jewish Labour Movement event
By Paul Mitchell, 4 September 2018
Momentum leader Jon Lansman joined pro-Zionist and pro-Blairite figures to issue a blatant apologia for their campaign to blackguard the left as anti-Semitic.
Ha’aretz joins witch-hunt against UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
By Jean Shaoul, 4 September 2018
Ha’aretz aims to silence and criminalise any signs of growing left-wing sentiment expressed in the support for Corbyn’s minimalist reforms.
Further evidence of official criminality surfaces as Grenfell fire inquiry resumes
By Robert Stevens, 1 September 2018
The inquiry will not bring justice as it is the creature of the Conservative government and, under the provisions of the 2005 Inquires Act, has no powers to prosecute anyone.
Royal College of Nursing union chief resigns amid mounting anger over NHS pay deal
By our reporters, 1 September 2018
National Health Service workers have spoken to NHS FightBack reporting teams about the pay deal, with many angered at the unions for accepting it.
Reject the anti-Semitism slurs against Jeremy Corbyn! Drive out the Labour Party right wing!
By Chris Marsden, 31 August 2018
The lying campaign to paint Corbyn as an anti-Semite aims to discredit socialism in the hope of preventing any challenge by the working class to austerity and war.
French, British boats clash over English Channel scallops amid Brexit crisis
By Alex Lantier, 31 August 2018
The clash highlighted how unexpected conflicts could erupt over Britain’s exit from the EU amid the relentless stoking of nationalism on both sides of the Channel.
The “spice” drug crisis in Britain
By Anna Mayer, 29 August 2018
The prevalence of the drug “spice” among the homeless highlights that the roots of the pandemic are social, not individual.
UK Court of Appeal reinstates Dr. Hadiza Bawa-Garba
By Ajanta Silva, 29 August 2018
Despite only being a trainee paediatrician at the time of Jack Adcock's death, the responsibilities heaped on Bawa-Garba as a junior doctor that day were extraordinary.
UK: Northamptonshire County Council and the obliteration of local authority services provision
By Paul Bond, 28 August 2018
The council is “reviewing” how to reduce the number of children who are taken into care , cut support for those with learning disabilities and introduce fees or charges for services.
UK foreign secretary uses US visit to support Boris Johnson replacing Theresa May as prime minister
By Robert Stevens, 25 August 2018
For the hard Brexit faction, the future of May’s premiership is understood in terms of days and weeks—with Johnson’s leadership challenge gathering pace.
Nearly 90,000 retail jobs lost in UK in 12 months
By Barry Mason, 25 August 2018
Retailers are shifting employees from secure full-time contracts to less secure ones with “less rigidity and more flexibility.”
Amazon Prime Day produces 209 percent increase in UK health and safety complaints
By Steve James, 24 August 2018
Prime Day saw strikes at Amazon warehouses in Germany and Spain and a work to rule in Poland.
UK Labour leader Corbyn silent on Afghanistan troop deployment
By Paul Mitchell, 23 August 2018
May’s announcement is a servile response to the demands of Trump, who has reversed his election promise to reduce US involvement in Afghanistan.
Anger over sell-out pay deal at Sheffield Supertram
By Laura Tiernan, 22 August 2018
Under the new agreement, pay will reportedly rise by just £1,700 over three years for a Supertram driver and £1,600 for conductors, far below rates for drivers and conductors at Manchester Metrolink who are covered by the same union.
UK: Boris Johnson gathers support for pro-Brexit Tory leadership challenge
By Robert Stevens, 21 August 2018
Johnson’s anti-burqa comments and the leadership ambitions that informed them were spurred on by effusive support from Trump and his former adviser, Steve Bannon.
UK: Momentum’s Jon Lansman takes his place alongside anti-Corbyn witch-hunters
By Julie Hyland, 20 August 2018
Whatever the progressive sentiments of those who signed up to the project, the Momentum network was from the very start aimed at controlling and ultimately sabotaging any genuine challenge to the right.
London: Ecuador embassy vigil marks six years since Julian Assange granted asylum
By Paul Mitchell, 18 August 2018
If forced out, Assange faces arrest by British police and imprisonment on bail infringement charges relating to a case dropped by Sweden over a year ago.
UK: Westminster “terror incident” remains unclear
By Paul Bond, 18 August 2018
While the authorities are not yet able to confirm that the incident was a terrorist attack, it will be used to intensify policing powers and surveillance across the capital.
UK artists’ visa refusals highlight tightened legislation against migrants
By Paul Bond, 17 August 2018
Implementation of the repressive Control Order was confirmed in operational guidance to border staff last month.
Anti-Semitism campaign against Corbyn links opposition to Israel’s crimes with support for terrorism
By Chris Marsden, 16 August 2018
The British Labour Party leader is seeking to appease rather than confront his opponents, whose attack centres on the claim that opposition to Israel is equivalent to anti-Semitism.
British government’s educational “reforms” exacerbate inequality, reduce school funding
By Alice Summers, 16 August 2018
The policies of both Labour and Conservative governments have led to massive spending cuts, threats to teacher pay and privatisation.
UK: Police take no action over far-right attack on Bookmarks bookstore
By Paul Mitchell, 15 August 2018
Despite London being the CCTV capital of the world and the fascist perpetrators gleefully posting videos of their activities on social media, there have been no reports to date of the police detaining, arresting or charging anyone.
UK: Three police officers acquitted of misconduct in restraint death
By Paul Bond, 15 August 2018
The victim was suffering an epileptic seizure when he was seized and forcibly restrained by seven policemen, who held him face down.
Scotland: Protests force Serco to halt asylum seeker evictions
By Steve James, 14 August 2018
Serco wrote to Glasgow City Council of its intention to evict “former Asylum Seekers who do not wish to engage in voluntary return, and who the Home Office have determined have no legal right to remain in the UK.”
UK government warned of dangers of flammable cladding three years before Grenfell fire
By Tom Pearce, 14 August 2018
The warnings are further evidence of the vast criminality committed at Grenfell by the political and corporate elite.
Workers and youth in UK speak out against continued persecution of Julian Assange
By our reporters, 13 August 2018
August 16 will mark six years since WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange was granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian government.
International artists’ visa refusals highlight UK government’s “hostile environment” against migrants
By Paul Bond, 13 August 2018
The racist visa bans have provoked widespread protests, condemning them and their parallels with the 1930s.
UK National Health Service pay deal fuels growing rebellion against unions
By Ajanta Silva, 13 August 2018
More than 1,000 health workers signed a petition calling for the current leadership of the Royal College of Nursing to stand down.
Based on bogus charges of anti-Semitism
Details emerge of plot to oust Corbyn or split UK Labour Party
By Chris Marsden, 11 August 2018
In their plot to remove Corbyn, Labour’s right wing are reasserting the nakedly neo-liberal and militarist agenda pursued by Labour under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Julian Assange reportedly asked to give secret interview to US Senate Intelligence Committee
By Mike Head, 9 August 2018
WikiLeaks said it received a request for Assange to answer questions about supposed “Russian interference” in the 2016 election.
UK: Boris Johnson makes anti-Muslim pitch for Tory Party leadership
By Julie Hyland, 9 August 2018
In publishing his views, Johnson is counting on the fetid anti-migrant atmosphere being whipped up by all political parties.
UK: Haringey Development Vehicle scheme scrapped, but social cleansing threat remains
By Paul Bond, 8 August 2018
The scheme would have seen the demolition of 1,400 council houses and their replacement by luxury developments and supposedly “affordable” properties.
UK: Unite suspends strike action on Sheffield Supertram to recommend sellout deal
By Tony Robson, 8 August 2018
The full details of the revised deal will not be disclosed publicly until the result of the ballot has been announced, but it amounts to a meagre 4 pence increase on the original offer.
UK: Victims of state surveillance to take legal action against Undercover Policing Inquiry
By Thomas Scripps, 7 August 2018
From the outset, the inquiry did not require the police to reveal their operations and accepted as participants only some of those who already knew themselves to be victims.
Fascists attack left-wing bookshop in central London
By Robert Stevens, 6 August 2018
The attack is part of the orchestrated and well-funded resurgence of far-right activity in Britain and internationally.
UK: Fascist Tommy Robinson’s court victory seized on by far-right
By Laura Tiernan, 6 August 2018
The response to Robinson’s release signals a further rightward lurch by the mainstream media in the direction of normalising the far-right.
Smearing of Corbyn as an anti-Semite prepares right-wing breakaway from Labour
By Julie Hyland, 4 August 2018
The Blairite right wing is openly discussing a “declaration of independence from Corbyn’s Labour” by much of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
NHS trade unions’ “best deal in eight years” revealed as a fraud
By Ajanta Silva, 4 August 2018
Health workers are expressing outrage as the truth about the latest union sellout comes to light.
What is behind the talk of a Brexit “national emergency”?
By Julie Hyland, 3 August 2018
Underlying the febrile atmosphere that has developed since the Brexit referendum vote are explosive class tensions.
Julian Assange’s lawyer: Australian government has a “duty” to protect him
By Mike Head, 2 August 2018
Jennifer Robinson said the WikiLeaks editor wants to exercise his right to return to Australia, provided he is protected from extradition to the US.
British Navy evacuated Manchester bomber Salman Abedi from Libya in 2014
By Robert Stevens, 2 August 2018
It was known at top levels of the British state that Abedi had travelled on the ship, but the public, including the families of his victims, was kept in the dark for over a year.
Dawn Sturgess funeral held in UK as unanswered questions mount in novichok crisis
By Thomas Scripps, 1 August 2018
The Conservative government is desperate to contain and control a story in which not a single word from the authorities can be believed.
UK: Memorial event held 25 years after Joy Gardner’s killing
By Steve James, 1 August 2018
The event last Saturday marked 25 years since the 1993 murder of Jamaican mother Joy Gardner by the British government’s Alien Deportation Squad.
Hundreds of residential tower blocks still covered in Grenfell-type flammable cladding
By Margot Miller, 31 July 2018
Thirteen months after the Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 72 people, tens of thousands throughout the UK are still residing in tower blocks covered in flammable cladding.
British police and intelligence using children as spies
By Steve James, 31 July 2018
A report from the British House of Lords committee has revealed the use of teenagers, including those under 16, as undercover agents for the police and intelligence services.
Annie Swynnerton—a Victorian artist rediscovered but misinterpreted
An exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery
By Paul Mitchell and Margot Miller, 31 July 2018
Until the end of this year, the Manchester Art Gallery exhibition Painting Light and Hope is showing 36 paintings of forgotten Victorian artist Annie Louisa Swynnerton (1844-1933), a native of the city.
Local councils in England selling off over 4,000 public spaces and buildings per year
By Alice Summers, 30 July 2018
Vital public facilities are being lost to working-class communities, while selling formerly council-owned parks and squares restricts right of access to previous public spaces.
Bogus anti-Semitism campaign against Corbyn and the “left” escalates
By Jean Shaoul and Chris Marsden, 28 July 2018
The attack on Corbyn and his supporters centres on measures that would criminalise criticism of the State of Israel for its persecution of the Palestinians as a form of anti-Semitism
Twenty-five years since the death of Joy Gardner
By Julie Hyland, 28 July 2018
Behind the actions of the police officers involved, Joy’s killing was the result of deliberate government policy.
The killing of Joy Gardner: A Workers Inquiry is needed
the International Communist Party (July 1 1995), 28 July 2018
The World Socialist Web Site is republishing here the July 1, 1995 statement by the International Communist Party—the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party (UK)—calling for the formation of a Workers’ Inquiry into the death of Jamaican mother Joy Gardner.
The anniversary of Grenfell Tower: Some musical reappraisals
By Paul Bond, 27 July 2018
The video accompanying Lowkey’s song, “Ghosts of Grenfell 2,” ends with powerful shots of survivors and local residents holding banners demanding answers from the political elite and companies responsible for manufacturing and overseeing the fitting of Grenfell Tower’s flammable cladding.
Corbyn outlines nationalist, anti-migrant pitch for Labour government
By Robert Stevens, 26 July 2018
Under conditions of a worsening crisis for Theresa May’s Conservative government, Corbyn sought to reassure business that Labour was the party it could trust to navigate troubled waters ahead.
UK: South Western Railway conductors to strike over Driver Only Operation
By Tom Holling, 26 July 2018
South Western Railway is Britain’s busiest commuter train network and transports more than 4 million passengers a week in and out of London Waterloo.
Protest in London against Ecuadorian President Moreno’s persecution of Julian Assange
By our reporters, 25 July 2018
WSWS reporters interviewed Latin American migrants and exiles condemning the new President’s abandonment of Julian Assange.
UK signs off on US death penalty for “ISIS Beatles”: What are the implications?
By Julie Hyland, 25 July 2018
Not only has the government abandoned blanket opposition to the death penalty, but it has also overturned its publicly stated opposition to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
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