[First delivered by Georgina Andrews at the November meeting of the YCL Central Committee, 22nd-23rd November]
International:
Palestine
Deadly Israeli strikes continue to batter Gaza, killing tens of Palestinians daily despite the ceasefire announced on October 10th, and Israel prolongs the famine in Gaza by blocking supplies of food, fuel, water and medicines into the enclave. The US-backed plan for “peace” in Gaza was approved by the United Nations security council on Monday. This plan seeks to impose US guardianship over the Palestinian people, serving the interests of the Israeli occupation and absolving it of its crimes. The resolution doesn’t even stipulate the immediate withdrawal of the occupation forces from all territories. It ignores the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, the right to establish a fully sovereign Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return. Laughably, it makes the US the sole sponsor of peace, despite the US’s hostile and aggressive dominance in the world and collusion with the genocide of the Palestinian people.
On Thursday 20th November, dozens of protestors were arrested for holding signs, reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Outside of the Ministry of Justice. This happened as six Palestine activists near their fourth week on hunger strike after being held in jail for months with no trial. The Lift The Ban campaign is fighting to restore the fundamental right to protest and end the British government’s complicity in the genocide.
Young communists call for the end of all military, economic, diplomatic and political support for Israel, and continue, as ever, to support the Palestinian people struggling for their sovereignty and resisting imperialism, as we approach the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Saturday 29th November. The Central Committee urges all members to attend the PSC national demonstration in London to mark this date and call for an end to occupation, apartheid, and genocide.
Cop30 climate talks
The Cop30 climate talks took place in Brazil this week with scientists, including some advising the Cop30 presidency, criticising proposals for a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap as inadequate to reach the goal of zero fossil fuel emissions by 2045 at the latest. African nations are frustrated at the unwillingness of the European Union and other rich countries to carry out their obligation to provide climate finance, demonstrating how the ruling capitalist classes in Europe continue to underdevelop Africa.
Here in Britain, we can look further at how the approach of such wealthy capitalist countries impedes environmental progress. Due to a failure to build up the necessary infrastructure, our National Grid lacks the capacity to store much of the renewable energy we generate – leading to a situation where money is spent paying people not to make renewable energy. Scotland previously auctioned off parts of the North Sea for private companies to develop renewable energy – but the millions generated in the auction is nothing compared to the billions that it would have expected to make if it had remained in public ownership, which could have been invested further into developing the green energy sector and raising living standards for workers. In Wales, attempts by the devolved government to use Swansea Bay to generate hydropower were turned down by the British government. Issues like these would be overcome through the YCL and Communist Party’s demands of a productive, sustainable economy, and progressive federalism.
World hunger crisis
On Tuesday 18th November, the United Nations food agency warned that the world is facing a deepening hunger crisis. Funding cuts, mostly by the US, to the World Food Programme (WFP) mean that about 318 million people will face acute food insecurity next year, equating to crisis level or worse. This is more than double the 2019 figures as increasing inter-imperialist competitions over market and resource dominance and the general crisis of capitalism intensifies. The WFP will likely receive half of the funding it needs to tackle food insecurity whilst famines in Gaza and Sudan rage on. Both famines are linked to conflict, as are two-thirds of all acute food insecurity, driving home the importance of the anti-war and anti-imperialist movements fighting for peace in solidarity with the oppressed and exploited peoples of the world. Young communists are fighting for fully-funded, early, and effective solutions that save lives and end food insecurity, and an end to war, militarism and imperialism, which impoverishes the working classes around the world.
Britain:
Covid-19 inquiry
This week, the Covid inquiry found, what the YCL and Communist Party as well as many others in Britain already knew, that tens of thousands of lives were lost whilst prime minister Boris Johnson embraced a toxic and chaotic culture in No 10. Britain’s response to the pandemic was “too little, too late”. Baroness Heather Hallett has found that more than 23,000 lives could have been saved if lockdown had been imposed a week earlier in March 2020. Instead, ministers continued business as usual, prioritising profits and the ruling class’s interests over the lives of tens of thousands. In delaying lockdowns, the government made them longer, more damaging to the economy and less effective, and the government ignored scientific advice that didn’t fit its capitalist agenda. The inquiry is due to run until 2027 and will uncover further evidence that the working class is mere cannon fodder for the ruling capitalist class’s interests.
Elimination of VAWG
As we approach the UN Day for the Elimination of VAWG on Tuesday, women of the Communist Party of Britain and Young Communist League demand an end to misogyny and violence against women and girls.
We must:
- Restore funding to services that women and girls need for their health, welfare and safety;
- End the ‘feminisation of poverty’ that leaves women vulnerable and marginalised, contributing to sexual harassment at work and domestic abuse in the home;
- Support the Nordic Model Now – recognising prostitution as a system of violence, exploitation and abuse;
- Challenge the racism and sexism of the Far Right;
- And end Britain’s support for war. Women are collateral damage — displaced, trafficked, raped and killed.
The Labour Party
It’s reported that the Tribune group of MPs have gathered enough to force a leadership contest in the Labour Party. Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has not ruled out a bid if he returns to the Commons whilst other names on the Tribunite left have been thrown around. Ultimately, none offer a departure from the present desperate Starmer agenda trying to claw support. Meanwhile it destitutes the working class to line the pockets of warmongers and imperialists.
Nowadays, it is impossible to avoid the British’s Army recruitment campaign with the Ministry of Defence ramping up its efforts to promote careers in the military to children and young people, be it traditional adverts plastered on buses to promotional clips on social media. Many of these adverts present the military as a solution to young people’s alienation, depicting the army as if it were a kind of summer camp. At the same time, this manufactures consent for warfare amongst younger generations, as young people have posed a sizeable opposition and resistance to Labour’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza. The Ministry of Defence’s efforts are part of the Labour Party’s Strategic Defence Review plans, which young communists must oppose in every instance, promoting the Alternative Defence Review to raise the class consciousness of young people.
The government wants more apprentices and graduates to work in the “defence” industry, proposing to introduce “defence technical excellence colleges” as part of its Defence Industrial Strategy. At the same time, construction faces tens of thousands of shortages due to lack of educational and job opportunities following 15 years of austerity that has cut tens of thousands of FE jobs. The potential of young people is not tapped into or fully realised under successive government policy.
On Wednesday, Defence Secretary John Healey announced that at least 13 sites across Britain had been identified for new factories to make munitions and military explosives, citing the common military Keynesianism lie that it will create jobs. For the alleged 1,000 jobs it will create, funding and investment will be diverted away from socially useful, often public, sectors that are more jobs rich, including healthcare, meaning overall more jobs will be lost. Furthermore, increased arms investment does nothing to address poverty or rejuvenate neglected infrastructure and localities. The Ministry of Defence have said that these sites will make Britain safer and strengthen our deterrence yet the reality is the drive to militarism at the behest of Trump makes communities a target.
Capitulation of British politicians to the demands of US imperialism in terms of vast military expenditure increases dictated by Trump must end. Plans to deploy British forces into Ukraine or sail aircraft carriers around the Pacific in the new Cold War against China must be stopped. Every war is a war against youth whether in the periphery where bombs rain down, killing and injuring young people, or in the imperial core where the youth and working classes are destituted to fund war and profits. The youth, working class, humanity and the planet cannot afford to carry on business as usual as war and capitalism poisons the environment.
The Budget is to be announced next week with campaigners and trade union leaders urging the government to tackle high electricity prices and boost insulation as cold health alerts signal around Britain. The working class are at risk, particularly the elderly, low-income families and homeless people. Government over-reliance on gas leads to volatile energy prices yet there isn’t enough funding for research and development, and science and technology for sustainable energy, which could mitigate that volatility. Low-income families, who would financially benefit the most from renewable energy, are priced out due to costs of renewable energy being put on the consumer rather than spread across society. The working class shouldn’t be forced to live in cold, damp homes that are poor for their health and wellbeing. The People’s Assembly will be protesting on the eve of the Budget on Tuesday 25th November 6pm outside Downing Street. All left and progressive campaigners, including young communists are encouraged to attend to demand an end to austerity and war.
The ruling capitalist class funds its agenda by destituting the working class — the Communist Party and YCL would put an end to this. Public services should be fully funded by an end to militarism and war, and the introduction of a wealth tax. Employment and trade union rights, including the enshrinement of collective sectoral bargaining, must be developed and extended whilst at the same time, young communists must work to strengthen the trade union movement so it’s organised and ready to defend and extend its rights, and to raise the class consciousness of the working class. We note the GFTU and Campaign for Trade Union Freedom’s fight for an Employment Rights Bill 2, highlighting key failings in the original ERB such as it not establishing a single status of “worker”. All major utilities must be taken into progressive public ownership and the House of Lords must be abolished in favour of truly progressive federalism to ensure the working class’s participation in democracy. The role of the YCL is to offer youth in Britain this viable alternative to capitalism, to offer the road to socialism, and build the class struggle against monopoly capitalism and imperialism.
Georgina Andrews is General Secretary of the Young Communist League
