Andrew Stone
Review: Can’t Pay Won’t Pay
The 30th anniversary of the Trafalgar Square riot is a good time to reflect on Simon Hannah’s engaging account of the movement that scuppered Thatcher’s poll tax, writes Andrew Stone
revolutionary reflections | The Anti-Poll Tax Federation: Organisation and spontaneity
The anti-poll tax movement was arguably the most successful social movement in Great Britain since the 1970s. In advance of the 30th anniversary of the poll tax riot (31 March 1990), Andrew Stone explores how political organisations and grassroots initiative interacted.
Tough lessons to learn
The struggle against worsening conditions and cuts in education continues. Andrew Stone, 6th form college teacher and District Secretary of Wandsworth NEU, writes in a personal capacity about an upcoming strike and a ballot in Tower Hamlets.
Raising the rate of resistance
Educators in the sixth form sector prepare for 3 days of strike action over funding and pay beginning Thursday 17 October.
Review: We Need To Talk About Putin
Mark Galeotti's alternate perspective on Putin, as presented in his recent book We Need to Talk About Putin, provides an interesting read.
Happy NEU year?
The newly formed National Education Union is currently balloting for action. What are the prospects for the new union and the left within it?
Reflections on the Education Spring
An interview with Lois Weiner about the flowering of militancy in the US education system
Experimenting on our kids: academisation and its discontents
Staff are taking strike action against the academisation of their school in Greenwich. Their next strike days are on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12...
Half a millennium away: Martin Luther’s 95 theses 500 years on
On the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses, Andrew Stone looks at the context in which Protestantism arose and the global impact it had.
On 31...
NEU radicals?
Andrew Stone, Joint Secretary of the Wandsworth branch of the newly formed National Education Union, writes in a personal capacity on prospects for trade...
Latest articles
Fighting for the NHS: victory in Wales
The Tories may clap, but they had brought the NHS to its knees before Covid-19. The campaign to save an A&E in South Wales shows how communities can defeat cuts and role back austerity.
China ends Hong Kong autonomy
Beijing hopes that the imposition of the 'National Security Law' will mean the end of the democratic movement in Hong Kong. Colin Sparks argues that they are likely to be disappointed.
The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020: results and prospects
Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal considers the situation of the BLM movement in Britain and argues for centring the politics of abolition and anti-imperialist solidarity.
The British left must stand in solidarity with Palestinians
Max Stein argues for vocal solidarity with Palestinians as the annexation of the West Bank goes ahead.
Artivists at Work
Artivists at Work was formed in response to the government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Here's a round-up of highlights from June and details of how to get involved.
Leave Labour with a plan
For the thousands leaving Labour, the key is not just to leave, writes Colin Wilson – it’s to leave with a plan to build something different.
Solidarity on the streets of London and Manchester
People protested to stand against the Tories' attacks on trans rights and to demand justice for Shukri Abdi. The two causes found each other on the streets.
The Fairplay Committee
Mitch Mitchell recounts the legacy of the Fairplay Committee, a group aiming to improve the conditions of black workers in the music industry.
Rising up against ‘the science’
The latest relaxation of the lockdown is a political rather than a scientific decision, and it will put thousands of lives at risk without a fully functioning Test, Trace and Isolate system.
Anti-racism and re-building union strength
Liverpool dockers fought a valiant campaign in the 1990s to defend their jobs from an anti-union crackdown. Now they are rebuilding their union with fighting and internationalist traditions.
Highlights
Whose side are you on?
The Black Lives Matter protests have come up against police and the far right in the streets. Starmer’s Labour Party has taken the side of the cops.
Video: Black Lives Matter
Black activists in Britain talk about the response to the murder of George Floyd, underlying racism and economic factors, links with the pandemic and how we build anti-racist solidarity.
Johnson’s 1 June plans in tatters – how do we build our strength?
Rob Owen argues that the NEU has won a convincing, but not complete, victory over the government and addresses how we develop workplace organisation in the coming weeks.
Trans rights and ‘gender ideology’ in Hungary
The Hungarian parliament has passed new legislation that will eradicate any recognition of transgender people. Hanna Gál situates the new developments in the context of the far-right ruling parties’ hostility to ‘gender ideology’ and argues for a trans-inclusive feminist fightback.
Debt in a time of coronavirus
Video: How has coronavirus boosted household debt, the impact on working-class people and on the capitalist economy, and the possibilities for campaigning and resistance?