News

‘Jobs and homes NOT military provocations’ – Communist Party

The Communist Party’s International secretary John Foster told the CP Political Committee on Wednesday evening (23 June 2021) that while the Conservative government is preparing real-terms cuts to the budgets needed for a post-COVID recovery, military spending will jump by 20% over the next two years. He strongly condemned the government’s decision to sail the guided-missile warship HMS Defender (pictured) inside Crimean territorial waters directly opposite Russia’s Sevastopol naval base.

Communists join People’s Assembly march in London to hold Tories accountable

Both the Communist Party and Young Communist League were in London on Saturday to join the People’s Assembly national demonstration against Boris Johnson’s government. The protest in London was calling for the end of both Tory cuts and Tory rule. The march was also supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, trade unions and trades councils and other progressive organisations from across Britain.

Tories’ next round of attacks target whistleblowers

Boris Johnson’s government is in the process of developing widespread threats to the media and the public’s right to know in an overlooked consultation paper on reforms to the UK’s Official Secrets Acts, prepared by the Home Office.

Cuban vaccine proven over 92% effective as US-blockade persists

This week, the Cuban government announced the effectiveness of two of the country’s COVID-19 vaccines.

Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison for murder of George Floyd

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison for his murder of Gorge Floyd last year.

Matt Hancock affair highlights the real sleaze at the heart of Whitehall

This ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ culture has run rampant. The level of corruption surrounding the Tory Party is immeasurable. For every big scandal like this that reaches the tabloids, there are another 10 NEDS quietly working away influencing our politics while we’re none the wiser.

Raisi wins Iranian election on low voter turnout

The turnout in Friday’s voting was low, coming in at around 50%, but Raisi won comfortably. The measly 2.4 million votes for Hemmati shows that most Iranians are losing interest in dancing for murderous Western regimes though and those who cast their ballot emphatically announced their desire for a different route.

Tory government opens negotiations with trans-Pacific trading bloc

The UK government has begun talks to join the trans-Pacific trading bloc CPTPP, as part of its post-Brexit move to focus on trade outside of Europe. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss opened negotiations on Tuesday morning with Japan’s Yasutoshi Nishimura, the current chair of the CPTPP.

World Federation of Democratic Youth: imperialism is responsible for more than 80 million refugees globally

The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) issued a statement marking World Refugee Day 2021.
“This year we face World Refugee Day with the shocking fact that the threshold of 80 million refugees and forced migrants (82.4 million) has been overcome in 2021 …

Science Museum puts profits before nature

After orchestrating an occupation of the Science Museum in London, a band of activists were threatened with arrest last night (Saturday 19 June 2021), but have affirmed that they’ll continue their action today. Due to the museum’s decision to receive sponsorship from fossil fuel giant Shell, the London branch of the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) coordinated the protest.

Beckett drops out: the fight for Unite continues

The Unite leadership race is now looking more hopeful with Howard Beckett dropping out of the race to endorse Steve Turner.

Armenia to hold snap election following Prime Minister Pashinyan’s resignation

Armenia will hold a snap parliamentary election on Sunday 20th June following the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in April. Pashinyan hopes by winning he will renew his mandate, having become increasingly unpopular after the signing of a Russian-brokered truce with Azerbaijan.

London Recruit, Steve Marsling, contesting Aldeburgh & Leiston by-election for CP

The Communist Party’s East Suffolk Branch have announced that they are standing their local Chair, Comrade Steve Marsling, in the forthcoming by-election to represent the ward of Aldeburgh & Leiston. In a public statement, the Communist candidate set out his case, which is proudly carried here by Challenge.

Far-right Peruvian presidential candidate refuses to concede election

The election authorities are currently studying all the accusations of fraud made by Fujimori. Most of the allegations have already been resolved because they were submitted too late, whilst those submitted before the 11th of June deadline have so far been shown to be baseless.

Communists call for ‘major turnout at protest’ on 26 June

Communist Party members and supporters in London, the Home Counties and the South East are being asked to help mobilise for the major protest against government austerity and post-Covid plans, at the demonstration called by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity for Saturday 26 June.

Tories wilfully underfunded childcare

The government has invested less than two-thirds of the estimated cost of properly funding childcare, recently released documents have revealed. According to these government briefing documents, the rates of funding for 2020-2021 did not meet the required amount to fund the free childcare initiative, which offers parents of three and four year old children thirty hours of free childcare per week.

Tories streamline school-to-prison pipeline

The proposals will further criminalise children and will fail to address the essence of their trauma, instead of tackling the systemic social issues that plague young people today.

BrewDog brews a publicity disaster

Craft beer in the UK has taken off massively in recent years, with craft beer bars in most cities serving IPA to Saisons and everything else in between. The brand at the forefront of the industry in the UK is BrewDog. The Scottish brewer started on a small scale just over ten years ago and has now developed itself into a massive multinational corporation with bars across the globe.

Algeria holds parliamentary election, with many boycotting

Algeria’s first parliamentary election since the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been held amid mass calls for a boycott. Those choosing not to vote include the decentralised Hirak movement, who pushed against the former President in his attempt to stand for a fifth term.

ICE budget set to increase under Biden administration

The Biden presidential campaign received more money than the Trump campaign from companies in the border industry, with Biden promising these companies a ‘smart wall’ including surveillance towers with night vision and thermal energy cameras as opposed to the physical wall that Trump began constructing. This strategy of using surveillance follows the decades-long US border policy laid out in the 1994 border patrol manual of ‘prevention through deterrence’, forcing migrants into ‘more hostile terrain, less suited for crossing and more suited for enforcement’.