Labour Party

McDonnell’s challenge collapses as MPs display weakness of Labour Left

Despite months of exhausting work building support at grass roots level and in the trade union rank and file, John McDonnell’s attempt to challenge Gordon Brown for the party leadership collapsed before the deadline for nominations – for lack of support among Labour MPs.

 

Labour Party

As Blair exits, stage right

Prior to his resignation, Blair admitted that public hostility made him a liability to his party. He could hardly deny it. Opinion polls rated the party at it’s lowest since the early Thatcher years.

 

Scotland

The collapse of the left vote in Scotland.

The collapse of the anti-capitalist/socialist vote in the elections for the Scottish Parliament is a major setback for the radical left in Scotland, Britain, Europe and beyond.

 

Climate change

Castro on climate change and capitalism

Fidel Castro, almost uniquely among world leaders, shows a real understanding of just how serious a threat climate change poses to human society. This is an edited version of an article he published on May 9. It vividly demonstrates just how seriously Castro is studying the subject and engaging with intellectuals and activists who are developing a socialist explanation of how capitalism is changing the planet. In particular he demolishes the myths about biofuels.

 

Climate change

The three working groups of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have now reported. Watered down by diplomats from the most heavily polluting countries, this Report undoubtedly underplays the severity of the climate crisis; nevertheless, it still constitutes a damning indictment of the potentially catastrophic environmental impact of capitalism.

 

Africa

Manoeuvring for a strategic foothold in Somalia, the US is backing Ethiopian forces occupying Somalia in their latest terror campaign against civilians.

 

Africa

Both the civil war now raging in Darfur and earlier conflict in Sudan between the North and the South have been fuelled by the fight for control of Sudan’s oil resources.

 

Election analysis

Respect scored a series of good results in last week’s local elections. Where it stood, it proved a serious challenge – not only to the smaller parties but to Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories.

 

Election analysis

Preston Respect Councillor Michael Lavalette won his seat in Preston Town Centre ward by a landslide in the local elections in May.

 

Election analysis

Respect gained another seat in Birmingham thanks to some hard campaigning and the precedent that had been set by Salma Yaqoob’s stunning victory in the same ward of Sparkbrook last year.

 

Scotland

It’s not who votes that counts, it’s who counts the votes said Josef Stalin. The New Labour establishment could have taught the commissars of the old Soviet Union a thing or two about manipulating elections.

 

Economy

Apparent stability masks a deeper fragility

Any successor to Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer is likely to face a much more difficult set of economic problems than those apparent in the last few years. There are recent tell tale signs, such as the rise in the value of the pound above two dollars and the rise in the rate of inflation above three per cent.

 

France

It was apt that news of Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory was greeted by small riots in a number of French towns. These first expressions of popular anger are only the first of the innumerable conflicts that we will see during his presidency.

 

Russia

Boris Yeltsin 1931 – 2007:

Boris Yeltsin, who died on 23 April 2007, was described by the Western media as the person who ‘ushered in democracy in Russia’ (BBC) and although ‘the democracy was flawed ... he had the right instincts. For liberating Russians from the yoke of the one-party state and the planned economy, he deserves immense gratitude’ (The Economist). That gratitude comes predominantly, of course, from Western governments and transnational corporations, anxious to profit from Russia’s huge market and vast natural resources.

 

Fourth International

The 23rd youth camp of the Fourth International will take place from Saturday 21 July to Friday 27 July in Barbaste, France. Over 500 young people from all over Europe are expected to come together for a week of political discussion, exchange of experience, self-organisation and having a good time.