Britain

On Monday, it was announced at the Old Bailey that Julian Assange would not be extradited to the US to face charges of endangering the lives of informants in Afghanistan, and for collusion with Chelsea Manning to hack US government computers. This news has rightly been greeted with enormous relief from Assange’s supporters. Yet there is a caveat. The British court’s ruling was based on concerns that the US prison system would be incapable of preventing Assange from taking his own life. In fact, the court ruled in favour of the prosecution, stating that Assange should be extradited to the US. The message is clear: the British judicial system is subservient to the whims of US

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Johnson and the Tories have attempted to blame a new variant of the virus for the catastrophe that is unfolding. But it is their recklessness that has landed us in this situation. We need a bold socialist response to the pandemic.

Boris Johnson has announced his Brexit deal to great fanfare, promising a bright future of prosperity and freedom. But dark clouds are gathering for British capitalism, which faces a perfect storm. This rotten Tory government must go.

The Tories claim they are spending all their time and energy ‘dealing’ with the pandemic. However, much like Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s forced tears on the television, this is a smokescreen for what is going on behind the scenes.

The crisis that began in 2008 exposed capitalism. It started a process in which millions of young people and workers began to challenge, not just so-called ‘neoliberalism’, but capitalism itself. Yet this crisis of capitalism, rather than propelling the left to power, has pushed the left into crisis. Superficially, this is a contradiction, but if we look beyond the surface, we see it flows from the limitations of reformist politics in a period such as the one we are living through.

Boris Johnson’s government has now been in power for one year. But it is already being engulfed by turmoil and splits, as the crisis of capitalism takes its toll. We need a militant opposition that will fight to kick the Tories out.

The move by the Tories to cut Britain's foreign aid budget has caused uproar amongst the establishment. But beneath their ‘concern for the poor’ lies their concern for their own profits.

Even the strategists of the ruling class are warning of an apocalyptic scenario for British capitalism, as the pandemic, Brexit, and economic chaos combine to create a perfect storm. We are entering a period of revolutionary convulsions.

Outlining the government’s latest spending plans on November 25, Rishi Sunak announced a wave of new austerity measures, including attacks on wages and welfare. The labour movement must fight for a bold socialist alternative.

The general secretary election for Britain’s largest trade union is down to the wire. Victory for the left would mark a watershed for the whole British labour movement. All out for Paul Holmes: the class-fighter candidate who will stand up for members and lead a militant union!

Dominic Cummings and his clique are gone. An open power struggle is playing out in the Tory Party, as the ruling class looks to ‘take back control’. This is truly a government of crisis, revealing the dire situation facing British capitalism. Note: this article was originally published on 16 November.

Negotiations between Britain and the EU are going down to the wire. With Boris Johnson in thrall to Tory Brexiteers, the UK could well crash out of Europe without a deal, creating a perfect storm for British capitalism. Note: this article was originally published on 12 November.

Jeremy Corbyn is back in the Labour Party, after apologising for earlier remarks. But no amount of appeasement will satisfy the right wing. Starmer’s spiteful decision not to restore the whip shows that this war is far from over.