Crisis in British semiconductor sector
16 February 2023
British manufacturers use over a trillion chips a year. There is a chronic shortage, but the governemt has no strategy to deal with the crisis.
Physiotherapists’ first-time strike
16 February 2023
Physiotherapists and support workers at over 60 NHS Trusts across England began a rolling programme of strikes on 26 January in pursuit of their pay claim – the first time they have ever taken strike action.
Pay cuts continue
16 February 2023
Households are suffering the worst squeeze in real incomes since 1945. Real pay fell by 2.5 per cent the last quarter of 2022.
London bus drivers settle for big pay rise
14 February 2023
London Abellio bus drivers have won a big pay increase after a long-running dispute. They accepted a greatly increased offer of an18 per cent pay rise.
Teachers’ strikes for pay begin
14 February 2023
Teachers in the (NEU) joined other public sector workers on strike on 1 February. National Education Union members held the first of six days planned strike action throughout England and Wales.
Strike action hits Diageo Leven plant
13 February 2023
Engineering workers at Diageo’s Leven plant in Fife took strike action over the first weekend in February in an escalating dispute over pay. They face pay cuts from changes to pay introduced unilaterally by the company.
Energy workers in struggle
11 February 2023
Offshore oil workers on two BP platforms are taking action on pay and rotas. Other energy sector workers, both offshore and onshore, are pressing their own pay claims.
Arms escalation in Ukraine no road to peace
9 February 2023
Ukrainian President Zelensky is stepping up efforts to further involve Britain and NATO countries in his war against Russia by pleading for more arms. This makes escalation of the conflict more likely.
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.
Deadly consequences of failure to treat early
28 January 2023
A major study shows that the rush to prevent deaths from Covid-19 raised the risk of dying from the more well known killers of undiagnosed high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Big wins at Luton airport
28 January 2023
Luton airport staff have won a 28 per cent pay rise as union activity in the private sector accelerates.
Fast track strike
25 January 2023
The pay struggle in the civil service is spreading. PCS members in several departments are striking, other areas are likely to follow.
Devolution dividing Britain
25 January 2023
The government’s drive to divide Britain is gathering pace with a devolution deal for the North East of England, and the second round of “levelling up” funding for councils across the country.
New wave of action set to hit university employers
22 January 2023
Next month will see 70,000 members of the University and College Union striking across Britain in 150 universities, beginning on Wednesday 1 February.
Another medical school denied support for British student doctors
20 January 2023
The government has told another new medical school that no British students will be supported – although it can recruit overseas students.
School strikes ahead after big vote for action
20 January 2023
School teachers in England and Wales, members of the National Education Union (NEU), have voted to take industrial action over pay. Strikes, both national and regional, are set to affect 23,000 schools.
Government again fails to put British steel jobs first
13 January 2023
Up to 440 British steel jobs are at risk as the government fails to exploit the opportunities presented by Brexit, fails to deal with massive increase in energy costs to industry, and betrays Britain’s steel workers.
Starmer’s speech – the opposite of taking control
12 January 2023
The Labour Party has made its pitch to win the next general election, due in two years’ time at the latest – by stealing the Conservative party’s slogan for the 2016 referendum and 2019 election, Take Back Control, and reinterpreting it.
Map reveals scale of sewage dumping...in real time
7 January 2023
After growing pressure from campaigners and the public, England’s biggest water company has created what it calls a “near real-time” interactive map – showing the scale of its sewage dumping.
On the right track
The railway industry and its workforce enter 2023 with uncertain futures. So far rail workers have shown they are prepared to stand and fight for their interests, together with those of the industry…
How long before Brexit is really done?
While the EU is increasingly devoid of direction and entangled in debt, the government is reluctant to take the steps needed to secure British independence…
SNP abandons referendum demand
Short of options and short of money, the SNP/Green coalition has effectively shelved its demand for an immediate referendum. Yet its budget is widening the tax gulf with the rest of Britain…
Nurses expose ministers' lies
On 15 December nurses conducted the first-ever national strike in the 106-year history of the Royal College of Nursing, followed by a second strike day on 20 December. The government is so far avoiding meaningful negotiations.
Amazon faces first strike
For the first time in Britain, Amazon workers are exerting their trade union organisation in pursuit of higher pay. GMB members at the company’s Coventry site have voted to back strike action for an increase to £15 an hour.
The destructive dominance of finance capitalism
22 December 2022
Finance capital wants to increase profits and to subordinate the production of goods and services for people’s needs. It has developed to become the malign global financial system we know today.
Medical Schools - Only for foreign students
The good news: new medical schools are operating in Britain. The bad news: they are unable to accept British students, and will be recruiting only applicants from abroad.
NHS: collective action is the route to control
The NHS is a prime example of what happens when governments refuse to govern or indeed make any decision. Now the government is attacking the very people struggling to keep providing care in a mess of its own making…
The real economics of ‘net zero’
Why is it so difficult to have a grown-up discussion – or any discussion at all – about the government’s net carbon zero commitments? But as the costs hit home, discussion cannot be avoided…
So where is Plan B?
Nowhere has the reluctance to break definitively with the EU been more evident than in research…
Behind the science headlines
Issues around science are often high up in the news agendas, but many players can be involved in bringing a story to the public…