HS2 costs soar
26 June 2025
Britain’s railway network needs the capacity that HS2 was supposed to deliver. The latest review says little new and doesn’t address those needs.
News Analyses
News Analyses
Defence – an alternative view
25 June 2025
An alternative defence review challenges assumptions about the necessity of increasing militarisation. Jobs in defence are not the answer to industrial decline.
Starmer’s year of warmaking
4 June 2025
Since he became prime minister, Keir Starmer has toured the world talking war and preparing for war, moving back closer to the EU. This is not in Britain’s interest. He says the defence review will regenerate industry, but his government is doing the opposite.
Stay away from the EU defence pact!
8 May 2025
A proposed security pact with the EU to be signed at the EU summit on 19 May will subordinate Britain’s defence interests to those of the EU. The Labour government calls this a “reset” in relations with the EU, but it’s far more extensive, and damaging.
Steel industry still at risk
24 April 2025
The British steel industry in Britain remains at risk despite saving the Scunthorpe steel plant from immediate closure. But more action is needed to secure the industry’s future.
Conscription won’t help defend Britain
4 April 2025
The idea of conscription keeps returning. The ruling class wants to make the idea acceptable. The defence of Britain is a far wider matter and workers need to ask questions about that.
Steel strategy – cautious welcome
25 February 2025
Steel is a vital product, yet the future of the industry in Britain is continually threatened. Recent moves by the government are an opportunity to change that, as long as it addresses energy costs.
Farming under threat
18 December 2024
Farmers continue to campaign against tax changes and other threats to farming. This focuses attention on food production and the condition of our countryside.
Budget: reality bites
2 November 2024
Details of the Budget were widely trailed beforehand. But behind the headlines and promises there is much that should concern workers.
Warmongers, not peacemakers
25 October 2024
The defence pact with Germany just announced is the latest step in the Labour government’s warmongering. Since the election, Starmer and his ministers have actively ramped up NATO commitments in the name of “defence”.
Net zero is a trade union issue
21 October 2024
This year’s TUC showed rising tension between an ideological support of net zero and the real-world impacts on workers. A life-long trade unionist has contacted Workers with his observations.
Employment rights – still blocked by law
21 October 2024
The Employment Rights Bill, published on 10 October, does not repeal all the anti-union acts enforced by Thatcher and her successors, Tory and Labour. And the promises of change don’t stand up to scrutiny.
Grenfell inquiry says all 72 deaths avoidable
9 September 2024
The final report from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry says that the deaths in the fire were all avoidable. It sets out how that came about and makes many recommendations to improve safety, which need to be acted on.
Labour on the war path
11 July 2024
Despite claiming to be a government of change, Labour continues to support NATO and overseas aggression. If anything, they are escalating the conflict in Ukraine.
US arms spending will start wars
22 April 2024
The USA has worsened the prospects of peace in three regions of the world. It has voted funds for increased military support to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Described as enabling defence and security, this action will escalate already dangerous situations.
Step forward water industry workers
15 April 2024
Britain’s largest privatised water company is in financial trouble, as are others. This threatens the supply and safety of our water. It need not be that way.
Devolution not a priority for Welsh workers
2 February 2024
The Welsh government can’t persuade Welsh workers that more devolution is good for them. A recent report by its own commission provides further evidence of that – and of its misguided ambition.
A more dangerous world
25 January 2024
The British and US governments are stoking conflict across the world, supporting Israel to continue its war on Gaza. They oppose a ceasefire in Gaza and egg Ukraine on against Russia, ignoring Britain’s needs.
Student loans: a cost to us all
22 January 2024
Student loans aren’t a good deal for students or taxpayers. A new report highlights the increasing costs for government.
Critical period for UCU members
24 September 2023
Members of the Universities and Colleges Union face difficult choices in continuing their action on pay and conditions in the face of employer resistance.
NHS safety – collective organisation the only guarantee
8 September 2023
Safety in the NHS is ensured by the collective organisation of professional skilled workers, the scandal of Lucy Letby's murders at the Countess of Cheshire hospital shows.
Rebuild our schools – assert our priorities
1 September 2023
Closing schools just before the start of term was sudden and unplanned but no surprise. Many school buildings are in poor repair and have been for some time. This is unsafe and bad for pupils’ education.
Britain’s crippling debt
21 August 2023
Government debt headlines when it goes up or when the government says it wants to reduce it. The level of debt has spiralled out of control, and capitalism has no answer.
Health unions make progress
9 March 2023
Health service workers are making progress in their pay dispute now that the government is talking to all unions directly about NHS England pay.
Sturgeon out in boost for unity
Sturgeon’s resignation is a blow to the separatist project. Working class struggle across Britain shows a unity that undermines separatist notions.
US and NATO eye China
9 February 2023
The risk of war is increasing in China as well as Europe. The US and NATO are talking up China as a threat, and upping their military spending and actvity.
Cumbria coal mine goes ahead
9 December 2022
The government has finally given the go-ahead for a coal mine in Cumbria which provide high-grade coal for steelmaking. It needs to stick with the decision.
Vaccines strategy obliterated as Catalent halts Oxford construction
29 November 2022
The joined-up thinking in Britain’s immediate response to the need for a Covid-19 vaccine in 2020 is now absent – despite its success protecting Brtain's population.
Call this control? A budget for decline
26 September 2022
The new government’s economic policies continue those of the past – with a belief in capitalism as the only possible economic system, whose crises must be paid for by the people of Britain.
Economic war on workers being used to fund a military war
The government’s Spring Statement was a budget by a finance capitalist for finance capital. Its every action is an assault on our living standards driven by a legacy of debt.