Yesterday’s (29 August 2012) decision by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to revoke London Met’sHighly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) status for international student visas is a symptom of the wider economic crisis and of a government far removed from the lives of ordinary people.

Comrade John Dunn, ex-miner, speaks at the recent ULU Marxist summer school in London about the 1984-5 miners' strike and the lessons for today.

The recent quarrel over the timing and constitutional validity of the proposed independence referendum in Scotland has again pushed the national question to the forefront of British politics. Such developments give us a fresh opportunity to revisit this important issue.

Thank God for the Olympics!” must be the cry from most if not all Tory Ministers after the economic news at the end of last month. They will be more than a little relieved that the London Games have been hogging all the news and will continue to do so over the next few weeks at least. However, we all live in the real world and in that world we can see the consequences of the just over two years of this Coalition. We are now in the longest “double dip” recession for over 50 years.

"Off with their heads!” screamed the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. The mass of people agree, especially when it comes to bankers. And this is no joke. Across much of the world, bankers have acquired pariah status, responsible for triggering the crisis and then being bailed out with taxpayers’ money. Their standing is about on a par with paedophiles or rapists.

Last month's day of action by doctors in Britain attracted a lot of criticism from the Tory press - no surprise there! Here is an article we have received from a doctor putting their case and explaining what really happened.

Ken Capstick, former Vice-President, Yorkshire National Union of Miners and Rob Sewell, author of 'In the Cause of Labour' and editor of Socialist Appeal talk about the struggles that lead up to 1972 and up to the miners strike of 1984/5. The speeches were given at the ULU Marxist Summer School which was recently organized in in London.

The need for socialist policies and for the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy dominated much of the agenda of the UNITE policy conference this year, and following a very radical conference the union has committed to supporting the nationalisation of the private banks, utilities and railways. The mood of the conference shows a sharp shift to the left amongst the UNITE rank and file recently and its reflection in the leadership. Not one speaker from the union’s executive or from the conference delegates openly opposed the principles of nationalisation or of the need to adopt socialist policies.

Friday, 22nd June witnessed something unprecedented in British industrial relations. For the first time, London bus drivers, engineers and supervisors struck together in solidarity.

Over the Weekend of 15th-17th June the second ever Marxist Summer School, hosted by the University of London Union Marxist Society, took place. The event was a resounding success, building on the experience of the previous year, with up to 100 in attendance. Because we managed to pack in so many discussions, we were able to cover a lot of ground and go into detail in a way that is not normally possible.

British doctors have gone on strike today for the first time since 1975 over the government cuts to pensions. Unsurprisingly, this has been met with a chorus of indignation by the Tories who have accused the doctors of “penalising patients” by taking industrial action.

Forty years ago, in 1972, Britain faced a sharp and qualative change and teetered on the verge of a general strike for the first time in nearly 50 years. A wave of factory occupations and sit-ins had swept the country.  More than 23 million days were lost in strike action, excluding 4 million lost through political strikes. Only once, in the revolutionary year of 1919, was the number of days lost greater. The Tories, in a pamphlet misnamed In Defence of Peace, were already digesting the writings of Brigadier Kitson, who urged the army to be prepared for civil unrest. The spectre of revolution was once again beginning to haunt Britain.

ULU Marxists, Socialist Appeal and www.marxist.com are proud to announce the 2nd Marxist Summer School: Prospects for the World Revolution, this June 15-17 in London. Join us for a packed weekend of discussion and debate on what relevance the theory and programme of the Marxists has in this epoch of world revolution.

Last week's local elections saw a disastrous showing for the Coalition government as the Conservative and the Liberal Democrats respectively lost 403 and 329 council seats. At the same time the Labour Party saw a huge net gain of 824 councillors meaning they were able to gain control of 32 councils across the country.

At a time of massive cuts and redundancies, restructures and “refocusing” in Local Government and the civil service and schools; inevitably, the issue of greater workloads comes to the fore. It’s very easy for senior managers to attempt to try and solve their immediate problems by pushing the whole burden of work onto those people who didn’t get their P45s in the post.  Too often this means impossible demands being placed on front line workers, more often than not the lowest paid and in most cases women. Tory plans for the NHS mean that the same process will be witnessed in the NHS, with horrendous consequences.