Britain

On Tuesday the eighth of August at a quarter past one, the mortal remains of comrade Ted Grant were cremated in a simple but dignified ceremony at the East Essex crematorium. Almost a hundred of Ted's old comrades and friends gathered to see him off on his last journey.

Last Saturday, July 15, more than 300 people, amongst them veteran members of the International Brigades, gathered in London to pay homage to all those who went to fight Franco in the 1930s.

We have long stated that there is no fundamental difference between Blair and Brown. That is why we welcome the decision of John McDonnell, Labour MP, to stand for the leadership as the candidate of the left. We also reproduce John McDonnell's full statement on his stand.

The much vaunted ‘smooth transition’ from Blair to Brown would not imply any policy change whatsoever. Consequently, Blair’s replacement by Brown would propel Labour further along the course to losing the next election. What is required is a socialist candidate.

The new leader of the Tories has suddenly become very interested in reducing individual donations to political parties. In reality what lies behind this is an attempt to cut trade union funding to the Labour Party and replace it with public funding.

This latest of Ken Loach’s films is well crafted and well thought. It has been thoroughly researched and really gets under the surface of the processes and the events that helped shape the current situation on the island of Ireland.

The Scottish Socialist Party is being torn apart by an internal wrangle that was sparked off back in 2004 by a dispute between its leading figure, Tommy Sheridan, and the News of the Worldnewspaper about his personal life. All genuine socialists back the SSP against attacks by the state, but questions need to be asked of why the party has reached this sorry state.

Peugeot is planning to move production from its Coventry plant in the UK to Slovakia. There labour costs are one quarter of what they are in the UK. Capitalists have no concern for their workers. They go where they can maximise profits. The only answer is nationalisation under workers’ control.

The number of people diagnosed with asbestos related diseases has been growing. This reveals the widespread use of this extremely toxic substance, which was not only used in industry but is present in many buildings today. Claims for compensation cost. That is why insurance companies have been lobbying – successfully – to get the laws changed in order to reduce payouts.

Despite the almost incessant rainfall Britain is officially in a drought. There can be no doubt that climate change is contributing to changing weather patterns to adversely affect our water supply. This is a foretaste of what conditions will be like here in the not too distant future if something is not done to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment on a global scale.

Labour suffered a heavy defeat in England's local council elections, but Blair is desperately clinging on to office for now. In an attempt to cover up Labour's losses and to shore up his support Blair quickly moved to sack several high ranking ministers and promote loyal supporters. What Blair has installed is a Final Days administration. It is a bunker cabinet. Blair is finished and so is Blairism. These elections illustrate a growing class polarisation taking place in British society.

In Blackpool over the May Day Bank holiday, the British shop workers’ union USDAW, representing some 330,000 workers, passed a resolution unanimously supporting the Venezuelan Revolution and affiliating to the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign.