Is France on the verge of another May '68?

http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2009/06/france-party-npa-european

It's worth checking out this piece by Andrew Hussey, long-time commentator on French politics, in the New Statesman. He examines the prospects for another 1968-style upheaval in France, plus there's a useful round-up of Europe's radical left ('Left of the Left'). Hussey writes: 'I have never seen anything quite like the anger that has been building up during demonstrations over the past few months against the government of Nicolas Sarkozy.'

I am especially struck by the level of generalisation politically, the indications that people are linking their own specific struggles with something bigger: "we are sick of having no control over our lives", "we are degaraded as citizens". For socialists it is also very significant that the NPA, the recently-launched anti-capitalist party, is gaining such high approval in the country, especially amongst the young. It offers hope of the organised Left channelling the widespread anger and linking various struggles.

Time to go home

Video for anti-war song by Michael Franti:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSeuLsNV4CA

Songs which are overtly political are not always - how can I put this politely? - creatively successful. This song is different: catchy, strong rhythm, evocative lyrics. The song's message is utterly unambiguous - bring the troops home from America's foreign wars and occupations - without it feeling like you're being hit over the head with propaganda. The atmospheric video, with some vivid and unforgettable images, packs a punch too. I believe this was put out a couple of years back, but I've just discovered it through the Stop the War site - with the troops still not home despite the election of President Obama, it feels more resonant than ever.

Over several years there's been a strong tradition of artists in various fields - music, film, theatre, visual arts etc - expressing and exploring issues arising from the 'war on terror' in their work. A great many have sought to expose the truth of war and express the disgust and anger millions of us feel, with an impressive range of writers, musicians, actors and others finding ways to directly support the anti-war movement, e.g. benefit events, performing at rallies.

It's important that the tradition is maintained. Seeing this video now also, indirectly, raises the question of whether we can hope to see a renewal of the US anti-war movement in the age of Obama. It's clear the movement is as necessary as before - hopefully American activists, many of whom campaigned for Obama, will recognise this. It's certainly not enough to sit back and hope Obama delivers.

love music hate racism

Excellent new video from Love Music Hate Racism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0xf4TTZOEs

It's good to see something so inventive and clever in getting the message across that music depends utterly on multi-racialism. The video is wittily and creatively using 21st century tools to do what Rock Against Racism did so brilliantly in the late 1970s: utilising music to convey an anti-racist message and isolate support for the Nazis among young people.

The BNP were quick and adept in exploiting the Internet's potential - and the party also makes good use of music recordings for raising funds and creating networks of support. Anti-fascists need to make use of the same methods but in order to communicate a radically different message.

I gather the video was funded by the PCS union, so it's a welcome illustration of what union support for the anti-fascist movement can contribute. Unions have also funded a huge number of leaflets and free newspapers for distribution in the run up to Thursday's Euro elections. It coincides, too, with Stoke's big Love Music Hate Racism festival, which took place yesterday.

Doug Henderson MP: good work if you can get it

It has emerged today that Doug Henderson, Labour MP for Newcastle North, is earning £25,000 a year for just 2 weeks' work as some kind of non-executive director for McDonalds. He has apparently earned a whopping £100,000 over the last 4 years for this meagre amount of work. Gordon Brown has been in North Shields and Durham today - one of our local MPs has certainly done a good job of upstaging him.

Of all the recent revelations about our elected representatives' finances, this is one of the most extraordinary and audacious. It is so totally out of proportion to anything that can possibly be justified. It just makes it worse that the business in question is one of the most disgraced and despised of multinational corporations. Perhaps the hapless Henderson has taken Mandelson's famous line "we are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich" to heart.

I feel a campaign demanding Henderson's deselection brewing. Or perhaps something more direct than deselection! With today's news reporting a veritable roll call of celebrity figures declaring they may stand as independents, in various constituencies hit by the expenses scandal, it's essential the left sizes the initiative here and instigates a principled campaign against pampered and compromised MPs.

Strengthening the green shoots of resistance

BBC Newcastle, my local radio station, reported this morning that 1 in 6 of 18-24 year olds in the North East are now claiming jobseekers' allowance. When it comes to jobs, a recession hits the young hardest - those who have never worked before find it especially hard to get work in tough times. Unemployment is rising fast - and it's the under-25s who suffer most.

This is part of the rationale for the kind of movement I wrote about in my previous post ('A new Right to Work Campaign?'). We need to co-ordinate resistance from below and it's traditionally the young who give a lead, and are the most militant, in such situations.

The crisis of the system looks set to be long and deep, with mass unemployment a central feature for some years. Yet the union leaders' response has been slow and weak. It's not just the lack of a fightback, but the dubious politics - 'British Jobs for British Workers' - that weakens the resistance. Tragically, the lack of a fightback - combined with concessions to nationalism - has opened the door to increased support for the BNP. We need a principled, anti-racist movement over jobs to counter the Nazis' racist poison.


It's very welcome that we've already seen some 'green shoots' of resistance: G20 protests, student occupations over Gaza, the fightback at London Met Uni, Glasgow's school occupations, and (above all) the occupations at Wateford, Visteon and Prisme. The up-coming 'Fight for the Right to Work' conference raises the hope of creating networks that link struggles, strengthen solidarity and generalises from the struggles that do take place.

We clearly need a vibrant new rank-and-file movement. After all, trade union organisation is now much more bureaucratised than in the 1970s. We need to build from the bottom up. Youth unemployment, as I've indicated, looks like being a particular focus for struggle.

This can be strengthened, too, by student activists making the campaign for jobs a priority. Many graduates will struggle to find jobs on leaving uni this summer. There are 2.7 million students today and the recent wave of Gaza occupations suggests potential for student activism and for the universities to become centres of resistance.

The lessons of history - notably the 1930s and 1970s - inidicate that unemployed people can be organised and can win demands. Their struggles can be linked to those of trade unionists and spark a wider fightback. They can also become the platform for raising wider demands like cancellation of student debts, government intervention to save jobs, and raising benefits.

It will be interesting to see what emerges from the 13 June conference, and from the discussions going on in coming weeks. The potential still needs to be tapped.

A new Right to Work Campaign?

Visteon, Waterfords and Prisme workers - all of whom have recently occupied their workplaces and inspired everyone who wants a real fightback to save jobs - have initiated an important conference 'Fight for the right to work'. It's at SOAS in London on Saturday 13 June and is garnering support from a number of union branches and regions as well as the students unions of SOAS, Essex and Goldsmiths.

The conference will debate the way forward, but inevitably there's speculation it will launch a major national campaign similar to the Right to Work Campaign in the 1970s. Many people will consider this a hopeful sign. It seems there's the prospect of a mass campaign uniting trade unionists, students and young unemployed people, which can mobilise on the streets while hopefully inspiring a more militant fightback by the unions. Such a campaign could enable the rank and file to seize the initiative away from the union bureaucracy, just as the occupying workers at Visteon did.

More generally, the conference will provoke discussion about how we develop a united response to the economic crisis. The 'united front' tactic refers to the method of organised socialists working with a wide range of people over specific issues to build as big and broad a campaign as possible. So far this has been underdeveloped in response to the recession, but maybe we're starting to see this change.

The Labour Conference in late September could be crucial: momentum is building to make it the focus for a major demonstration for jobs. The recent Birmingham demo was small, but this could be very different. It will need systematic building through local meetings, protests, stunts, direct action, etc over the next three months. Perhaps there could be a RTW-style march to the conference. How about that linked with a demand that the conference admits a representative of the unemployed to address the conference? Imagine 10,000 students and young workers pushing at the police lines outside the LP conference demanding the right to be heard. That could really launch a serious national campaign!

Making an impact will partly be about getting a big turnout, but the other thing is equally important - it has to combine the radicalism and militancy and youthfulness of the student occupations and G20 City demo with the mobilising power of the unions. The Put People First demo (big but 'respectable') and 1 April protest (smaller but anti-capitalist) were totally separate phenomena - could this be a chance to bring those strands together? It could be dynamite.

targeting corrupt politicans

Great posters, produced by the SWP, exposing the cant and hypocrisy of disgraced politicans.

how do we stop the jobs massacre?

I have already blogged about both the demonstrations last Saturday: London's Gaza demo, which I attended, and the disappointing March for Jobs in Birmingham. It's worth considering the significance of the latter event, especially as some billed it (in advance) as a likely major breakthrough for mobilising in defence of jobs. Sadly, it wasn't.

Considering the scale of the crisis, you might have expected a much bigger turnout. Perhaps you would have expected a series of such marches by now, involving a range of unions. Or possibly a more co-ordinated approach by the unions, instead of last weekend's Unite-dominated affair.

Yet none of this has happened. We've also had the TUC Put People First march, which attracted 35,000, followed by anti-capitalist protests in the City of London to co-incide with the G20. But, considering the potential of the union movement combined with the backlash against bankers and neoliberalism, it's hardly momentous.

That is not to say these are not still noteworthy. The PPF demo was impressive up to a point, and the G20 City protest gave a glimpse of a possible resurgence in anti-capitalism. The occupations at Visteon, more than anything, constituted a decisive step forward, though they haven't yet sparked a wider fightback so it is perhaps too early to evaluate.

Socialists need to reflect carefully on developments. Rather than simply being cheerleaders for struggle, we need an accurate and informed assessment to guide our strategy and tactics.

The central difficulty is the inertia of the union bureaucracies. The historic weakening of the unions over the last 30 years makes it difficult for the rank and file to overcome this. The problem is made worse by the closeness of the unions to Labour, with the likelihood of a Tory return to office and some vaguely leftish rhetoric from Brown helping shore up union leaders' compliance with the Labour Party machine. The lack of a credible left-of-Labour electoral alternative makes it still harder to undermine the union-Labour link.

The union marches so far have had strengths, but also weaknesses. Before the PPF demo Brendan Barber of the TUC stressed that they didn't want anti-capitalist protestors turning up. It was hardly the alliance of 'Teamsters and Turtles' which Seattle, nearly a decade ago, became known for. Indeed the more radical and militant protest was an entirely separate affair, taking place the following Wednesday.

Unite's demo was undermined by the union's apparent desire to keep everyone else at arm's length. Here in Tyneside the only transport to Birmingham was organised by Unite, who insisted that non-Unite members were not welcome. This was hardly a gesture of solidarity! Then there's the problem of weak politics, from Unite's succumbing to nationalism earlier this year ('British Jobs for British Workers') to the apolitical, and slightly dubious, slogans like 'Men of Steel' on the Corus workers' official placards, from the illusions in Gordon Brown to the welcoming of Digby Jones - former head of the bosses' CBI - on Saturday's march.

Pointing out our limitations is not to succumb to despair. We just need to be realistic. There were 10,000 on the City protest, following a 'mainstream' march and rally of 35,000 a few days earlier - and there was little direct connection between the two. This is a far cry from Genoa in 2001 - 300,000 in the big march, a day after tens of thousands were involved in direct action - or Florence in October 2002, when the European Social Forum was followed by a massive anti-war march.

One lesson from all this is the need for greater rank and file initiative, to overcome the limitations of official leaders. Another key point is the necessity of a left wing political alternative; though for the time being this is sadly not on the cards, it has to be part of the long-term view. We also need to find mechanisms for linking up the dynamism and radicalism of anti-capitalism with the power of the unions.

Crucially, though, we must acknowledge where we are strongest and utilise our strengths in other areas. The left's great advantage in recent years has been in building mass movements, whose primary locus is the streets - most obviously the anti-war movement. We need to find ways of tapping into this - methods for connecting with radicalised students, young workers, young unemployed, activists - to strengthen the resistance.

A key date in this project will be the 'Fight for the right to work' conference in London on 13 June, when networks can hopefully be created that start to take the initative away from the tired union machines and put it back with the rank and file.

permanent war, permanent resistance

General Jim Matthis of US joint forces of command: "Simply put, much of what we see in the cities of Iraq, the mountains of Afghanistan, and the foothills of Southern Lebanon, I believe we will see again in the futuire".

The same sentiment as that expressed by Matthis can be found in the latest speech from General Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the British army. He promises the kind of long war, or permanent state of conflict, that the neocons of the Bush era seemed to relish. He actually calls for even more "boots on the ground" to wage wars and sustain military occupations.

The hopes of many that ridding us of Blair and then Bush might bring an end to the 'war on terror' are proving elusive. This is why we need the power of a protest movement against US imperialist domination more than ever. Afghanistan, in particular, is becoming more central.

As troops are slowly withdrawn from Iraq, the focus of US and UK attention has increasingly shifted eastwards. President Obama has disappointed the aspirations of millions by intensifying the military operations in what many people recognise as an unwinnable and immoral 'long war'. With instability quickly growing over the border in Pakistan, it is essential we build a movement of opposition to endless war and occupation.

In Tyneside our next step is a public meeting on Afghanistan, organised by Stop the War. It's at Friends Meeting House, Newcastle, at 7pm on Monday 1 June. It should serve as a springboard for future action.

Make your vote count?

In the upcoming Euro elections the Nazi BNP look likely to win a number of seats. It is not inevitable, but the anticipated closeness of the vote in several regions puts greater emphasis on the tactic of voting for someone - anyone - other than the fascists in order to minimise the percentage they receive.

I have some sympathy with the tactic, but a couple of obvious problems accompany it. Telling people they should vote to keep the Nazis out - 'make your vote count' - will appeal to many, but not to all. The fact is that many people simply won't vote, however much you push this slogan, either due to general alienation from the electoral system or because there isn't anyone they want to vote for. It can also be used opportunistically by the mainstream parties to bolster their vote and credibility ('we may be shit, but vote for us because at least we're not Nazis').

There is a linked problem too, which is the tendency for anti-fascism to become closely associated with a defence of the political mainstream - a case of 'keep the extremists out', rather than 'keep the fascists out'.

I therefore still advocate the old Anti Nazi League slogan: Don't Vote Nazi. That is, after all, the central message, and it unites everyone (it also has the advantage of highlighting that the BNP are Nazis). People can then make their own minds up about whether or not to vote, without moralising and moderation from the Establishment parties or the distracting politics of tactical voting that most of the Left is now indulging in.

Festival of resistance

The full timetable for this summer's Marxism festival is now online.

Marxism attracts thousands of people every year, and the current economic and political crisis of capitalism - combined with the on-going disaster of US imperialism's wars and occupations - gives the event a sharper edge and an urgency like never before. There are courses on Imperialism Today, Palestine's Fight for Freedom, Islam and Islamism, Capital for Beginners, Revolution and beyond, to name just a few. I'm also pleased to see there's some great cultural events, including 'Call Mr Robeson' (I saw this in Newcastle in March - see a previous post), an evening of Palestinian music of resistance, and a tribute the late, great poet Adrian Mitchell.

It's hard to pick out likely highlights from 200 sessions, but some of the big meetings that look especially good include Gary Younge on Obama's rise to power, Socialist Worker editor Chris Bambery and academic Adam Tooze discussing 'Could Hitler have won?', Lindsey German and Haifa Zangana on 'War, the crisis and imperialism today', leading Marxist academic David Harvey exploring 'The enigma of Capital', Tariq Ali on the crisis of American empire, and a forum asking 'How can we fight for women's liberation?' with Judith Orr and Guardian columnist Zoe Williams.

There are also some less high-profile meetings that look fascinating: archaeologist Neil Faulkner on 'The rise and fall of the Roman Empire' (any parallels with America today?), James Meadway examining whether we are now seeing 'the return of the state' due to the system's crisis, Patrick Ward on 'The internet, democracy and the movement', Ghada Karmi revealing the truth about the founding of Israel in 1948, John Rees on The Levellers and the English Revolution, Sabby Sagall on how Marxists view 'human nature', and of course many more.

Check out the timetable - and if you're not already signed up, what are you waiting for?

the movement stays on the streets

There were two demonstrations yesterday: Birmingham's march for jobs and a London demo to mark the anniversary of the Nakba, the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their own land in order to found the state of Israel in 1948.

I was with thousands of others in London, showing that the movement for solidarity with Gaza has not gone away. I travelled down on a coach with a great mix of people from the North East, all of them dedicated to ensuring the world doesn't forget the suffering of Gaza's people. The marches and protests in January were an astonishing display of solidarity with Palestine - while we may not mobilise such big numbers right now, events like these are vital for sustaining networks at a time when Israeli violence and brutality are not front page news.

Lindsey German, Stop the War convenor, was applauded for asserting that we also march in defence of our right to protest and against the poisonous Islamaphobia that accompanies the whole US-UK-Israeli 'war on terror'. January's mobilisations brought tens of thousands of Muslims back on to the streets - and indeed was a first outing for many others - in defiance of police racism and the wider culture of vilification and prejudice. Our movement continues to resist the ideological backlash that seeks to portray Muslims as a threatening 'enemy within'.

This is especially crucial at a time when the BNP aims to take seats in the European Parliament. A vibrant, multi-racial and anti-imperialist pole of attraction is needed in British political culture. It is, amongst other things, integral to the fightback against the rise of today's Nazis.

is this what leadership looks like?

7000 people?!

Yes indeed. That's the turnout organisers claim for yesterday's national March for Jobs in Birmingham. It can only be described as pathetic. And it's even worse that one of its leaders was the former head of the bosses' CBI, Digby Jones (pictured).

Unite is this country's biggest union. With two million members, you might expect it to be able to mobilise a mass demonstration in defence of our beleagured manufacturing industry. We desperately need action - on the streets and in the workplaces - to protect jobs. Yet the official leaders of the union movement continue to fail in giving a lead.

This surely illustrates the need to move beyond the limits of the union bureaucracy. We should continue to put pressure on the union leaders and demand they call strikes and protests, but more than ever it is clear that won't be enough.

Yesterday's dismal shower of a demo shows how urgent it is for us to build through the grassroots. A sharp orientation on rank and file organisation is necessary - only in this way can socialists and union militants hope to unite large numbers in a show of union strength.

This means left wing groups and union branches up and down the country taking the 13 June 'Fight for your right to work' conference very seriously indeed. Initiated by Visteon and Waterfords workers, fresh from inspiring occupations, this is an attempt to bring together all those who want a fightback for jobs. It holds out the hope of starting to build permanent networks of solidarity and struggle, co-ordinating the efforts of trade unionists, young unemployed workers and students.

Following this weekend's failure, the conference's discussions about creating a new militant mass campaign for the right to work - built from the bottom up, with no illusions in the bureaucrats - will take on a special importance.

Fight for the Right to Work

The success at Visteon will no doubt give a boost to the 'Fight for the Right to Work' conference, planned for 13 June in London. The Visteon occupiers have helped initiate the conference, which is also supported by the occupying workers who recently ended their action at Waterford Glass in Ireland.

It is hoped union branches, stewards' committees and students' groups across the country will support the conference and mobilise for it. While it isn't yet clear what will emerge from the event, it seems obvious that it will become more than just a 'talking shop'. There is a growing appetite for action over jobs and the conference will need to find ways of tapping into this. There will no doubt be strong calls for permanent networks and increased co-ordination, presumably around the event's slogan: Fight for the right to work.

According to the invitation to supporters I've seen, it will include focusing on how to 'involve the unemployed, particularly the young unemployed, in the battle for jobs and against redundancies'. This sounds promising: the numbers of young unemployed grow by the day, and they have the potential to mobilise on the streets in big numbers.

If we can deliver on this potential, and also link it up with a fightback in the workplaces and the new activism and militancy on campuses across the country (principally over Gaza and war, but capable of spilling over into other areas), we could see a decisive shift in resistance against the impact of capitalism's crisis.

Victory at Visteon

Socialist Worker reports here on a significant victory by Visteon workers at Basildon, Enfield and Belfast. The result is extremely impressive - and can only by explained by the workers' willingness to take decisive and militant action in defence of their jobs. They put workplace occupations firmly back on the agenda and aroused a great deal of support and solidarity.

The timing is perfect: May Day, international day of workers' solidarity, has inadvertently become the occasion for a breakthrough for our labour movement. It shows that massive multinationals like Ford are not - as neoliberalism's apologists claim - invincible. Workers' struggles can still achieve what pleading and polite lobbying never can.

In the last week we've also seen victory for Dundee's Prisme workers and the announcment of two important events: the 'Fight for the Right to Work' conference on 13 June, and a mass protest for jobs at Labour Conference on 27 Sept. Combined with the continuing movement of protest over Palestine, war and occupation, which will mobilise on the streets again in a fortnight, it's obvious things are shaping up.