News

Communists urge action on Electoral Commission bias

A number of MPs have already responded to the Communist Party letter (below), some more positively than others. But what most of them say is that they would be more likely to take up this issue if the complaint comes from a constituent. This is the cue for Communist Party members, allies and friends. Email your MP, MSP or MS and urge them to protest against the Electoral Commission’s anti-democratic discrimination against a party that has contested elections in Britain at every level for the past 100 years. Communist Party general secretary Robert Griffiths wrote the following letters to all MPs, MSPs and MSs.

YCL to Stand as Young Catholic League

Effective immediately. Free Bibles sent to all members!

Batley teacher suspended after showing students cartoon of the Prophet Muhammed

A teacher in Batley was suspended last week after showing pupils an “inappropriate” cartoon of the Prophet Muhammed in class.

Hypocritical clothing companies buy into US propaganda over Xinjiang

The trade and propaganda war of the US and its allies against China has recently caused some friendly fire after the Chinese Youth Communist League publicly denounced a group of mainly clothing corporations that have cut supply links with Xinjiang. Many of the corporations have a long history of enthusiastically utilising global sweatshops. Yet, as Xinjiang residents have been lifted out of poverty in recent years, these long-term exploiters have decided to claim the moral high ground on a hill built of US State department lies that are repeatedly denied and disproven by people who live in China.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey/8931595340

Communist Party issues call for non-racist immigration and nationality laws

The Communist Party has issued a statement calling for new immigration laws to end decades of racist legislation and the Tories’ ‘hostile environment’, and, setting out the Party’s principles on immigration.

Home Office scheme to deport non-UK rough sleepers relaunched

A contentious program that employs councils and homelessness charities to glean personal data has been quietly reinstituted by the Home Office, potentially causing the deportation of non-UK rough sleepers. Since the relaunch six months ago, two charities and six councils have enrolled in the scheme, as reported by Liberty Investigates, a journalism group of the human rights organisation Liberty.

Container ship blocks Suez Canal hitting world trade

A massive container ship is currently blocking the Suez Canal, one of the busiest global shipping routes. Marine and salvage engineers tried and failed to dislodge the enormous ship on Thursday (25 March 2021) but the company, Evergreen Marine who operates the ship have said that it could take weeks before the ship is dislodged. It became stuck on Tuesday after a sudden gust of wind and a dust storm. The blockage is causing a tailback of ships to form, all waiting to get through. Around 12% of global trade passes through Suez Canal as it provides a short sea link between Europe and Asia.

Georgia Republicans threaten US state’s democracy with new voting law

A controversial new election law was passed in the US state of Georgia this Thursday (March 25), aiming to suppress the Democratic vote. Measures include a ban on handing water to queuing voters.

Alex Salmond launches Alba Party in bid to re-enter frontline politics

This afternoon (26 March 2021), Former First Minister, Alex Salmond announced he was launching a new pro-Independence Party ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 6 weeks time. “The Alba Party” is expected to run in each of Scotland’s 8 regions and as part of the launch, Salmond announced the Party was aiming to ensure “the Independence Supermajority’, calling on SNP voters to vote tactically to ensure a majority of pro-Independence MSPs are returned to Holyrood.

Communists warn of growing threat to freedoms

“Despite his reputation as a ‘Tory libertarian’, Boris Johnson’s government is now attacking democratic freedoms on a scale that cannot be justified by the Covid emergency”, Alex Gordon told a meeting of the Communist Party’s Political Committee on Wednesday evening (24 March 2021).

Merseyside Communists say no to Tory city takeover

Liverpool’s Communists have released a statement today (25 March 2021) attacking the imposition of Tory Commissioners on the City Council.

YCL: “keep the Tories on the run over Policing Bill”

The Young Communist League has issued a statement attacking the Tory Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and calling for broad resistance to this authoritarian attack on our civil liberties.

Police escalate Bristol #KillTheBill demonstrations

The city of Bristol erupted into violence last night as protestors were met with hostility by the local police force, as they aimed to demonstrate against Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel and her deeply unpopular Police Bill.

Communist Party attacks Electoral Commission name ban

The Communist Party has attacked a last-minute decision by the Electoral Commission to ban its descriptions as the “Communist Party”, the “Welsh Communist Party” and the “Scottish Communist Party” on ballot papers for the May 6 elections. All three names have long been registered with the Electoral Commission which has now decided to ban them with immediate effect.

Vulnerable families facing further devastation

Current research has revealed an increase in the use of food banks in more than nine out of 10 district councils and a rise in family disputes necessitating mediation in two-thirds of the district councils across England, exposing the additional burdens families have endured since the start of the pandemic.

Across Wales #VoteCommunist

Communists across Wales are gearing up for their biggest election challenge in years, with a contest in all five regional seats. Four party candidates in each of these lists, 20 in total, are drawn from localities where many of them are well-known as trade union and community activists. Seven are women, with a BAME comrade and 30% are Welsh speakers. A special Wales website has been built, which makes it easy for voters to get involved in the campaign. A Party leaflet will be sent to homes across the country, to complement TV broadcasts and street stalls.

Holyrood pantomime distracts from real issues

Politics in Scotland this week has been entirely dominated by the ongoing enquiry into what is being dubbed as Salmond vs Sturgeon in a he-said-she said battle of the heavyweights. On Thursday (19 March 2021) it was announced that the Committee investigating the Salmond Inquiry was due to vote, by five to four, in favour of finding that Sturgeon misled Parliament. Calls for Sturgeon’s resignation have been growing louder from all corners, although this still seems unlikely. Sturgeon will be expected to resign, but only if the Committee finds that Sturgeon ‘knowingly’ misled the parliamentary committee.

Tory ‘Integrated Review’ pushes Britain closer to nuclear war

This week in Parliament, Boris Johnson published the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, described widely as the largest review of its kind since the end of the Cold War. Its publication comes after a string of related announcements, and an inflated defence budget last year.

Xi Jinping declares eradication of extreme poverty in China

China’s President Xi Jinping solemnly declared “complete victory” in eradicating absolute poverty in the country during a conference in Beijing on Thursday 25th February 2021. The announcement of this great miracle in the human history of poverty reduction came four months before the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which leads the world’s most populous nation. China is expected to declare a moderately prosperous society in all respects in the middle of this year, which means that the country has achieved its first centenary goal on schedule in 2021. In 2049, China will achieve its second centenary goal of building “a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious.

Unified Libyan government hopefully signals decade of turmoil is ending

Libya has heard its first meeting of unitary parliament in a rare light for a country that’s been mired into darkness ever since the US-led intervention in 2011.