Articles
Monday, January 6, 2025
The world is in a parlous state with widespread war and the threat of war which could spark global conflict including an increasing risk of nuclear weapons being used. Similar trends are evident now as happened in the lead up to previous world wars. These are factors like, a major arms race, the formation of rival armed blocs and a series of smaller wars leading to a general conflagration - the parallels are disturbing. There are three fronts of war – two underway in Ukraine and Gaza and the third that the US is preparing the ground for – a war with China. Yet the global majority reject this drive to war and is collaborating more closely in trade and diplomacy. The US is loosing friends among its erstwhile allies and the poeples of western countries are increasingly sceptical of war. But will this be enough to stop imperialism?
Sunday, January 5, 2025
The tasks of the peace movement in Britain are urgent, as people continue to suffer poverty, cuts to services and crumbling infrastructure yet the government plans to increase arms spending to 2.5%of GDP or £87.1 billion including massive expenditure on replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system. This has nothing to do with self-defence and everything to do with Britain playing its part in fighting wars and imposing military power across the globe. Not only could this money be better spent elsewhere but Britain’s active involvement in wars such as Ukraine make this country a target. But there is an alternative to an imperialist, warmongering UK. We could take the path of non-alignment and join with others, like BRICS, to have a more secure and prosperous future.
Saturday, January 4, 2025
What will the prospects for the world be with Donald Trump back in the White House? It is not entirely certain how Trump will approach the war in Ukraine, but there is an increasing shift in the establishment towards the realistic view that Ukraine cannot win on the battlefield and that there should be negotiations. Other things are clearer. Trump will maintain a firm support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ramp up hostility towards China as a prelude to war.
But why was Trump able to win and Kamala Harris lose the Presidential election. Breaking down the statistics of where the Democrats lost ground it can be seen that the conscious neglect of core voters led to a drop in support for the Democrats through abstention, with Trump also capitalising on this disaffection. A failure by the Democrats to address the needs of working class Americans as well as alienation on the issue of Gaza were among the factors at work.
Friday, January 3, 2025
Frontex, the EU border agency is armed and is the only EU body to have a uniform. It's task is to guard the EU's borders and to implement the aggressive push back of migrants trying to escape war and poverty to reach Europe. With an increasing budget it also operates unaccountably.
But as the EU tries to maintain "Fortress Europe" it's own system designed to maintain free-movement of labour within the Schengen Agreement area is beginning to fall apart. There are increasing numbers of instances of restrictions by individual countries on the Agreement's operation or of its suspension.
The massive contradictions at the heart of the EU's management of migration are becoming impossible to ignore.
Thursday, January 2, 2025
The current homelessness crisis can trace its roots back 40 years to the "right to buy" policy of the conservative Government that took council housing out of public ownership and into private hands. Subsequent governments have done nothing to reverse this trend and additionally a lot of social housing has been hived off to housing associations.
Increasingly individuals and families find it hard to afford homes of a decent standard. When council housing was widely available it acted as a break on rent increases and standards were higher.
Organising tenants to put pressure on landlords and government is vital, but a task made harder by the fragmentation of housing stock where neighbours will have different landlords - private, housing association and maybe even the council.
Above all we need more council housing.
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
The Labour government has made reform of the planning system central to its efforts to increase growth. There are problems with the system which has become increasingly fragmented and dominated by the private sector in recent decades. However Labour's response does not address the central problems and some of its proposals are quite negative, like changing the designation of green belt lad so that it can be built on.
It seems to entirely have forgotten its own history where previous Labour governments took a broad visionary approach to planning which was in the hands of national and local government. Pioneering work was done in those times. Current proposals fall very far short of these past ambitions to ensure that people had good environments to live and work in.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Russia is routinely accused of interfering in democracy in other countries. While these accusations have been insubstantial, there is a growing body of evidence of Israeli interference in British politics.
Both in the United States and in the UK pro-Israel groups have channeled cash into defeating pro-Palestine law-makers and funding a wide range of Members of Parliament. In the UK some of these groups have close working relationships with the Israeli embassy and have arranged for trips to Israel by MPs. This funding and these relationships are being used to further the interests of a foreign power and undermine British sovereignty as well as subduing criticism of Israel's genocide against the Palestinians.
Monday, December 30, 2024
On a recent visit to Russia this commentator found a society that was functioning well with decent services and a sense of social cohesion. There was a sense of normality despite the war. Although people did not talk a lot about it, he found that people wanted peace, but not at any price.