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...
Review: Naomi Klein, No is Not Enough
Naomi Klein draws on her past analysis of capitalism in arguing how to defeat the "new shock politics" of Trump, writes Andrew Stone.
Donald Trump’s...
Latest articles
Interview: Dealing with the mess
Junior Doctor Stacey Williams speaks about the prospects for organising to defend lives and the NHS through the coronavirus crisis.
Bollocks to the Poll Tax
Colin Revolting remembers the day 30 years ago when one of the biggest marches ever turned into a mass riot which sunk the Tory flagship Poll Tax policy and took Prime Minister Thatcher down with it.
Education in Palestine
Education is a key battlefield in the Palestinian struggle in the wake of Trump's 'Deal of the Century'. #ExistResistReturn
Other people are not the problem
Whilst the government continues to condemn millions by asset stripping the healthcare service and backing landlords and bosses, we must remember that we are all united by their contempt for us.
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.
The Scottish government needs to defy Johnson’s Tories and act independently to save lives
Ray M argues that the Scottish government must break with Westminster in order to tackle the Covid-19 crisis appropriately.
Safer sex – lessons from the AIDS crisis
Colin Wilson remembers the community responses to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
Strikes in the time of coronavirus
How can workers respond to the unfolding coronavirus crisis, without forfeiting our collective power? A UCU member reflects. Originally published on Notes from Below.
The cradle will rock
The social crisis produced by the coronavirus has had a major impact on children and the way their care is organised. Here, a nursery worker reflects on a fortnight of uncertainty and change.
Mods and Rockers: the 1960s youth cult
Following his earlier A brief history of the Teddy Boys, Mitch Mitchell recalls the rivalries, real and manufactured, between the Mods and Rockers.
Highlights
Acting on COVID-19
With cases of the pandemic rising rapidly, we cannot rely on government or business to put health before profits. rs21 members have produced a set of actions and demands to campaign around and a summary of the safety legislation can allow workers to take action or leave work.
University strikes escalate from Monday
UCU and EIS members are briefly returning to work before escalating their strike on Monday. rs21 reports from the higher education strike around Britain.
Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en!
As Canada’s rail network is shut down by indigenous and allied land defenders, the struggle against a fracking pipeline project on Wet’suwet’en territory has received international attention.
Reject the Ten Pledges
Sai Englert argues that the ten pledges represent a continuation of an attack on the left and the Palestine solidarity movement, rather than a serious attempt to tackle antisemitism in Britain.
How we fight back
A devastating electoral defeat for Labour brings with it an inevitable battle for interpretation. It also sharply illustrates the need for our side to build power beyond parliament.