Don't give way, make headway
History shows that when we rely slavishly on legislation our aspirations for advance have subsided, along with our organisation…
Historic Notes
Historic Notes
The struggle for paid holidays
Until the latter part of the 19th century, paid holidays hardly existed for workers in Britain. So how and when were they won? (A clue: not by the EU)
Class struggle across a nation
We look at two struggles from the late 19th century that helped define our class, and what Britain means…
Class struggle across a nation
25 February 2017
Since the birth of industrial capitalism, a web of industrial sinews has held the constituent regions of Britain together. The recent dismembering of much of that web has brought not only economic collapse to regions but also threatened our national integrity. We recount struggles in Scotland, London and North Wales that pursued essential class goals of improving wages and conditions of work.
1960: Fidel Castro at the UN
The world only began to understand Castro after his speech to the UN General Assembly 21 months after the Cuban Revolution, which he led to victory…
England's break from Rome
During the reign of Henry VII, England broke from Rome and embarked on the Reformation – fundamentally changing England’s outlook and behaviour…
England's Break from Rome (1532-40)
29 October 2016
The English Reformation evolved from the need of Henry VIII to divorce. Such a relatively trivial episode in led to a process that ultimately brought the total reconstruction of political power and social attitudes in England.
London rebuilt
6 September 2016
As London commemorates 350 years since the Great Fire of 2 September 1666, we are reminded of what a real catastrophe looks like – unlike the spurious and risible warnings of the “disaster” of Brexit.
The Earth and the Sun - shorter version
In 1616 the Catholic Church banned Copernicus’s books and announced its first judgement against Galileo…
The Earth and the Sun
25 August 2016
In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries two men, Copernicus and Galileo, helped to cast out ancient ideas about physics and astronomy. Their work laid the foundation for modern scientific understanding.
Paying for the Crusades
As we await the long-delayed publication of Chilcot’s inquiry into the Iraq War, here’s a reminder of the costs of medieval invasions of the Middle East…
The ever centralising, ever expanding EU super-state
30 April 2016
In its early years European integration proceeded without truly revealing its real purpose. Now we know better...
The American origins of the EU
In its early years European integration proceeded without revealing its real, political, purpose. Now we know better…
Soviet planning versus capitalist chaos
They called it the ‘Great Breakthrough’ – the launch of the Soviet Union’s first five-year plan in 1928. While the Soviet Union grew, within a year the capitalism world was plunged into slump with the Wall Street crash…
1916: Out of empire and war [shorter version]
In World War One, groups of brave Irishmen struck to leave the British Empire and the war. It became known as the Easter Rising…
1916: out of empire and war
13 February 2016
The 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin stubbornly troubles the present. Prompting strong feelings, it has been categorised wildly as dismal failure and tragic folly, daring adventure and noble sacrifice. Yet the Easter Rising obstinately shines through as a most extraordinary, challenging event whose ideals are not yet fulfilled.
1972 -1974: The London Allowance campaign
Astronomic rises in house prices and rents, young teachers unable to live in the capital, a staffing crisis in the schools. Sounds familiar?
Britain's imperial wars for opium
Extracted from poppies, opium is a highly addictive drug, though it can serve as a medicine. By the end of the 17th century, non-medicinal drug use of opium had appeared in China, particularly around the port of Canton (now know as Guangzhou), where most foreign merchants traded.
1945: America drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
28 July 2015
Seventy years ago, in August 1945, America exploded atomic bombs over two Japanese cities. Controversy still rages as to why they were used and whether these weapons should have been authorised. The USA remains the only state to have deployed nuclear weapons in warfare.
Engineers demolish the Industrial Relations Act: 1971 to 1974
The first thing the 1970 Conservative government did was to introduce an anti-trade union bill. The engineering workers’ union led the opposition and finally won out in 1974, a political earthquake that shook the whole country.
Victory in Europe: 8 May 1945
8 May 2015
The Soviet Union bore the brunt of the Second World War in Europe, which ended with the defeat of fascism 70 years ago on 8 May 1945. The balance of class forces shifted away from capitalism for a few post-war decades...
1975: Victory in Vietnam
Vietnam’s long struggle for independence culminated in victories for this small country against the military might of France and of America…
1944: Britain and the battle for Athens
22 February 2015
Britain’s repressive role in the world remains for many a hidden history. One such episode occurred in Greece, after that country had been liberated from the Nazis…
Social democracy’s great failure
Apart from the odd rhetorical flourish, the Second International never aspired to be a revolutionary organisation, unlike the First. It left no worthwhile legacy.
When Britain ran its roads
Thatcher did not start the roll back of postwar nationalisation. Capitalism’s unease at state control of the British economy surfaced as early as 1953…
1707: The Treaty of Union
Great Britain was born as a state in 1707. In essence, the Treaty of Union was a formal recognition of the ascendancy of capitalism over feudalism in all of this country. Once united, the combined resources and talents of the two countries were at the service of capital.
1921: The ‘Poplarism’ struggle
The aim of the Poor Laws was always to punish the poor. By the start of the 20th century that policy was beginning to erode. But it took working class resistance to finish them off.
1926: The General Strike
At a time when some are calling for a General Strike we need to get clearer about what happened last time there was one in Britain…
1941: The battle for Moscow
Seventy years ago the world held its breath as Nazi troops came up to the gates of the Soviet Union’s capital city... It was not only the greatest battle in the Second World War but also the largest battle ever fought between two armies.
1956: Britain, France and the Suez Canal crisis
The Suez Crisis and ensuing war saw a fundamental change in both imperialist alignments and nationalist movements in the Middle East.