Issue 42 Autumn 2021

CONTENTS: Divided Tories fail to get Brexit (and other things) done, by Frieda Park:  Starmer's failing leadership, by Scott McDonald:  Brexit, borders and division in Ireland, by Ernest Walker:  State intervention makes a return - can it save capitalism, by Noah Tucker:  I'll be watching you - surveillance of homewokers, by Simon Korner:  Coronavirus over 4 million dead, by Milly Cunningham:  South America - popular struggle wins victories, by Dan Morgan:  Anti-imperialism, oil and NATO's destruction of Libya, by Pat Turnbull:  Collateral Damage, Reviewed by Pat Turnbull:  Beyond the Red Wall, Reviewed by Paul Lefley

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Articles featured in Issue 42

• Divided Tories fail to get Brexit (and other things) done
  Sunday, August 29, 2021

  Despite the continued mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and the botched exit deal from the EU, Boris Johnson still seems Teflon coated. Johnson has been able to survive so far because of his popularity in the Tory Party and his huge majority in parliament. Also because the establishment want an orderly transition to a new leader which doesn’t expose the Tories failures too much nor their anti-democratic practices, contempt for the electorate and corruption. Divisions are beginning to emerge among the Tories on multiple issues meaning Johnson, far from being invincible, is looking increasingly insecure.
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• Starmer's failing leadership
  Saturday, August 28, 2021

  Despite Tory failures there is a woeful lack of opposition from the official opposition in the shape of Keir Starmer. Labour’s poor electoral performances of late have underlined Starmer’s lack of credibility with the voters. He and those around him have drawn the wrong conclusions from electoral defeats in the so-called Red Wall constituencies. The real causes of alienation in working class communities and the radical changes needed to address them are ignored in favour of superficial responses, like making Labour look “patriotic” by appearing with Union Jacks. This is a poor imitation of the Tories and goes down particularly badly in Scotland. There is too much concentration on parliament and not enough on class struggle.
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• South America - popular struggle wins victories
  Friday, August 27, 2021

  For centuries enormous struggles have taken place a across Latin America against Spanish, British and US imperialism and their domestic allies. In the course of that time there have been tremendous victories, like the Cuban revolution, and huge defeats like the overthrow of the Popular Unity government in Chile. But people across the continent have kept resisting and fighting for change. Even a few months ago few would have predicted that a self-declared Marxist would be elected president of Peru. In Bolivia, after a bitter defeat for the left and Evo Morales and a campaign of right wing terrorist violence, nevertheless, Luis Arce from Morales’s party, the Movement Towards Socialism, won the presidential election. In Chile the left has a majority on the convention writing the new constitution for the country. None of this was achieved by purely electoral politics – these successes arose from the struggles of the working class, social movements and indigenous peoples.
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• Coronavirus - over 4 million dead
  Thursday, August 26, 2021

  More than 4 million people, by official estimates have now died from coronavirus. Inequality between rich and poor has been the cause of high death tolls as countries lack the infrastructure and resources to treat and vaccinate people. Even in some rich countries, such as Britain, there have been high death tolls as governments have little regard for the welfare of their people. But some countries, such as China and Vietnam, have done a much better job of looking after their populations.
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• State intervention makes a come back - can it save capitalism?
  Wednesday, August 25, 2021

  Capitalism has major issues to address about the failures of its neoliberal model. Greater state intervention in the economy is being pursued in the United States and Britain. Although this may seem a radical departure from neoliberal orthodoxy, nevertheless it is nothing like the levels of nationalisation and state intervention which once prevailed. Facing global challenges, especially from China, will these modest departures from free market dogma be enough to save capitalism?
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• I'll be watching you - surveillance of homeworkers
  Tuesday, August 24, 2021

  The Working Class and 21st Century Capitalism. The growth in homeworking during the pandemic has highlighted that workers are being watched and monitored to an ever greater degree. This is all about speeding up work and extending the working day to increase exploitation. It has major implications for the health, well-being and privacy of employees and their families and for how Trade Unions respond.
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• Anti-imperialism, oil and NATO's destruction of Libya
  Monday, August 23, 2021

  It is ten years on from NATO’s 2011 seven-month long bombardment of Libya, and this once secular, peaceful and prosperous country is still in turmoil. The destruction of Libya was part of a bigger plan by the US to oust Middle Eastern leaders who they believed threatened their interests. Colonel Gaddafi the Libyan leader, brutally murdered during the war, was for a time, at the forefront of efforts to develop his country and build anti-imperialist alliances. Libyan people once benefited from its oil wealth but now the face chaos, danger and hardship in a civil war brought about by the United States.
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• Collateral Damage - Book Review
  Sunday, August 22, 2021

  Collateral Damage by Steve Howell (Quaero Publishing, 2021) The novel is set in 1987, a year after the United States bombed Libya on April 14 1986. It deals with the mysterious death of Tom, a British peace activist, whilst on a delegation to Tripoli marking the anniversary of the bombing. It is a whodunit which gradually reveals the truth in true whodunit fashion. It is often told from the perspective of Tom's girlfriend, Ayesha who is Palestinian-Lebanese. Her background has given her experiences of separation and loss which only make her more determined to find out the truth.
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• Book review - Beyond the Red Wall
  Saturday, August 21, 2021

  Beyond the Red Wall : Why Labour Lost, How the Conservatives Won and What Will Happen Next? By Deborah Mattinson Biteback publishing 2020 This book looks at the "Red Wall" seats that Labour lost at the 2019 general election. It contains a lot of interesting material on the state of the communities involved and why the Tories won them. Despite this it manages to draw entirely the wrong conclusions about the way forward for Labour, focusing on knee-jerk right-wing reactions rather than addressing the profound structural problems facing those communities which require radical change.
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• Brexit, borders and division in Ireland
  Friday, August 20, 2021

  Boris Johnson's quick-fix Brexit deal created a de facto border down the Irish sea, creating turmoil in Northern Ireland. Unionists in particular, see their interests threatened by this and have launched strong opposition politically and in the streets. On the other hand nationalists see it as a possible route to a united Ireland. Meanwhile the UK government is seeking an amnesty for soldiers responsible for killings during the troubles.
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