So& Wloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y No 212 20 July 2011 30p/80p For a workers’ government

World food Ideas for Save jobs at crisis page 3 Freedom page 9 Bombardier page 11 Murdoch crisis reveals cesspit Open up the media! Banish the billionaires! One by one Rupert Murdoch’s lieutenants, and other people implicated in the News of the World scandal, stumble and fall. From the top: former Chief Executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks; former editor of the News of the World and then director of communications for David Cameron, Andy Coulson; former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson; and the Assistant Commissioner in charge of the 2009 police review of the hacking allegations at News of the World, John Yates. SEE PAGES 5-8 NEWS What is the Alliance “Euro-periphery” needs investment for Workers’ Liberty? George Irvin is a professor a euro-bond could be de - value. needs a treasury, and it Today one class, the working class, lives by selling at the School of Oriental vised quickly and sold on The Greek Central Bank needs a wage policy to its labour power to another, the capitalist class, and African Studies in international markets, it doesn't have the reserves make sure wages are in which owns the means of production. Society London, and author of would be enormously suc - necessary to prevent an im - some sense tied to produc - is shaped by the capitalists’ relentless drive to Super rich: the rise of in - cessful. The euro has not mediate collapse in value tivity gains and that pro - increase their wealth. Capitalism causes equality in Britain and the become a major world cur - of a new drachma. The col - ductivity gains happen poverty, unemployment, the blighting of lives by United States . He spoke to rency because it's so diffi - lapse would make imports faster at the periphery than overwork, imperialism, the destruction of the Solidarity about the new cult to get hold of in the two, three or four times they do in the centre. That environment and much else. stage of the eurozone cri - form of bonds. You can more expensive and ordi - in turn would reduce in - Against the accumulated wealth and power of the sis created by the jump, only hold national, not Eu - nary Greeks have to buy come disparity and make capitalists, the working class has one weapon: solidarity. ropean, euro-bonds. imported food and im - from 8 July, in the interest countries like Greece more The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty aims to build solidarity rates that Italy has to pay But when the German ported clothing. Default competitive. through struggle so that the working class can overthrow to sell bonds (IOUs) on and French finance minis - would not be painless for I would be in favour of a capitalism. We want socialist revolution: collective ownership world markets. ters meet they will be dis - ordinary Greeks. sort of “Marshall Plan”, fi - of industry and services, workers’ control and a democracy cussing not that but the Eurozone politicians have DEBTS nanced by European euro- much fuller than the present system, with elected same old argument about been so slow to react Anyone who currently bonds, for the periphery. representatives recallable at any time and an end to whether private banks that the bond markets has debts denominated Take European infrastruc - bureaucrats’ and managers’ privileges. should take a haircut are rightly worried about in euros would find those ture: investment has re - We fight for the labour movement to break with “social [agreed cut in what's re - the poor and inadequate debts doubling or tre - peatedly been blocked; partnership” and assert working-class interests militantly paid to them on the bonds nature of the response. bling when denominated development of the so- against the bosses. they hold], or whether the in new drachmas. called “TENs system” Our priority is to work in the workplaces and trade unions, Bond markets a few ECB is right and a haircut on the part of the banks [schemes aimed at devel - supporting workers’ struggles, producing workplace bulletins, months ago worried about Many Greeks who have will prompt Greece to de - oping trans-European net - helping organise rank-and-file groups. excessive deficits and high taken out mortgages in fault. works for transport, energy We are also active among students and in many campaigns public debt-to-GDP ratios. euros would find them - Now bond markets are There's a perfectly sensi - and telecommunications] and alliances. selves attempting to pay off starting to worry about ble argument for Greece to mortgages which had be - has been lamentably slow. default and leave the euro - We stand for: poor economic perform - come effectively unservice - Investment in decent, inte - ance and economies being zone given the political able. grated infrastructure for G Independent working-class representation in politics. squeezed. They're worried constraints on it. Greek The left needs to make the whole of Europe would G A workers’ government, based on and accountable to the that fiscal austerity will labour is being asked to two arguments. In the very greatly help market inte - labour movement. slow growth to such an ex - pay enormously for a debt short term we should argue gration and it would help G A workers’ charter of trade union rights — to organise, to tent that the debt to GDP it had little part in creating. for European authorities to to ‘crowd in’ private invest - strike, to picket effectively, and to take solidarity action. ratio will have to increase. buy up Greek euro-bonds, ment as well. G Taxation of the rich to fund decent public services, homes, HAIRCUT The current row between assume Greek debt, and I'm essentially talking education and jobs for all. But on the other hand, Merkel [the German chan - the cost of default might issue a Europe-wide bond. about a much more federal G A workers’ movement that fights all forms of oppression. cellor] and the European be enormous and much The larcenous interest Europe. To give an exam - Full equality for women and social provision to free women Central Bank (ECB) over of that cost might fall on rates that Greeks are being ple, suppose the United from the burden of housework. Free abortion on request. Full the issue of whether pri - Greek labour as well. asked to pay on the loans States didn't have a federal equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Black and white vate banks should take a from the European stability treasury and individual workers’ unity against racism. haircut is a sideshow. It If Greece defaults in an fund should be reduced. states were largely financed G Open borders. doesn't begin to resolve the uncontrolled way, then its They're being asked to pay on their own bonds. Rela - G Global solidarity against global capital — workers problem. entire banking system will over 5%, and the Germans tively productive states everywhere have more in common with each other than with The ECB has to buy more collapse. The assets held by can borrow money on the would do very well, their capitalist or Stalinist rulers. national bonds, there has to the Greek Central Bank are international market at less whereas states like Missis - G Democracy at every level of society, from the smallest be a much greater bailout mainly Greek euro-bonds; than 3%. It's not German sippi would have to pay workplace or community to global social organisation. facility, and the ECB has to thus a default on those taxpayers who're paying perhaps 10% for ten-year G Working-class solidarity in international politics: equal find a way of issuing euro-bonds would its bank - Greece. The money's flow - bonds. rights for all nations, against imperialists and predators big jointly-backed euro-bonds. ing system will have no as - ing the other way. Europe needs a treas - and small. The Germans banned sets. Even if a new In the longer term, the ury if it's going to survive. G Maximum left unity in action, and openness in debate. euro-bonds from being drachma could be put in eurozone needs quite dif - If that doesn't happen, built into the original archi - G If you agree with us, please take some copies of Solidarity place within 48 hours--- ferent architecture. It needs European integration will to sell — and join us! tecture, so the ECB can't which would require some - to be able to issue eurozone be set back thirty or forty issue its own bonds. thing of a miracle---it bonds, and it needs a uni - years. 020 7394 8923 [email protected] The irony of that is that if would immediately lose fied fiscal system. Europe 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, London, SE1 3DG. US debt: into the abyss?

GET SOLIDARITY By Chris Reynolds and liquid markets in gov - borrowing limit, reflects could lead to the US gov - ernment debt to function; the pressure of small-town ernment failing to make “An August panic similar so the debt rises with the USA (only 28% of the US payments due on previous EVERY WEEK! to those in 2007 and general rise in economic population lives in cities borrowings — “default - Special offers 2008 no longer appears output and inflation; and bigger than 100,000, ing”. far-fetched. Only this Congress often has to re- whereas nearly 60% of the The effects would be G Trial sub, 6 issues £5  time, the global economy set the limit. A hundred UK population does). huge. For decades, for gov - is far less well-equipped times so far, over the years. If no deal is reached by 2 ernments and corporations G 22 issues (six months). £18 waged £9 unwaged   to cope... The Republicans refuse August, the first step is for worldwide, US govern - 44 issues (year). £35 waged £17 unwaged to raise the limit unless the federal government to ment debt has been the G   “Another leg of the eco - lay off all “non-essential” nomic crisis which started President Obama and the safest form of holding G European rate: 28 euros (22 issues)  or 50 euros (44 issues)  Democrat majority in the government workers and wealth. For that reason, in in 2007 is a distinct possi - shut down all “non-essen - bility – and exchequers Senate agree to cut the US the crisis since 2007-8, de - budget deficit exclusivel y tial services”, as it did spite all the US economy’s Tick as appropriate above and send your money to: simply do not have the from 14 to 19 November through spending cuts, turmoil, purchases of US 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, London, SE1 3DG fire-power to offset an - 1995 and from 16 Decem - with no tax rises. Obama government debt have in - other private sector panic”. ber 1995 to 6 January 1996. Cheques (£) to “AWL”. has gone a long way to - creased, not fallen. That is how the Financial That shutdown came wards the Republicans, The price of gold has Or make £ and euro payments at workersliberty.org/sub. Times summed it up (18 from a standoff between July), under the headline: but they still refuse to risen above $1600 an make a deal. President Clinton and a “The abyss that awaits”. Republican majority in ounce for the first time, Name ...... One factor is the spread TEA PARTY Congress over budget cuts with rich people thinking of the eurozone crisis to Many “Tea Party” Repub - wanted by the Republi - gold is safer than dollars. Address ...... Italy. The other is the licans do not want a deal cans. But it came at a time But there is just not prospect that the US gov - at all. when the US capitalist enough gold to be world ...... ernment will run out of economy was in good money at the present scale cash on 2 August. They want the US gov - shape overall. ofAthceowlloarplsdemoafrtkheet.dollar ernment to run out of cash, ...... The US government, un - Today, large-scale fed - would mean chaos in in - like other major states, has and be dealt a shock that eral government lay-offs ternational trade. I enclose £ ...... a legal limit on its borrow - will force more radical could tip a very sickly US ing, currently $14,300 bil - spending cuts. economy into renewed lion. All modern capitalist This attitude, like the full-scale slump. • The 1995-6 shutdowns: economies require large very existence of the legal A prolonged impasse bit.ly/eT60Vy 2 SOLIDARITY NEWS N. Ireland “rejectionism” grows

By Thomas Carolan them. tions for what is wrong is By contrast, Catholic-na - immensely strong in Serious street fighting in tionalist support for the Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland be - GFA was massive. The two The dissident Republi - tween police, Catholic main Catholic-nationalist cans are becoming more ef - youths, and dissident Re - parties, the SDLP and Sinn fective in organisation and publicans, on one side, Fein (representing the military capacity. and Protestants, IRA), backed the agree - The Protestant paramili - Catholics and police on ment. The dissident Re - taries of the UVF, who the other, is becoming all publicans were a mere strongly supported the too reminiscent of the splinter group, nowhere GFA, are undergoing polit - clashes that led to the near Adams and McGuin - ical changes, perhaps in breakdown of the old Six ness in the support they much worse. Over 40 inter - connection with internal Above: rise in profits for Cargill (left), rise in food prices (right) Counties Protestant- had. nal walls between Catholic factionalism and external ruled state in mid-1969, The Catholics felt that and Protestant areas now gangsterism. and the beginning of they gained a great deal. segment Belfast, where at Can the “rejectionists” British army intervention That was true, though in the time of the GFA there topple the power-sharing on the streets. fact a looser variant of the were only half that many. system? In contrast to the Agribusiness booms, 1998 power-sharing agree - Economic crisis is unfreez - days of Protestant majority There are people on both ment had been on offer ing some of the frozen sec - rule, under the GFA system sides of the Catholic/ since late 1973 and the tarian animosities, and dissatisfaction is much Protestant sectarian divide millions starve Sunningdale Agreement. they are still toxic. more a Protestant than a who work deliberately to The subsequent 25-year The years of Provo- mainstream Catholic thing. push things as far as they war won nothing in addi - Protestant-British warfare That limits, and certainly can, in order to smash up By Gerry Bates tion to that, except that which persuaded many to slows down, mass Catholic Ethiopia has reached the the present mandatory mandatory involvement in back the GFA are ancient identification with the riot - unprecedented figure of power-sharing system set In Europe, the capitalist government for the differ - history to the present gen - ing Catholic youth. about 517,000 people”. up under the Good Friday crisis means discomfort, ent shades of political eration of young people, The tragedy in all com - People in that region face Agreement (GFA). stress, and humiliation for opinion able to win many of whom in certain munal conflicts is that at a triple blows: There have always been millions. enough votes ensured that areas are alienated from certain point the “extrem - bitter “rejectionists” on the the Provisionals and the the society. ists” set the pace, and set • Drought; Protestant side. The worst In many parts of the Paisleyites were guaran - There is probably a slow community to confronta - • The collapse of govern - single slaughter in the world, it means outright teed a place in govern - erosion of the authority of tion with community. By ment in Somalia; “Troubles” occurred after starvation. ment. the Sinn Fein leaders, now targeting the whole “other • World food prices have the GFA was signed, the According to the UN A number of things, in government. They can - community”, they force the risen by two-thirds since work of dissident Republi - Food and Agriculture Or - however, are new. not but be seen as in part members of that commu - early 2009. cans. ganisation, “countries in The economic crisis responsible for the way nity to identify with their The exact factors in rising Does the recent fighting the [Horn of Africa] are blights all hopes of things things are for many work - own “extremists”, if only world food prices are diffi - indicate a level of intensi - confronted with the failure improving steadily. Cuts ing-class Catholics. In the in self-protection. cult to work out. Specula - fying conflict that threatens of the short rains in late are likely to have a far Catholic ghettoes, the dis - That seems a long way tion, bio-fuel production, to break the power-sharing 2010 and negative trends worse effect in Northern mantling and disarming of off yet, even if recent droughts, dearer oil raising system? that threaten the long rainy Ireland than in the rest of the IRA removes much of events make it less distant fertiliser prices, increased In 1998 and afterwards season in 2011... the UK. the power of intimidation than it was. urbanisation, are all impli - there was very widespread The flashpoint in 1969 “The number of those re - The system set up by the and coercion on which cated, or may be. rejection of the Good Fri - was not the July quiring emergency assis - GFA is itself a system of in - Sinn Fein’s authority But for sure the world day Agreement, and barely marches of the Orange tance has grown from 6.3 tricate bureaucratically-or - rested. still produces enough food enough Protestant support Order, but in Derry in million in early 2011 to 10 ganised sectarianism. It In the form of songs and for everyone. The poor to keep the experiment of mid-August when the Or - million today — a 40 per - tried to freeze, and over stories, a powerful current could buy enough food if power-sharing afloat. ange Apprentice Boys cent increase — in Djibouti, time detoxify, sectarian ani - of Republican intransi - they weren’t so poor; and Many Protestant-Unionists organisation held its an - Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia mosities, translating them gence and revolt runs they wouldn’t be so poor if felt they were losers in that nual march. Dissident and Uganda (Karamoja re - into political jockeying by through the Catholic com - theAnridchfowresruenre’ttshoeribcihg . Agreement, being forced to Republicans have some gion). The majority of the Protestant-Unionist and munity, onto which current agribusiness corpora - abandon the hope of ma - support in Derry now. newly affected people are Catholic-nationalist par - grievances can easily be at - tions, like US-based jority (Protestant-Unionist) Watch what happens on reported to be in Kenya (1.2 ties. Far from sectarianism tached. The political cul - Cargill, are making record rule and accept the manda - 13 August when the Ap - million). In addition, the getting less in the years ture that looks to profits. tory right of the minority prentice Boys march. number of Somali refugees since the GFA, it has got communalist, nationalist, to be in government with blame-the-Brits explana - in camps in Kenya and Stop the local government fire sale!

A new government White them, they will keep and A small, local firm called small contract like this with Paper proposes to allow al - give to shareholders as div - MetPro started providing a local company, how is it most all public services to idends and senior execu - security at some Barnet going to handle a massive, be opened up to competi - tives as more pay. The chief council buildings in 2006. multi-million contract with tion from the private and executive of Capita, Paul No tender was put out and the big boys such as Capita voluntary sector. Vicki Pindar, is already paid no contract with this com - and Serco? Morris reports on the real - £14,500 a week. pany ever drawn up. By ity of the Tory council in Staff now directly em - 2011 the company had MILLIONS Barnet say that mass out - commissioned 30 reports in industrial action, although Barnet, north London. ployed by the council will made more than £1.3 mil - response to the council’s their activists have been in - be transferred to and em - lion from the council, well sourcing will save mil - Barnet council is inviting lions of pounds. In fact, proposals; none of them has volved in the community bidders for a contract ployed by the private com - over the threshold at which been properly answered. campaigns. pany which wins each bid. the work should be prop - the savings they show on worth £275 million over paper are actually quite Now, as each section of After some delay Barnet 10 years. The successful Those staff will take their erly tendered. council staff is “packaged” Unison got the backing of current pay, holiday entitle - Disgruntled local resi - small, and, of course, bidder will take over the might never be achieved. up and offered for tender, the London region for an council’s regulatory and ment, sickness pay, etc., dents investigated MetPro the council Unison branch industrial strategy and Uni - development functions with them. However, there and discovered that they After three years, the One is balloting them for strike son has at last realised that which includes things is no guarantee that this were going bust, owing Barnet Programme has only action and action short of outsourcing threatens the such as planning, envi - protection will last long. £400,000, £245,000 of that to cost money — several mil - strike. So far the staff bal - union’s position in local au - ronmental health and One of the purposes of this HM Revenue and Customs. lions in consultancy fees. loted have voted over - thorities, based as it is on transport. type of outsourcing is to at - We also found out that the There is no sign of any - whelmingly for action. their power to bargain on tack workers’ pay and con - council had never checked one but large companies Development and regula - behalf of council workers. This is only the first of a ditions of service. whether MetPro staff were picking up the functions tory staff are currently With new legislation in the number of big contracts The council unions have CRB checked – they weren’t the council is trying to working to rule; revenues pipeline and Barnet leading worth more than £1 billion been campaigning against — or whether the company shed. Barnet is cutting the and benefits and parking the way, this is an issue over the next 10 years. this mass privatisation was registered with the Se - already small grants they staff should all be taking ac - confronting all local author - The Tory administration since 2008. They have been curity Industry Authority make to voluntary sector tion soon. itieOsu. tsourcing is a central wants the vast bulk of supported by a growing — it wasn’t. A recent damn - organisations. Barnet NUT has some part of the Tories’ war to council services to be car - band of anxious residents. ing internal audit report There is a lively anti-cuts staff affected, but fewer, drive down the conditions ried out by private compa - The recent scandal has showed that Barnet council group, Barnet Alliance for and is facing the challenge of working-class people, nies. Any money that the shone light on just how bad routinely ignores its own Public Services, which has of rapid academy-isation in and erode the quality and private companies manage the council is at handling Contract Procurement taken up the fight against secondary schools. The accountability of public to save, by doing the job for the outsourcing it already Rules. OBP. The council unions GMB branch is not taking services. We must fight it! less than the council pays does. If Barnet can’t manage a SOLIDARITY 3 REGULARS Debating the Hacking: the press view Histadrut

Press Watch By Pat Murphy Letters The more liberal and broadsheet press have, under - standably, and in the case of the Guardian deservedly, had a good time with the unfolding crisis around News International. It was Nick Davies of the Guardian who originally Rupert Murdoch after meeting the Dowler family Recently I have become involved in a debate on the painstakingly uncovered the hacking phenomenon. The In - Morning Star letters page about Israel and the Israeli dependent too saw its more high-minded approach to jour - when that kind of threat worked were over. trade union federation Histadrut. I thought readers nalism vindicated. But the more interesting aspect of press The rest of the right-wing press had a dilemma. It’s one would like to read some snippets. coverage of the affair has been the response of the remaining thing to enjoy the fall of your major rival, it’s quite another Murdoch papers and the right-wing press in general. to allow the backlash against the whole tabloid method and On 17 June I took issue with a Morning Star review: For the first week or so the Sun ignored the biggest story culture to develop without any effective resistance. “Roger Fletcher’s review of Michael Riordon’s new book in the country. By last week that became so absurd they de - Taking advantage of the new market opportunity both the equates holocaust denial with a failure to speak out against cided to lead their coverage with the story of Murdoch’s Mail and Express on 17 July offered readers a chance to buy the ‘fascistic policy and actions of the Israeli state.’ apology to the family of Milly Dowler. They were particu - their toxic rags for “only £1”. In the Mail Peter Hitchens was “Calling Israel fascist is lazy but also very dangerous. Fas - larly keen to quote the Dowlers’ solicitor Mark Lewis who happy to stick a small boot into “the Murdoch press”, but cism destroyed independent labour movements and sup - said “He [Murdoch] apologised many times. I don’t think only to clear his throat before his main argument. “Since we pressed socialist groups. Israel has free trade unions, a peace anybody could have held their head in their hands so many are to have a Judicial Inquiry into the wicked Press”, he in - movement and a free press. times...” So Rupert’s regret was heartfelt and sincere, right? toned, “shouldn’t we also have one into wicked politicians?” “The Israeli government’s attitude and policy towards The Sun were also keen to ensure their readers knew Concerned about the possible greater regulation of the Palestine and Palestinian s is a crime, but hysterical demon - about the major adverts placed in every other paper apolo - tabloid press Hitchens penned a semi-anarchist rant about isation of Israel will not help.” gising for the activities of their parent company. And that all the evil things government does: break up families, hold The following replies were published. From Jimmy the multi-billion pound corporation had to pay thousands increasing numbers of trials in secret, sell information about Janovich (30 June): of pounds for these adverts — does their penance know no us to outsiders, record our emails, spy on our rubbish bins “Israel is not a ‘fascist state’ — quite right. Nor were bounds? and use airport X-ray machines “to peer sneakily at our tsarist Russia, imperial Japan or Petain’s France. No-one Still there were hints already of the old combative News naked bodies” . He even comes over all left-wing, reminding could call them democracies, however. International style. The Sun does not yet have the confidence us that “newspapers don’t waterboard people, or bundle “Israel does have a powerful trade union movement — to openly challenge the holding of a full public enquiry on them off to clandestine prisons. Newspapers don’t bomb which only covers Jewish workers. the hacking scandal. They did, however, run a story on 15 Belgrade or Baghdad or Tripoli, or invade Afghanistan”. “Israel did once have a free and critical press. This has dis - July informing us that “the bill for the public inquiry on News International’s prestige British paper prepared the appeared.” phone hacking could run into tens of millions of pounds”. same case with more nuance. The Sunday Times comment And from Don Evans (4 July): They compared it already to the very long-running and ex - was: “Hopefully a more responsible press will emerge from “In September Palestinians will make an appeal for state - pensive Bloody Sunday inquiry. the recent scandal. But the media and politicians will always hood at the UN, hoping for a two-state solution. Israel will This is not a beast that is likely to change its behaviour in have a close relationship of mutual interest and hostility”. oppose this and the US will support her. And what a perfect description of the normal state of any meaningful way. It has now been widely reported that “Israel is so confident because the US and many EU states, affairs between government and the press that is. That when Ed Miliband publicly called for Rebekah Brooks resig - Britain included, always fall for Israel’s skilful use of World translates as “our bosses and you have mutual inter - nation his aides were contacted by NI to be told “now that War II history designed to establish victim-status for the ests. But just in case you ever have the audacity to for - you have made it personal for Rebekah we will make it per - country. Such appeals aim to make criticism of Israel a no- get this we are always prepared to unleash our hostility. sonal for you”. Just a few days later, when Brooks was ar - go area. We have to get beyond this. And you wouldn’t like that to happen now, would you?” rested, Murdoch’s goons perhaps realised that the days “The basic fact is that Israel has occupied somebody else’s land. As an unwelcome presence she has to either make peace with the inhabitants, leave or face continuous war.” Linda Clair (14 July) took up the issue of the Histadrut: “...The aim of Israeli trade union confederation Histadrut Murdoch’s power from its inception in 1920 was never to campaign for work - ers’ rights or build solidarity. It was founded as an exclu - sively Jewish organisation to facilitate the colonisation of Palestine and worked with the Jewish Agency to promote Prime ministers are supposed to take such decisions on the the exclusion of Palestinian labour. basis of what is best for the economy, not at the behest of a “It is an arm of the zionist state, promoting and defending man who is neither an individual nor a corporate taxpayer policies that violate Palestinians’ basic civil, political and in this country, and who would not be directly affected one human rights... Histadrut condoned the slaughter in Gaza way or the other by the outcome. and the murders on the Mavi Marmara as well as the gen - Dave Osler When News Corp last year tabled a £8.2bn offer for the eral ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. BSkyB shares it does not already own, most Conservative “In May this year the General Federation of Palestinian If there is a qualitative difference between having a politicians would happily have let it go through on the nod, Trade Unions issued a statement calling for the boycott of dominant interest in BSkyB and outright ownership of despite the round robin from the Daily Mail , the Guardian , Histadrut as part of the overall boycott of all Israeli Zionist the satellite broadcaster, it pretty much escapes me. But the BBC and others, decrying the implications for media plu - institutions. Boycott, divestment and sanctions are our non- Rupert Murdoch has decided that outright ownership is ralism. violent tool for assisting Palestine to achieve its freedom.” what he wants, and, until a few days ago, that was ex - Although Vince Cable insisted that the bid be referred to Another letter from me made the following points: actly what it looked like he was going to get. OfCom, shall we just observe that the regulator does not “Histadrut has collaborated with the Israeli government’s have a reputation for undue stridency. There was every ex - oppression of Palestinians. So what then should British This is a man who has for decades played a role in British pectation that the deal would happen. trade unionists and socialists do? politics that illustrates perfectly the radical left critique of That was before the News of the World hacking revelations. “Primarily we should support independent unions and parliamentary democracy. To rewrite an old anarchist slo - The growing backlash from this scandal meant that Mur - peace groups that seek to organise working-class people gan: whoever you vote for, News International gets in. doch was forced to back down, marking his first significant across the divide. Not only does the company have a perceived ability to “However we still need to support workers in Histadrut make or break governments. In addition, Murdoch’s family setback in this country since he was refused permission to when they are in struggle against their own bosses... and his senior executives go to expensive lengths to build buy Manchester United in 1999. But don’t forget that Mur - “The most progressive force in Israeli society are workers personal friendships with top politicians. That leaves a small doch retains de facto control, whatever happens. in struggle. We must do all we can to help these workers re - clique effectively able to write the laws under which its in - As a result, the politics of media ownership are back in alise the end of the occupation of Palestine is in the interest terests operate. play for the first time in two decades, and, given the changes of all workers in the region.” Coverage of the so-called Chipping Norton Set suggests in the media landscape since then, it probably would not It is good that the Morning Star is (for once) allowing de - that little has changed since the hey-day of the Cliveden Set hurt for the left to give that matter some fresh thought. bate. It has not stopped printing lies and half truths how - under Macmillan. Need something sorted? Bring it up next Labour Party policy under Kinnock was to seek to place ever. time Dave and Sam pop round for supper. Welcome to the tight caps on the proportion of aggregate national newspa - I have written again, pointing out that the Histadrut is not world of face-to-face class politics, complete with good food per circulation that one group could control, and restrict what it was in 1920, or 1948 or even 1995 — a big employer, and a bottle or two of jolly appreciable claret. cross-ownership of print and broadcast media. But is even running health and pensions, etc, for the state. It is a trade Nor does Murdoch influence stop at such quotidian ques - that enough? union, albeit, like our own unions, heavily bureaucratised. tions as media ownership restrictions. Although only those And while we are on the subject, we should also be asking It has many Arab members, and has not been Jewish-only present at the relevant meetings between him and Tony Blair how it is that we have been left with no widely read demo - since 1959. The Israeli press is certainly more critical of the will ever know for sure, it is widely believed that one reason cratic socialist publications whatsoever? Or even a high pro - IsrAalesliogtohveePrnGmFeTnUt tdhiadnntohtemMaokrneinthgeStcaar lilstofsCehvienrat. ies, it Britain did not join the euro is that a certain Australian-born fileThweebrseiatel? challenge will be not to put a temporary was the BDS campaign. The PGFTU has an agreement US citizen told the prime minister that his newspapers check on Murdoch’s avarice in this one instance, but to with Histadrut and has not abandoned that agreement. would campaign against the proposal if it ever went to a ref - cut down his power to the extent that it is no longer an erendum. absolute check on political vision. David Kirk, Leeds That this proved the correct call is not the point here. 4 SOLIDARITY WHAT WE SAY Take the media from the billionaires! According to the former commander of the Flying Squad, John O’Connor, the close personal and corrupt financial bonds between senior policemen and the Mur - doch organisation that are now being exposed were forged in the heat of the Battle of Wapping in 1986. There, every day for months, police smashed through picket lines of sacked printers and the labour movement ac - tivists who stood side by side with them. In a drive to break the power of the print unions in Fleet Street, the centre of newspaper publishing, Murdoch had moved his newspaper operation out to Wapping, sacked hundreds of printworkers, and replaced them with a newly- recruited scab workforce. Day after day, pickets fought Murdoch’s scab-herding po - lice shock-troops. It was a repetition on a smaller scale of what had been done against the miners in the 1984-5 strike. Many pickets were injured. That fact puts the scandal now ripping through the press, the police, and the political establishment into perspective. The Murdoch press and (later) TV was the counterpart in the media, on the level of social propaganda, to the Tory of - fensive in the 1970s and 1980s. As often with gangsters called in to help, the Murdochs came to lord it over the political establishment that had been glad of their support. The Murdochs terrorised politicians and private citizens alike with the threat of character and career assassination. They conducted press vendettas against those who crossed Still pulling the strings? them. They used blackmail and the threat of blackmail to keep public figures and political leaders in line. Controlling 30 or 40% of the British press, they ignored the guts to refuse to join in! to-year basis. the law and when they thought that necessary, broke it. Now their real feelings are coming out as politicians fall But bourgeois democracy is now vindicated? The Estab - They did that for decades, with impunity. over themselves in their haste to vent their spleen at Mur - lishment is in the process of calling Murdoch to account? Is doch. And if that’s how such “big” people felt, what about it? FEAR the rest of us? Even if Murdoch is cut down; deprived of what he dearly They became so powerful that they could shape gov - Gordon Brown went to the House of Commons to voice wanted — full ownership of BSkyB, which the politicians ernment policy and the policy of the opposition. Prime his volcanic indignation against the Murdoch press for hav - would have let him have if the Dowler scandal had not bro - ministers fawned on them, happy for a nod of approval ing printed details about his infant son’s health. When ken out; forced in the USA (where the Murdoch operation is or restraint in the Murdoch press’s disapproval of them. prime minister, he felt he had no option but to smile and being investigated by the FBI) and in Britain to break up his bow to the tyrant. empire — even then, nothing fundamental will be changed. They helped corrupt, vulgarise, and debase public life. And it hasn’t been just corrupt policemen and venal, gut - As in the Egyptian revolution of spring 2011, where the They functioned in effect as a powerful political party above less career politicians. The Murdochs got their hooks into dictator fell but the power remained where it always was, the other parties. They made ideological and political war segments of the left, too. Ken Livingstone, one of their main with the armed forces, so also, no matter what happens to on anything left of centre or even just centre. targets in the 1980s witch-hunt against the “loony left”, was the Murdoch empire and the Murdoch family, private own - They did not do it by argument, but by ridicule, scandal- in the 1990s a highly-paid columnist on Murdoch’s Sun , ership of the media and of the economy in which we all live mongering, and systematic misrepresentation. In the 1980s, where, among other things, he criticised the official Labour will continue. for example, they created the “loony left”, using or invent - election campaign in 1992 for proposing tax rises. Even if Murdoch’s 30 or 40% of Britain’s press is prised ing unrepresentative bits of silliness, to prevent discussion The Guardian did splendid work campaigning against the from him, private ownership of the press will continue, as of real left-wing ideas. illegal activities of the Murdoch organisation. Its editor, Alan will its employment in the interests of the bourgeoisie. Politicians resented the power of the Murdoch press, but Rusbridger, commenting on the storm in which the Mur - In the last reckoning the police will still serve bourgeois mainstream politicians never dared take on Murdoch. To do dochs are caught up in, compared the public response to the law and be hired thugs for Murdoch and other Murdochs that, they rightly calculated, was to sustain terrible immedi - revelations about Milly Dowler to the moment in a Bucharest in situations like Wapping. ate blows to career and hope of office. square in 1989 when the crowd — first one person, then a The scandals now unfolding are like a hidden network of The paralysing fear and careerist gutlessness of the politi - few, then many more — began to boo the Stalinist dictator wires behind plaster which, exposed by the Milly Dowler cians in turn made the reign of Murdoch possible and, for Ceaucescu, who fell from power soon afterwards. case to vigorous investigation, are being pulled on, shatter - long, invulnerable. ing the plaster. Hidden connections are being exposed, Many of the things that are now being focused on have BASIS OF POWER showing the links of the Murdoch press (but surely not only long been known. In 2003 Rebekah Brooks admitted before This extraordinary but accurate comparison begs ques - the Murdoch press) to career criminals, politicians, and cor - a House of Commons committee of inquiry that her organ - tions which Rusbridger did not tackle. For Ceaucescu rupt policemen. isation had paid the police for information. emerged as dictator out of the murderous Stalinist state The wires are still being yanked on, and there is no know - Four years ago a private detective, Glenn Mulcaire, and machine set up after World War Two by the Russian oc - ing where it will lead. Cameron is implicated — the same the News of the World royal editor, Clive Goodman, were cupying army. Cameron who a few months ago moved Lib-Dem minister jailed for tapping phones. Nobody who followed the News Vince Cable sideways in his government because Cable had of the World “exposures” and “exclusives” had good rea - His power had depended on police, army, jails, torture identified himself as an enemy of the Murdoch empire. son not to understand that illegal methods had been used to chambers, firing squads — on physical repression and the Boris Johnson is too. get the information. pervasive threat of it and airtight censorship. And the Labour leader Ed Miliband has gone on an offensive but It was not revolt against any of those things that finally power of the Murdochs? It depended on fear all through the a very small one — brave when it was clear that being brave blew the top off the Murdoch media empire. It was the rev - establishment, and the belief that if people could “get in” against Murdoch carried little or no immediate risk. elation that the News of the World had hacked into the phone with the Murdochs they could gain great advantages. The unions should demand that the Labour Party mount of a murdered child, Milly Dowler; that they had erased More than that: the power of money was and is the power a proper offensive, a creative and not just an opportunistic messages and thus for a while given the child’s family false behind the power that Murdoch exercised. Heir to a rich fa - and reactive offensive, and an offensive not just against the hope that she was still alive. ther, Rupert Murdoch built a powerful commercial sub-state Murdochs but against private ownership of the media on That was grotesque, to be sure, but, even so, only a very within the state, more powerful than elected governments. which the health or lack of it in the body politic depends. small part of the damage, social, political, and intellectual, In varying ways and degrees that is what all the owners They should press Miliband to demand a general election that the Murdoch organisation had done. and controllers of the economic giants do. now. The Tories’ present one-point lead over Labour in the A month ago the Murdochs held their annual summer Appearing before the House of Commons inquiry, as we polls would mean little in a general election campaign. garden party, at which the whole Establishment, including go to press on 19 July, Rupert Murdoch took the line of mon - A serious labour movement opposition would launch the Prime Minister and the other main party leaders came to archs immemorial when forced to admit to doing wrong. a crusade to drive the Tories and the Lib Dems from of - pay respect as his beneficiaries come to the mafia boss in the He was “badly advised” by underlings. He didn’t know. fice, on a programme which would include sorting out film The Godfather . Reports don’t say whether or not some - They never told him. His power was abused by others. the media once and for all by taking it out of the hands one remembered to play the tune played in The Godfather ’s What the Murdoch scandal does is bring under public of the billionaires and into public ownership, under a garden party, “Mr Wonderful”. magnification and scrutiny the nature of bourgeois power, system where the right of reply and response and pub - But if someone had started to sing that to Rupert Mur - the relations of such power to bourgeois politics, their evis - lic discussion was guaranteed. doch, few there, and maybe no-one there, would have had ceration of bourgeois democracy on a day-to-day and year- SOLIDARITY 5 THE MEDIA The sociali capitalist “

Questions and answers on the socialist attitude to the press

The News of the World has abused its powers, but funda - mentally we have a free press, don’t we? No. In Britain — as opposed to say Cuba or Saudi Arabia — Free the press from the media is largely free from dictatorial state control. This is worth having, and was won by the organised working class over many decades of struggle. It means there is some diver - sity of opinion even in the mainstream press, and also that we can publish newspapers like Solidarity . We should defend that. But it is freedom of the press primarily for the very rich, for individuals and corporations rich own enough to media re - rule by the rich sources like TV stations, newspapers and large-scale printing presses. As Lenin put it in 1917, when the revolutionary workers’ government he led was attempting to establish a policy for re - Lenin, a leader of the Russian workers’ their opinion to a much greater number of citizens — say shaping the press in line with working-class and popular inter - revolution in October 1917, wrote this article to every group having collected a certain number of signa - ests: “For the bourgeoisie, freedom of the press meant freedom in September 1917 when plans were being tures. Freedom of the press would in practice become for the rich to publish and for the capitalists to control the discussed for organising Russia’s first-ever much more democratic, would become incomparably newspapers, a practice which in all countries, including even Constituent Assembly elections. more complete as a result. the freest, produced a corrupt press.” But some may ask: where would we get printing presses In today’s capitalist world, we have “freedom of the press” and newsprint? The publication of a newspaper is a big and profitable in the same sense we have “democracy”. It is not purely a There we have it! The issue is not “freedom of the press” capitalist undertaking in which the rich invest millions sham, or meaningless for the working class. But it is freedom but the exploiters’ sacrosanct ownership of the printing upon millions of rubles. and democracy curtailed and distorted by capitalist limits, presses and stocks of newsprint they have seized! denying real voice and control to the vast majority of the peo - “Freedom of the press” in bourgeois society means free - Just why should we workers and peasants recognise that ple. dom for the rich systematically, unremittingly, daily, in mil - sacred right? How is that “right” to publish false informa - lions of copies, to deceive, corrupt and fool the exploited tion better than the “right” to own serfs? So we should limit media monopolies? One man, one and oppressed mass of the people, the poor. State power in the shape of the Soviets takes all the print - newspaper? The question is whether and how this crying evil can be ing presses and all the newsprint and distributes them eq - Any curbing of Murdoch is welcome. It is good that News fought. uitably. Corp will not be able to acquire the rest of BSkyB. But even First of all, there is a very simple, good and lawful Then, two months before the Constituent Assembly, we “one person, one newspaper” would not deal with the basic means: a state monopoly on private press advertising. could really help the peasants by ensuring the delivery to domination of the media by big capitalists. If Murdoch’s em - Private advertisements yield a tremendous income, in every village of half a dozen pamphlets (or newspaper is - pire is broken up, we will have more numerous smaller fact the principal income, to the capitalist publishers. This sues, or special supplements) in millions of copies from tyrants, not democracy. is how bourgeois papers hold sway, how they get rich, and every big party. how they deal in poison for the people all over the world. That would truly be a “revolutionary democratic” So what then? In Europe there are newspapers which have a circula - preparation for the elections to the Constituent Assembly; Public ownership of all large-scale media resources and cap - tion as large as one-third the number of inhabitants of the it would be aid to the countryside on the part of the ad - ital (printing presses, newspaper and TV offices, broadcasting town and are delivered free to every home, and yet yield vanced workers and soldiers. it would be state aid to the technology, distribution networks, etc) and their allocation for their owners a sizable income. These papers live by adver - people’s enlightenment, and not to their stultification and use by different organisations and groups according to sup - tisements paid by private people, while the free delivery deception; it would be real freedom of the press for all, and port in the population. of the paper to every home ensures the best circulation of noIttfworotuhledrbiceha. break with that accursed, slavish past the advertisements. which compels us to suffer the usurpation by the rich How is that different from a state-controlled media? Then why cannot democrats who call themselves revo - of the great cause of informing and teaching the peas - It’s completely different. Advocating public ownership of lutionary carry out a measure like declaring private press ants. something does not necessarily mean you want it controlled advertising a state monopoly, or banning advertisements by the government. anywhere outside the newspapers published by the Sovi - • Abridged from http://alturl.com/k99oz In the 19th century, when most education was private, Karl ets in the provincial towns and cities and by the central So - Marx advocated a universal system of state schools. But he de - viet in Petrograd for the whole of Russia? Why must manded that “government and church should be equally ex - “revolutionary” democrats tolerate such a thing as the en - cluded from any influence on the school”, commenting that, in richment, through private advertising, of rich men, and The right to get fact, the capitalist state “has need of a very stern education by spreaders of lies and slander against the Soviets? the people”. Such a measure would be absolutely just. It would Allocating media resources to different groups dependent greatly benefit both those who published private adver - on strength of popular support would allow a flowering of tisements and the whole people, particularly the most op - distributed media diversity far greater than what exists today. There pressed and ignorant class, the peasants, who would be should be strict legal guarantees of pluralism and minority able to have Soviet papers, with supplements for the peas - rights to underpin this. One factor in the domination of the British newspaper ants, at a very low price or even free of charge. Lenin again: industry by billionaires is that it is difficult for smaller Why not do that? Only because private property and “Some may say it would mean infringing freedom of the newspapers — such as Solidarity — to get distrib - hereditary rights (to profits from advertising) are sacred to press. uted. the capitalist gentlemen. But how can anyone calling him - “That is not true. It would mean extending and restoring self a revolutionary democrat in the twentieth century, in In Britain, newspaper and magazine distribution is freedom of the press, for freedom of the press means that all the second Russian revolution, recognise such rights as dominated by two big corporations, Smiths News and opinions of all citizens may be freely published… Freedom of “sacred”?! Menzies Distribution. They are reluctant to distribute the press would in practice become much more democratic, Some may say it would mean infringing freedom of the anything unorthodox or radical. Smiths refused to dis - would become incomparably more complete as a result.” press. tribute Private Eye until well into the 1970s, and does not Even the state-owned media we have now — the BBC TV That is not true. It would mean extending and restoring distribute any left-wing publication. and radio channels — are very far from government mouth - freedom of the press, for freedom of the press means that In France, the dominant distribution network, all opinions of all citizens may be freely published. Presstalis (formerly NMPP), is obliged by a 1947 law to Read a report of a recent NUJ meeting to discuss What do we have now? Now, the rich alone have this distribute all newspapers, including the left-wing ones. the Murdoch scandal at monopoly, and also the big parties. Yet if large Soviet news - Smiths and Menzies should be nationalised and re - papers were to be published, with all advertisements, it placed by a public-service distribution network obliged http://www.workersliberty.org/node/17124/edit would be perfectly feasible to guarantee the expression of to distribute all publications. 6 SOLIDARITY Why the British st alternative to the press is the worst in the world

“free press” By Martin Thomas Britain’s newspapers are probably the worst in the rich and powerful. It has also contributed to the deterioration world, aside from the state-controlled newspapers of journalistic standards — look at the free newspapers. under dictatorships, which are bad for different rea - There should be state control of commercial advertising in sons. all media. Media workers’ organisation and power will play a crucial Some British newspapers, such as the Financial Times or role in any transition to a genuinely democratic media sys - the Guardian , are no worse than their equivalents in other tem in a socialist society. countries; but Britain’s redtops are foul in a way rare else - In May 1984, in the middle of the miners’ strike, the Sun where, even in countries where Rupert Murdoch owns tried to print a front page picture of Arthur Scargill with his many newspapers. hand in the air and the headline “Mine führer”, implying This result is a triumph of capitalist market forces. It hap - some sort of affinity with fascism. The printers refused to pens because Britain’s redtops have an unusually favorable print this; in the end the Sun ran with the headline “Members marketplace. of all the Sun production chapels refused to handle the Arthur Britain has one of the densest newspaper markets in the Scargill picture and major headline on our lead story. The Sun world. It has a large concentrated population and (except has decided, reluctantly, to print the paper without either”. for Scotland) a single newspaper market. Great days! The News International bosses, the right-wing Because of an early concentration of the population in press and the Tories presented this as an attack on press free - cities, Britain has also, historically, had a relative high ratio dom. In fact it was a working-class assertion of press freedom of newspaper readership to population. Most large-population countries have regionalised news - pieces churning out uniform, obedient, dull propaganda. And against the almost universal anti-NUM consensus of the cap - paper markets. For example, the top-selling paper in France that is despite being run in a bureaucratic and market-driven italist press, of which the Sun represented the most extreme is Ouest-France [“West France”], published in Rennes, not way. We need to fight for the democratisation of public broad - expression. (After the miners were defeated, Murdoch took Paris. The top-selling paper in Germany (after Bild , on casting too, but even today’s BBC is evidence that public on and smashed the printers’ union and the NUJ.) which more later) is Süddeutsche Zeitung [“South German ownership need not mean authoritarian state control. The destruction of the newspaper unions was intimately bound up with the development of the Murdoch empire. And Newspaper”], published in Munich, not Berlin. The USA’s top-selling paper is the Wall Street Journal , and How would all this be decided? the reassertion of media workers’ power will be intimately India’s is the Times of India : deliberately “up-market” news - We are a long way from winning a workers’ government bound up with the defeat of Murdock and his like. papers selling at a high cover price to people who want se - which could put this sort of set up into effect. The details Ideally, when the News of the World closure was announced, rious business news, while mass-market circulation in those would have to be worked out in the course of the struggle. we would have liked the paper’s workers to take over its fa - countries is of local newspapers. But it would not be difficult to have some sort of public media cilities and start producing a new, better paper — though in Thus the Sun and the Daily Mail are almost the whole commission to establish and oversee the framework for ac - fact their organisation and consciousness were nowhere near world’s top-selling newspapers. They are outsold only by cess to and allocation of resources. There could be various high enough for that to happen. (We would also have advo - some Japanese newspapers; some state-circulated Chinese mechanisms for judging popular support, from membership cated that the paper’s resources were nationalised — as with papers; the Times of India ; and Germany’s Bild , possibly the figures to referenda to collecting signatures. It would have to other firms that close and lay off workers.) only other newspaper in the world as foul as Britain’s red - be a continuous process. Lastly, we need a flourishing labour movement press. tops. In Russia in 1917, Lenin advocated that priority go first to Believe it or not, the Sun is the successor of the Daily Her - On the face of it, the high sales should improve the press. the various soviets, the workers’, soldiers’ and peasants’ ald , a one-time socialist paper that began as a print workers’ Producing well-researched, well-written articles costs councils; then to large political parties; and then to smaller strike bulletin in 1911 and from 1922 belonged to the TUC. money. If papers can spread the cost over three million read - parties and any groups of citizens able to collect a given Murdoch bought it in 1969 and created the monster we know ers rather than a few, then they should be able to provide amount of signatures (he suggested 10,000). today. At present there is no major newspaper that will even sup - more well-researched, well-written articles. And so they do — if “research” is taken to mean phone-hacking What about advertising? port strikes. From the Sun to the Guardian , they all take the and bribery, and “well-written” is taken to mean crafting stories If, say, the Daily Telegraph has enough support to get the re - bosses’ side or dither. Why doesn’t the labour movement es - for maximum gossipy sensation! sources it needs to continue publishing a similar paper, fine. tablish its own, quality, popular daily paper? (We don’t mean In theory, a dense market could go either of two ways: one Freedom cannot just mean freedom for those a workers’ gov - the shoddy, Stalinist Morning Star .) The answer is conservatism and timidity. We should defined by a “drive to the top”, with newspapers competing ernment approves of. It has to include freedom for oppo - fight for this, and meanwhile do everything we can to to outdo each in imaginatively-researched, thoughtful arti - nents. But there is no reason why a socialist society should strengthen, promote and win a wider circulation for so - cles for attentive readers; and another defined by the “drive tolerate the system of private advertising, which is another cialist papers such as Solidarity . to the bottom” with papers competing to be bought “for a mechanism which distorts the media in the direction of the laugh” by inattentive readers, maybe starved of real gossip in their everyday lives, and entertained by having the world’s affairs presented to them in faux-intimacy. The “drive to the bottom” is easier, and spirals into a vi - cious circle: the papers debase the markets and the markets Self-regulation of the press? debase the papers. The rise of radio, TV, web, and freesheet news has consol - idated the vicious circle. These media cannot provide the By Mark Osborn for other avenues to make our case. We took the issue to the depth of good print journalism. Equally, freesheets cannot Press Complaints Commission. provide the sensationalist fake-gossip of papers like the Sun In October 1992 the Independent on Sunday (IoS ) pub - As part of making our case to the PCC I talked to Stephen (because it’s too expensive), and TV news has no special lished a smear article by its then political editor Stephen Castle on the phone. He was whiney and squirming. “What motive to try (because channels can attract audience by the Castle suggesting without evidence that sympathisers of do you want from me?” he asked (some honesty perhaps?). soaps, game-shows, and “reality-TV” stuff into which their the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty and other leftists had I taped our conversation where he admitted that he had no news broadcasts slot). tried to rig ballots (in Sheffield) for the National Execu - evidence for the charge against us. He could not tell me the They all provide basic news, on the level of rehashes of tive Committee of the Labour Party. name of anyone alleged to have taken part in the ballot rig - the press releases and newsagency dispatches that come We wrote a letter stating that the claim was nonsense; we ging. He had no serious explanation for why he had written into their offices. The redtops can assume their readers get oppose rigging elections. Our letter was printed, but edited in the article in the first place. their news elsewhere, and focus on getting themselves such a way that it made little sense. I sent a copy of the tape and a transcript (in case they were bought “for a laugh”. The cheating charge was taken up by other papers, includ - too lazy to listen) to the PCC. Surely we had nailed Castle? The driven-to-the-bottom newspaper market debases ing the local Sheffield Star . But the PCC thought otherwise. They said that we’d had public discourse, by “drowning out” intelligent public de - Socialist Organiser , our paper at the time, had been banned our letter printed and that was the end of the matter. bate. It does not necessarily mean newspapers rigorously by the Labour Party in 1990. Those seen selling it could be ex - At the time the PCC were finding for less than 1% of all pushing a conservative “line” for their right-wing billion - pelled. We were particularly strong in Sheffield where mem - complainants. I had the impression that unless a paper ac - aire owners: if it serves circulation, the redtops will publish bers were kicked out from the local parties. It was in the cused the Queen Mother of having sex with corgi dogs (with - sensationalist, gossipy attacks on the rich and powerful. But interest of those looking for a purge to make and circulate out photographic evidence), the PCC would let the press off. the market also gives the owners huge scope to flatter and Capitalist “self-regulation” of the press is a joke. It al - nurture whatever popular prejudices they find congenial. these allegations. lows a veneer of “responsibility” to cloak all sorts of non - The capitalist market is not a democratic basis for or - The AWL was not rich enough to sue Stephen Castle for sense and bad behaviour by the press bosses. ganising the media. libel. We campaigned to clear our name but we also looked SOLIDARITY 7 REVIEW When Murdoch smashed the unions

Cathy Nugent reviews Bad News: The Wapping ber, was opposed by middle ranking officials, and voted Dispute, by John Lang and Graham Dodkins against. The far left, trade unionists and Labour Party members In 1986-7 5,500 print production workers were sacked turned out in force for the mass Wednesday and Saturday for striking against an attempt to impose new draconian night pickets at Wapping as well as specially organised terms and conditions at Rupert Murdoch’s new, then marches during the year. Support groups were set up. state-of-the-art, printing plant. POLICE VIOLENCE The story is beautifully told — with first-hand accounts As in the 1984-85 miners’ strike — and so many other recorded shortly after the dispute ended — by former Times important class struggles before — the police were mo - librarians John Lang and Graham Dodkins. This “warts and bilised to break the printworkers, and they deployed all all” account, describing the humour, commitment and com - their weapons. radeship of the printworkers, is a great source of political lessons. Riot police. Mounted police. Arbitrary arrests. Trumped In 1986 Murdoch, working closely with the Thatcher gov - up charges — Communist Party member Mick Hicks was ernment, set out to smash the print unions. The story of how jailed for 16 months for allegedly pushing a megaphone into Murdoch did that is essential to understanding how he be - the face of a cop. Truncheons wielded. Such was their over - came a feared and feted establishment figure he was. whelming presence that the Wapping area became a mini- Rupert Murdoch, the son of an Australian journalist and police state. newspaper proprietor, used his background to strike a pose Residents were often denied access to their own streets which could impress the naive. The leader of the SOGAT and were harassed. But Wapping residents organised soli - Clashing with police. Photo: Andrew Wiard (Report) print union, Brenda Dean, was one such fool. During the darity and protests about the police behaviour. One young strike Dean secretly meets Murdoch in his Beverly Hills man, a resident of the area, Michael Delaney was killed by a home. Over barbecued lamb chops she came to the conclu - and operations to Wapping, to derecognise the unions in the speeding TNT lorry. Despite a coroner jury’s verdict of un - sion that “printing ink is clearly in his [Murdoch’s] blood” process and sack all the workers if they showed any resist - lawful killing no action was taken against either TNT or the and “all he wanted to do was produce newspapers”. But ance. While Wapping was being built and equipped Mur - there is more ice than ink in Murdoch’s blood. It is not his doch invented an entirely fictitious plan to produce a new lorry driver. love of newspapers, but of capitalist accumulation, that dic - paper, the London Post , at the plant (the title never materi - But the pickets were also a place for the left and labour tates his actions. alised). In September 1985 he told the unions that he would movement to congregate and, as in any major class struggle, Murdoch began his business in the UK with the acquisi - not negotiate on terms and conditions at Wapping for his to discuss political ideas. tion of the News of the World in 1968, followed by the Sun older titles until an agreement was reached on terms for the After one violent confrontation with the police in May the (1969), then the Times and Sunday Times (1981). Grateful for London Post . then leader of the Labour Party Neil Kinnock described Murdoch’s support, the Tories declined to refer the Ti mes But in September 1985 news broke (via Socialist Worker ) those who had reacted to police action — that is, out of con - deal to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission even that with the help of the EETPU in Southampton News In - trol rampaging by the police — as outcasts. But that was Kin - though Murdoch would have a big chunk of the UK’s na - ternational was recruiting scab labour to work at Wapping. nock’s standard response to any class struggle. He had done tional press. Murdoch’s terms and conditions for the fictitious London the same the same during the miners’ strike: side with the Immediately the print unions got a foretaste of what Mur - Post were provocative in the extreme: no union recognition; bosses, scab on the people who need to defend themselves. doch was about. He pushed through major staffing cuts and no “closed shop”; complete flexibility of working; new tech - In March SOGAT’s assets were sequestrated and the union a wage freeze at the Times/Sunday Times . A year later Mur - nology to be introduced at anytime followed by job cuts; the was fined £25,000 for instructing its members in wholesale company’s right to manage. doch went for further redundancies among clerical staff. distribution not to handle Murdoch’s newspapers. From The union leaders carried on negotiating even though it At the time of the Wapping dispute there were two main then on Brenda Dean focused on doing what she had to do was now clear that Murdoch was out to smash the unions print unions, the National Graphical Association (NGA) and to get back control of the funds — i.e. selling out the dispute. the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT). and employ scab labour at Wapping. The TUC told the EETPU not to sign any single-union deal By April Dean and Tony Dubbins of the NGA were propos - Before and during the strike printers in Fleet Street, then ing to set up a National Joint Council at Wapping to replace the base of the national press, were vilified as “overpaid”. with Murdoch, but as that was after the strike had started and the scab workforce had been crossing the picket line its union recognition for the individual unions. Later Dean of - When made by other print workers the complaint was the fered to accept 2,000 redundancies. underpaid “insistence” was worthless! The EETPU was not expelled frustration of workers. When made by the bosses In April Murdoch made the strikers a offer — via Channel the complaint was hypocrisy. During the post-war boom from the TUC until a year after the end of the strike and over Four News. “Compensation” would be paid (i.e. he had no newspapers were happy to see wages rise — it was a way of another single union deal. (It is worth noting that the EETPU intention of reinstating the workers). And Murdoch would putting pressure on each other as competitors. was never recognised at Wapping or at Murdoch’s new Scot - The print unions in Fleet Street had established a degree of tish plant, Kinning Park in Glasgow.) also give the old Times newspaper building in Gray’s Inn workers’ control. They won and maintained a “closed shop” In January 1986 a ballot was held by NGA and SOGAT, re - Road to the labour movement… so that they could produce (100% unionised labour in production areas). They were con - turning big majorities for strike action. their own newspaper. The idea that such a “gift” might be fident enough (and often displaying more political con - On 23 January Sun journalists, bribed with £2,000 per accepted from a man who had cynically plotted and planned sciousness than the journalists who wrote the newspapers) head, voted by 100 to 8 to transfer to Wapping. Times and to throw workers on the dole and had demonstrated such to stop the newspapers in support of other workers. During Sunday Times journalists would follow. If more than a hand - hostility to the labour movement is incredible. Nonetheless the miners’ strike the Sun ’s printworkers successfully ful of “refusenik” journalists had come out in solidarity SOGAT commissioned a feasibility study into the proposal! stopped the publication of a front page with the headline things might have gone differently. Journalists eventually Mass picketing at Wapping was an inconvenience, and “Mine Führer” and a picture of miners’ leader Arthur lost union recognition at the Murdoch press. sometimes more than that, to Murdoch. But what was really Scargill ostensibly giving a Nazi salute (he was waving to CRAFT DIVISIONS needed was escalation of the industrial action — by other someone). Lang and Dodkins describe the relationships between print workers on other newspapers. Union members in dem - journalists and clerical/production workers: ocratic decision-making meetings called for such an escala - EDDIE SHAH tion. But it did not happen. Instead, the union relied on a Murdoch was not the first to attack the print unions. In “Traditionally the journalists saw the printers’ practices as completely ineffective boycott campaign. Dean felt increas - 1983 newspaper entrepreneur Eddie Shah decided to an obstacle to getting their stories out and there was a great expand from his Stockport base into Bury and Warring - ing hostility from rank and file union members. deal of jealousy because the printers were earning as much, By autumn 1986 the strike was weakening. A vote against ton, bypassing the union at his company, the NGA, and if not more, than they were earning themselves. Their atti - recruiting non-union labour. After NGA members walked another humiliating offer was close. As the strike weakened tude of superiority… was something that many clerical the union leadership garnered more and more control over out in Stockport they were sacked. workers experienced in their day to day contact with jour - the direction of the strike and limited the action outside nalists.” Solidarity (secondary) picketting organised by the NGA Wapping. At 6.40pm on Friday 24 January the strike began. Twenty was declared illegal under new Tory anti-union legislation. In October when Murdoch sent individual “pay off”offers Mass picketing followed, leading to the union being fined. minutes later, as striking staff were escorted off the Fleet Street premises, they were given a letter saying “Your em - to strikers, the unions, slow to respond, did not stop many NGA members in London’s Fleet Street walked out. On 29 individuals from taking the money. November a mass picket was broken up by riot police. ployment has ended, your P45 and any money due will fol - low shortly.” In January Brenda Dean agreed to a deal with News In - After dithering, the TUC decided not to back the NGA and ternational. In return for “compensation” already voted the workers were defeated. Shah made a single-union agree - The unions hoped that Murdoch would not be able to pro - duce his newspapers; but that hope now seems incredibly against, the company would not take further action in the ment with Eric Hammond of the Electrical, Electronic, courts against SOGAT. The national executive called off the Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (EETPU). The naive. Everything was ready to roll at Wapping and the strike. The NGA was forced to follow. Despite Dean’s in - same pattern would be repeated at Wapping. high-walled, barbed wire surrounded plant was always struction to immediately cease action outside Wapping, For Murdoch, borrowing heavily to expand his American going to be difficult to picket. Crucially, drivers employed business, replacing outdated technology and increasing by TNT were used to transport printed papers, and they 3,000 turned up to the final Saturday picket. profits in his UK Fleet Street operations was imperative. He were told by their union the TGWU, as it faced a High Court On 9 February all the print chapels met. With most pres - applied deceit and cunning and it worked: the print union injunction against secondary action, to cross the picket line. enBt abdstNaeinwins gr,eamdiencdissiounstojuesntdwthoe sRtruikpe rwt aMsumrdadoec. h and leaders were at best naive and at worse downright stupid. Lang and Dodkins detail all aspects of the strike organisa - his lieutenants are, what they have always stood for. tion, the strengths and the weaknesses. Under capitalism, workers are always vulnerable to their They have stood not for “uncovering the truth”, but for On the one hand there was a strike HQ which became the labour being replaced by the introduction of more efficient self-serving dishonesty. Not for making the world a bet - base for individual activists to get involved, and encouraged machines, but it is not inevitable that they will be “thrown ter place for little children, but for using people and on the scrap heap” and will not benefit from labour-saving total commitment. On the other hand the rank and file had little or no control bringing insecurity and misery into the lives of working- technology. The way to ensure that technology benefits class families. Not for loyalty, but for screwing the work - workers is to fight for such things as a shorter working week over negotiations. Whenever negotiations took place very little information got through to members. The idea of a ers and, if it helps them sell newspapers, screwing the with no loss of pay. rest of the world too. Murdoch’s plan from the start was to move all his titles strike committee was not discussed in SOGAT until Septem - 8 SOLIDARITY REVIEW Tommy Sheridan: From the boy who lived to the not the only sinner man who died

Daisy Thomas reviews the final Harry Potter Peter Burton reviews Downfall by Alan film “The Deathly Hallows — Part 2” McCombes As I joined countless others at midnight in packed cin - Alan McCombes describes Tommy Sheridan as his emas for the final instalment of Harry Potter, excitement “closest political companion for 20 years”. was in the air. He met Sheridan as a young recruit to Militant (forerunner After all, this would be the last time there’d be a midnight of the Socialist Party) in the mid-1980s, and worked with screening of Harry Potter, the last time people could dress him in the poll tax agitation in Scotland (1989-90) which up like the characters, and the last time there’d be a new made Sheridan famous. Harry Potter movie. With the majority of Militant/SP, McCombes and Sheri - The acting was very well done and, as always, the special dan quit the Labour Party in the early 1990s, setting up Scot - effects were brilliant. The idea that Thestrals didn’t actually tish Militant Labour in 1992, the Scottish Socialist Alliance in exist, or that flying motorbikes defied gravity, was not im - 1996, and the Scottish Socialist Party in 1998. McCombes and portant. This was a fantasy world where magic was real and Sheridan split from Peter Taaffe and the SP in 2001, convert - good battled evil. ing the SSP to a looser grouping. One particular example of good acting and character In late 2004 McCombes and Sheridan fell out over Sheri - heroics was Neville (played by Matthew Lewis). Neville has dan’s demand that the SSP back him in responding to a News never really been given a great deal of attention or opportu - of the World sex-scandal story by launching a libel suit (in - nities to prove himself before, but he made up for it this stead of just waiting for the pumped-up scandal to fade). time, to high degrees of hilarity. And, while there were great In August 2006 Sheridan won the libel suit, despite SSPers casualties, it was heartening to see, once again, that good testifying against him, and split from the SSP, forming a new triumphed over evil and that good things can be interwoven electoral front, “Solidarity Scotland” (no relation to this into dark stories. paper!). Then he was charged with, and in January 2011 But good as it was, there were a few things that got on my jailed for, perjury. Meanwhile McCombes’s SSP, which for wick. First, when Harry pulled himself and Voldemort into some years got 10% of the vote in Glasgow and organised that massive hole. That was not in the book and added noth - maybe 3,000 members, dwindled to a small rump. “Solidar - Tommy Sheridan at the end of his trial for perjury ing to the story. ity Scotland” never really took off. Second, the deaths of characters we had gotten to know “The record has to be set straight”, writes McCombes, (and in some cases, loved) over the years: Lupin, Tonks, “and not by a detached journalist but by a central partici - Combes thinks it is just Sheridan’s fault that Sheridan came Fred, and Snape, were not given the same attention as in the pant in the events at the heart of the story.” to believe in the image? books (despite there being some weeping in the cinema). I In the first chapter of Downfall , McCombes recalls how he The SSP leaders drifted to a conception of socialism as a assume the filmmakers glossed over them because of time. pushed for Sheridan to be taken on as Militant youth organ - kind of Stalinism with a human face delivered to the work - Third, Snape’s memories were not as detailed as in the iser in 1986. He was impressed by “his raw talent as an ora - ing class from above, with Tommy Sheridan in the role of a books, nor did they cover the important scenes at Hogwarts tor and his pulsating energy”. But as early as page 4 Scottish Che Guevara. when he, Lily and James were students there (even though McCombes is being wise after the event. Sheridan was a An educated membership who had been kept informed this had been covered earlier in the books). Young Lily did “consummate media performer”, but “would never obtain over the years could have got the party out of the difficulties. not have the green eyes that people keep raving about and the intellectual breadth or depth of”... Jim Sillars and Jimmy But all attempts over the years to move in that direction comparing to Harry’s eyes. If you’re going to mention an Reid. failed. eye colour that much, at least get someone who fits the bill. McCombes notes the impression made on Sheridan by All attempts to get Marxist educationals off the ground Fourth, I was disappointed that Dumbledore’s childhood Derek Hatton, the leading figure in Militant’s control of Liv - All attempts to get a more collective, activist-based ap - and his relationships with his family and Grindelwald were erpool’s Labour council in 1984-5. Militant consciously proach to industrial work not explored. I really enjoyed that in the books. groomed good-looking, media-savvy, suave-dressing spivs. Scottish Socialist Voice All attempts to open up the to real And, finally, I didn’t think that the characters pulled off That backfired on them in Liverpool as early as 1985; and debate and discussion. looking 19 years older (and they didn’t mention Teddy then McCombes went on repeating the same approach for Downfall falls short of the full truth. For example: did Lupin — nor the fact that Tonks had even had a kid before two decades more in Scotland. everyone really reluctantly go to Sheridan’s perjury trial, her untimely death). So that was also disappointing. “If the poll tax broke Margaret Thatcher, it made Tommy under legal compulsion? Didn’t Rosie Kane use her column But those complaints aside, the movie met most of my ex - Sheridan”, writes McCombes, adding snottily: “though not Record in the to “demand” a perjury investigation after the pectations. I remember one of my friends remarking: “And because of any strategic abilities but as a ‘front man’... [his] defamation trial? that scene where Harry is talking to Dumbledore in King’s strengths were as a campaigner rather than a strategist”. If George McNeilage acted completely alone in taping and Cross station, it was exactly as I had imagined it.” That too McCombes asks: “Did we create a personality cult around News selling the tape of Sheridan allegedly confessing to the happened with the scenes at Gringotts. Sheridan”? He replies with a qualified no. “Focusing on an of the World , as the book asserts, why did SSP leaders at the Particularly enjoyable moments included: the epic fight individual keeps things simple for the media and makes it SSP’s October 2006 conference work so hard to block a scenes, Neville’s heroics, McGonagall’s impressive spell- easier to connect with people and get the political message Workers’ Unity emergency motion which asked that the casting, Molly Weasley calling Bellatrix a bitch, and Snape’s across... But we went too far”. party distance itself from his actions in selling the tape to the redemption. You’re damned right you went too far! The SSP paper Scot - News of the World ? To sum up, it is hard to express just how Harry Potter The left has to think about its culture — the gang psy - was so good, so I’ll just leave it as: “It was great, it tish Socialist Voice ran a centrespread on Sheridan’s wedding chology that made Sheridan so central and, until the in 2000. Ballot papers gave the SSP’s name as “Scottish So - sucks that it’s over, and if you haven’t already seen it, go falling-out, so unquestionable. It has to create edu - now.” cialist Party — convenor: Tommy Sheridan”. cated, informed, rounded activists, and a culture where A public image was promoted of a man who not only had no one is indispensable or elevated into a presidential done good work against the poll tax, but was clean-living, role. physically fit, teetotal, his only weakness sun-beds. And Mc - WORKERS ’ LIBERTY SUMMER CAMP, WEST YORKSHIRE 19-21 AUGUST

Height Gate, nr Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, OL14 • Socialism vs Stalinism • Training: how to give speeches and write leaflets/articles In August young members and friends of Workers’ Liberty • Organising at work will be taking part in a summer event in the beautiful hills • Why is the left male-dominated, and what can we do of West Yorkshire. It will be a mix of socialism and about it? socialising, with political discussion, activist training and • Students and class fun. Food and crash-pad accommodation costs £20. We can Discussions will include: offer help with transport. Spaces are limited, so if you’d like • The mechanics of exploitation: how capitalism works to come please get in touch as soon as possible! • Paris, May 1968: students spark a workers’ revolution • The story and lessons of the miners’ strike [email protected] or 07775 763 750 Daniel Radcliffe was Harry Potter SOLIDARITY 9 DEBATE Ideas for Freedom 2011

By Sacha Ismail is essential to helping the working class win the battles that lieIfahyeoaud.enjoyed the event, or are sorry you missed it, More than 200 people attended Ideas for Freedom, please consider working with us and, if you’re con - Workers’ Liberty’s annual summer school of socialist vinced, becoming an AWL member”. discussion and debate — the biggest one for more than a decade. Gilaine Young is a PCS union activist We opened with a Friday night showing of Sergei Eisen - “This IFF was my third consecutive. Year on year I have stein’s Strike , followed by presentations from young strik - been impressed not just by the quality of the speakers and ers from the NUT and RMT and a discussion of how the the ‘organised’ aspects of the event, but with the outstand - film’s themes relate to the sharpening class struggle today. ing contributions made from the floor. We closed on Sunday with inspiring speeches and the “Particular highlights for me this year included the 1880s singing of the Internationale. In between were 22 excellent New Unionism/matchwomen’s strike session, the excellent presentations, workshops, debates and discussions, from short films/discussion on Saturday night, and the Tube - workplace bulletins to socialist feminism, from “chavs” to worker session which inspired me to open discussions with school students’ struggles, from the Arab Spring to the colleagues about producing our own workplace bulletin. Labour Party and cuts. We continued our tradition of en - “This IFF confirmed for me that AWL is a group commit - couraging debate and discussion on the left by inviting a ted to open and honest debate, even when dealing with dif - variety of speakers from outside the AWL — including de - ficult or controversial issues, and that was a big factor in my bates on Marxism and anarchism and with the Workers decision to join at the close of the weekend.” Power group on whether socialists should be raising the slo - gan for a general strike. Other socialist and anarchist groups Giulio is a student activist at City University, London also ran stalls at the event. “I found Ideas for Freedom inspiring and incredibly use - There was a women’s caucus on Saturday and on Sunday RMT activist Becky Crocker speaking at the Friday night film ful. The talks were both topical and informative. My per - some of the AWL’s union fractions — teachers, railworkers, showing. sonal highlight of the weekend was the ‘Chavs’ talk with PCS, UCU, Unison — held meetings for workers in those Owen Jones, and discussion of how the left needs to recon - sectors. nect with the white working class, not dismiss them. I Because of increased ticket, literature and merchandise class-struggle, socialist-led union recently persecuted by would thoroughly recommend going to Ideas for Freedom sales, the event made a substantial “profit” — money that Mugabe’s police. for any serious lefty.” will be ploughed back into our campaigning in the weeks Three people joined the AWL and a number of others and months ahead. We also raised £1,165 from a collection. made arrangements to meet to discuss joining. Hannah McQuarrie is a library worker and Unison ac - The packed-out Saturday night social, a showing of the After last year’s Ideas for Freedom, we commented: tivist at the University of Westminster films Pictures of Zain and What You Looking At? and discus - “Ideas for Freedom is a showcase for Workers’ Liberty as “I liked the mixture of formal debates with more partici - sion on film, sexuality and multiculturalism led by their di - a tendency which is pretty much unique on the British left patory workshops, and the mix of AWL speakers with rector, our comrade Faryal, raised £285 for the Salit quarry — a rational, democratic, clear-thinking Marxist organisa - speakers from outside organisations, some of whom agreed workers, Palestinians striking for union recognition from tion, committed to independent working-class politics, to with AWL and some of whom didn’t. It was everything pos - their Israeli bosses. We also collected £100 for the Medical vigour in debate and to a non-sectarian approach to other itive that I’d ever experienced about Workers’ Liberty Professional and Allied Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe, a socialists and to the broad labour movement. Despite our small size, we believe that strengthening our organisation packed into one weekend.” How to protect freedom of the press

Does the News International scandal imply a need for lawyer, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on them to say accuracy of their reporting but in terms of basic responsibil - public intervention in the media? Or would that lead to that a contentious story is simply not worth printing. ity that lies with the editors. The way journalists go about restrictions on the ability of journalists to investigate I wouldn’t describe the reaction to the scandal as “hyste - their work will reflect the culture that their editor has devel - corruption within powerful institutions in society? Ian ria”. Hysteria to me implies rioting in the streets, burning oped in the newsroom, so I wouldn’t blame individual jour - Overton, award-winning documentary maker and Direc - tyres and smashing windows. There is a certain outcry for nalists for this in the same way that I’d blame generals, tor of the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, gave his something to be done, but something has been done; the rather than rank-and-file soldiers, for crimes committed dur - views to Solidarity . Guardian and New York Times pushed and pushed and ex - ing a war. The idea of the fourth estate regulating the fourth estate posed this. In future, someone like Paul Dacre running the Journalists are a difficult, cantankerous and challenging is a good one, but I do not think the fourth estate should Daily Mail would be an absolute to fool to let his journalists bunch, and that’s positive. They have to be that way for be regulated by the first three. We need self-regulation use anything but the most upright tactics in their investiga - them to do their jobs. But there need to be clear judgements and ultimately, in a commercially-driven media, market tions. We’ve drawn a line in the sand here and to an extent about what’s in the public interest. A story about a footballer forces will dictate. this was a necessary blood-letting. sleeping with a prostitute is not in the public interest; that’s I don’t think it means we need an extension of privacy titiGlloaitniogna. fter and challenging the corruption of power is There’s a demand for consequences, but we’ve already laws, as Jack Straw is calling for.The buck has to stop with in the public interest, and journalists need to remain free seen them; a newspaper has collapsed, we’ve seen senior in - the editors of publications. I believe journalists should be to do that. dividuals, including police officers, resign and Murdoch’s empowered; editors need to hold them accountable for the been brought before parliament. My major concern out of all of this is that newspapers may now be forced to adhere to much stricter legal requirements And from media moguls? in terms of how they conduct investigations. That’s fine when it comes to hacking Milly Dowler’s phone, but what By Martin Thomas about hacking the phone of an unknown hedge fund man - could judge whether the papers on offer reported news ager who’s playing the markets illegally and the FSA is re - well or badly... Ian Overton is right that we don't want governments to Otherwise, misinformation and non-information are not fusing to investigate? be able to stall or sack awkward journalists, and that This is the third big story in as many years — with the fi - eliminated by the market. They feed on themselves. such things can happen in parliamentary democracies Moreover, the capitalist market for media is not deter - nancial crisis and MPs’ expenses — that has involved people as well as under dictatorships. in positions of enormous power absolutely refusing to ac - mined only by readers. It is determined, as much or more, by advertisers. knowledge problems with how that power was wielded and But what does “self-regulation” mean? The dominant Timely and full public information is a necessary founda - how they conducted themselves. There’s a peculiarly British “self” of the media industry — that is, the editors and other tion-stone of democracy, and democracy must take up the belief that people in such positions wouldn’t be capable of high-ranking bosses appointed by the billionaires — take job of generating that information rather than leave it to the such high levels of corruption, but that’s been proved journalists off stories, demote them, or sideline them, every self-regulation of those already “information-power - wrong. week. And in a way immune from public challenge. ful”and to the supposed virtues of the market. How can we rely on the judiciary to investigate and regu - Even if we should manage to get some union representa - The right of every individual and small group to produce late corruption in the media when they themselves may be tives into a “self-regulatory” system, as long as the media their own web site or leaflet or bulletin is basic. But it is not corrupt? For example, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are privately owned by billionaires the "self" doing the self- enough. Regular, comprehensive public information re - has recently been rapped over the knuckles over alleged cor - regulation will be dominated by the billionaires' deputies. quires large networks of reporters, expensive communica - ruption in the jury service. We need an independent fourth The record of the Press Complaints Commission shows tion systems, big and fast printing presses or broadcasting estate to challenge these things. how such a “self” will always be reluctant to act against its facilities, expensive distribution systems. We need to avoid a situation where a journalist can be ar - own. Those large-scale social assets should be socially owned. rested for writing something dissenting, which does happen Ian Overton also looks to “the market” to save media Their use should be allocated democratically, with every in some so-called “democracies”, or where a newsreader can standards. Even enthusiasts for market economics concede large body of thought getting its share. That should be be sacked for saying something the government doesn’t like, that markets work well when only when buyers have good backed up by rules guaranteeing rights of reply, and which happens in Italy. information about the quality of the goods on offer as well changes to the libel law so it gives some protection to the If I’m investigating a wealthy businessman who decides to as prices. unmoneyed and removes the over-protection that current throw his lawyers at me, I need to get my own lawyers in The market could keep the media good only if, before law gives to the litigious wealthy. order to respond to that and I end up spending money on choosing what papers to buy, we were first educated by an - None of that implies any power for governments to legal defence that I should be spending on journalism. If an other set of media which informed us well enough that we suppress critical reporting. editor of a commercial publication is faced with a robust 10 SOLIDARITY REPORTS Save jobs at Bombardier!

By Darren Bedford According to rail expert Northern Rock nationalisa - If the starting point is Christian Wolmar, complete tion in 2007, when the fail - human and ecological need, Workers will rally in Derby closure of the Derby works ing bank was taken into rather than profit, it is clear on 23 July to protest the “after the current order for state control, downsized that there are more than loss of 1,400 jobs at the London Underground (resulting in significant job enough trains that need Bombardier train manu - trains is fulfilled in 2014, losses), streamlined, made making to provide work for facturing plant. seems inevitable”. fit for profitability and both Siemens and Bom - handed back to the private The losses come as a re - The rail union RMT, bardier workers. And, if not sector, is not the answer. sult of the government’s de - which represents some trains, then other items that Unions should fight for cision on 16 June to award workers at Bombardier the plant’s productive ca - democratic public owner - the £1.5 billion contract for Derby, says that the knock- pacity could be easily con - ship, and for Bombardier to new carriages for the on effect of the closure verted to make. The be run directly by elected Thameslink rail line to Ger - could be the further loss of committees of workers who Thameslink contract does man manufacturer Siemens. 13,000 jobs in Bombardier’s Birmingham council workers strike against cuts. These can manage the company not represent all the work After the rejection of their supply chain and in other workers want to fight, but what is the Unison leadership on the basis of social need. that could be, and indeed rival bid, Canadian-owned businesses. doing? Much of the rhetoric needs to be, done by a plant Bombardier announced on This is not because the against the government’s like Bombardier Derby. 5 July that it would cut skills and the equipment in Derby are useless, could not decision, including from the A fight to save jobs at 1,400 jobs (446 permanent unions, has shaded into Bombardier should be part and 983 temporary) from be adapted to other produc - tion, or even are not needed “British jobs for British of a class fightback to im - Strike to stop the current workforce of workers” territory. pose a working-class pro - 3,000 at its Derby site, for rail rolling-stock pro - gramme to combat where rail rolling stock has duction. SOCIALIST austerity across the whole been built under various Wolmar notes: “Train The main unions involved, of society. The entire labour pension cuts: name ownerships for 171 years. travel is booming and there RMT and Unite, are de - is an obvious lack of rolling manding that the govern - movement should throw its DEFINITE stock. With a bit of will, ment withdraw the weight behind the Bom - The Government claims extra carriages could be or - contract from Siemens bardier Derby jobs fight the date. And soon! that the Siemens contract dered to lengthen existing and award it to Bom - and support Bombardier will create 600 rail-manu - trains and give hope to bardier. workers in taking whatever By Stewart Ward facturing jobs in the UK, gest that they want to ex - Bombardier that it should action necessary to save haust the scheme by when part of the contract But demanding that Ger - hold on with the prospect their jobs — demonstra - The National Union of scheme negotiations now work is done at the man workers (and maybe of getting the large Cross - tions, strikes, occupations Teachers (NUT) Executive underway after the end of Siemens factory in Heb - some British Siemens work - rail order” [after 2015, and beyond. is talking about the idea central talks with the Treas - burn, Tyne and Wear; but ers too) lose jobs so Derby They should begin by when Crossrail, the new rail of second strike against ury before balloting. that is unclear and the workers can have them is a making the 23 July line across London, is com - pension cuts in the week With negotiations pro - 1,400 job cut is definite. nationalist, not a socialist, demonstration a priority pleted]. beginning 7 November, to ceeding at differing paces solution to the problem. for national mobilisation. The cuts explode the To - WORKERS’ CONTROL follow on from the one on in different sectors, union 30 June. ries’ story that job losses Unions should demand leaders could attempt to wait until negotiations are and attacks on pay and con - that Bombardier Derby is NUT is in talks with the More reports online concluded across the board ditions in the public sector nationalised, under the other “J30” unions, as well before acting. And that will be compensated for by control of the people who as the National Association would mean Unison not an expansion of private sec - work there. of Headteachers. • London cleaners win — even starting ballot prepa - tor jobs. NUT is also discussing There is a precedent for rations before October. Bombardier Derby cur - http://bit.ly/nZyy4G the prospect of a mass Rumours abound that a rently manufactures train even Tory governments na - lobby of parliament in Oc - • BBC strikes — http://bit.ly/oTKjh6 deal which avoids an in - carriages for London Un - tionalising big companies to tober, for which it hopes to crease in employee contri - derground, London Mid - prevent economic devasta - • Plymouth counter-demo against the mobilise at least one butions in the local land, and Stansted Express, tion. In 1971, Edward Heath teacher from each school in EDL — http://bit.ly/oT0C3G government pension but all three contracts are nationalised aerospace en - the country. A special exec - scheme may be negotiable, due to finish in December gineers and car manufac - utive meeting on 9 Septem - • Palestinian quarry workers’ strike and there are suggestions 2011. Bombardier claims turer Rolls-Royce (also ber, the first week of the that Unison leader Dave that it would have cut up to Derby-based). However, na - into second month — new academic year, will Prentis is willing to accept 1,000 jobs whether or not it tionalisation in-and-of-itself discuss the issue further. won the Thameslink con - is not enough. Nationalisa - http://bit.ly/rktpsG such a deal even at the cost tract. tion on the model of the ACTION of breaking any common Activists in the civil serv - front of public sector work - ice workers’ union PCS ers. say that their leadership Unless grassroots ac - appears genuinely enthu - tivists within Unison can Aviation workers reject pay deals siastic about further ac - organise sufficient pressure tion and is in discussions to force their leaders to act, with other unions about it seems vanishingly un - By a union rep ATCOs Branch. internet bulletin board, and time is being hard-rostered, naming a date in the au - likely that Unison members The NATS Trade Union workers discussed the dis - and in other areas work is tumn, and preferably ear - will be able to officially par - On 27 June, NATS, the Side (NTUS) entered nego - parity between the offers being consolidated into lier rather than later. ticipate in any autumn UK’s main provider of air tiations in May 2010 united freely. Meanwhile, manage - smaller and smaller teams strike dates. traffic services, received It is unwilling to take the in their aim for an RPI+ ment explained the “pres - without regrading. lead itself, worrying that UNITY notification of rejection of deal across the board in sures on the business” and Union reps at airports, air The worst case scenario the pay deals offered to any date called by the PCS light of the real-terms cuts the “wider economic cli - traffic centres and in offices would be seen as arbitrary. is the total breakdown of two sections of its work - their members received mate” that prevented them around the country are now cross-union unity, leading force. But the leadership of the over the previous two years from providing an adequate preparing members’ brief - big local government and to a series of scattered of profit. NATS manage - rise for their workforce. ings to decide what indus - Prospect ATSS, which health union Unison con - one-day strikes by indi - ment made an early de - Within five days of the trial action to take, on a represents engineers, and tinues to use the anti-union vidual unions or small risory offer, which they ballot results, the workers’ timeline that could see dis - PCS, the union for opera - laws as a smokescreen for groups of unions. insisted could only be bet - anger and frustration inten - ruption to services in the tional assistants and admin - their own sluggishness and tered through negotiating sified with the publication summer. Or maybe all will be istrative grades, returned conservatism, claiming at a “efficiencies” with each of the Annual Report. The vast majority of dragged down the pace of ballots rejecting their offers recent National Executive union independently, and NATS reported a pre-tax members in NATS will the slowest. by 88% and 79% majorities Committee meeting that so separate bargaining profit of £106.1m, a signifi - have never taken any such Activists inside public respectively, on turnouts of problems with their mem - began. cant improvement on the action before, so their blos - sector unions should agi - over 75%. The offers made bership records might slow When the offers were pre - £78.3m for 2009/10 despite soming militancy will need tate for a date to be publicly consisted of 4% for year one down their balloting sented, the Prospect ATSS the loss of revenue associ - guidance from those con - named as soon as possible, (Jan 2011), followed by RPI process to such a degree as and PCS executives recom - ated with last April’s vol - nected to the wider labour and for that date to be as capped at 4.5% in year 2, to make action impossible mended rejection, with canic ash cloud. They have movement. early as possible. with significant strings at - What their leaderships before 2012. And unions must ex - Prospect ATCOs standing managed to reduce their tached for both groups. must now do is stay in Senior Unison official plore strike levies and alone in favour of their staff costs from £382m to The third section of touch with the shifting Bob Abberley claimed it rolling, selective, strategi - deal. In the run-up to the £357m through a carefully NATS’ workforce, air traffic perspectives of their could take four months to cally-planned and ulti - ballot, NATS announced a planned program of redun - controllers, voted to accept members and develop simply get the membership mately indefinite action dividend of £42.5m. Talk of dancies. Delegates at one of their RPI+ deal through and provide the industrial records in sufficient order rather than just one-day ATCO protest votes in soli - the union conferences their separate and distinct strategy they will need to to hold a ballot. set-pieces. darity with their colleagues stated that some areas are branch of Prospect, the win. Unison leaders also sug - was bandied around on an so short-staffed that over - SOLIDARITY 11 Syrian rebels gain confidence S&oWloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y By Dan Katz The aim was to hold si - multaneous meetings in The heroic uprising of the Syria and Istanbul, but the Syrian people against Syrian military broke up brutality and despotism preparations for the meet - continues to grow de - ing in Damascus on Friday. spite intimidation, mass Despite the crackdown, arrests, torture, extreme some Syrian opposition ac - violence and murder. tivists met at a small pri - vate location in Damascus The biggest street and used an internet phone protests since the move - link to address the Istanbul ment erupted in March gathering. took place on Friday 15 The US’s verbal contest July. with the Syrian state was The marchers were de - ratcheted up following at - manding the release of po - tacks by regime thugs on litical prisoners. It is the US and French em - estimated that 10,000 have bassies. been detained since March. US Secretary of State Rami Abdel Rahman, of Hillary Clinton said that the Syrian Observatory for President Bashar al- Human Rights, said one Assad had “lost legiti - million people turned out macy” to rule. in just two cities: Hama and the eastern Kurdish town of Southampton battle enters third month Deir al-Zour. News from Egypt In the capital — heavily policed Damascus — 20 000 and Libya marched and 16 were In Egypt, exasperation killed. In Deraa, to the with the military council south on the Jordanian bor - which has ruled the “The one-day strike der, mass protests resumed country since the revo - again following a brutal lution pushed out for - clampdown. One activist mer dictator Hosni commented, “All hell broke Mubarak on 11 Febru - loose, the firing was in - ary has spilled out onto tense.” the streets. is no more” Rights activist Mustafa Osso said some 100 soldiers People have been defected and joined the camping out in Cairo's By Darren Bedford worse contracts in a belief dates about where things cers has been hugely impor - protesters in al-Boukamal Tahrir Square since 8 July, that it would secure their are at with the negotiations tant too. Before we mo - near Iraq's border late on and there have also been The dispute dubbed “the job. Figures have also and to discuss what action bilised them we had Saturday. He said protesters big protests in Suez. UK’s Wisconsin” has en - emerged that show the they want to take. Keeping discussions with the stew - and the soldiers marched in The military and the tered its third month as council is preparing to members informed about ards on the docks to make the streets chanting “The government have re - Southampton local gov - plough a further £4 million the running of the dispute sure they were completely people and the army are the sponded with some con - ernment workers ex - into its reserves, exploding and the ongoing negotia - on board and happy with same.” cessions: tended their strike the bosses’ lie that cuts are a tions has been very impor - the proposed actions. According to al-Jazeera, • Fired more than 600 against mass redundan - financial necessity. tant. We’ve always taken “The port health workers on Sunday 17 July 2000 Syr - senior police officers; cies and pay cuts. Ian Woodland spoke to votes to decide where to go have had a huge impact in ian troops followed by • Postponed the sched - Solidarity : next and which groups of terms of slowing down Workers including park - tanks stormed the town of uled parliamentary elec - “Our demand now is the workers to bring out. trade and even turning ing attendants, toll collec - Zabadani, 40km from Dam - tions from September to restoration of our members’ Groups of strikers have boats away. It’s really been tors and port workers ascus, near the border with November (this has been pay to the pre-11 July levels. been rota’d to go out into hitting the council hard. began a week-long stop - Lebanon. a demand of the left and The key issue for us was al - the community and deliver The lesson is to think strate - page on Monday 11 July as The Ba'thist state has liberals, worried that ways resisting the erosion leaflets. Over 60,000 have gically, and organise. the council’s deadline for rounded up more than 500 only the Muslim Brother - of our members’ terms and been distributed to date; it’s accepting the new terms people since Friday. Syrian hood will be able to or - conditions. The council has been important to keep the THREE came and went. While most authorities have also de - ganise well in time for a twisted view of how to community on side and “At this stage, there are workers have accepted the tained a leading democratic earlier elections); negotiation and relate to aware of the issues three prongs to our cam - new contracts, those who opposition figure, Ali Ab - • Imposed limits on unions, and they’ve stam - “Workers outside paign. haven’t have not yet been dullah, after a raid on his the committee set to cre - peded to introduce cuts. Southampton can send do - sacked. “This dispute isn’t going home in the Damascus sub - ate a new constitution; nations and messages of The industrial action’s to be won or lost just with urb of Qatana on the morn - • Sacked half the cabi - DEMONSTRATION solidarity. focus has now shifted from industrial action. We’re ing of Sunday 17 July. net, and appointed 15 “The demonstration on They’re no small thing; demanding the council making a legal challenge Abdullah, who is a writer new ministers. Wednesday 13 July was we’ve kept a file and relay withdraws the threat of about the employers’ lack and a member of the Dam - Protesters are still de - superb. All our striking them all to our members on mass sackings onto of consultation, and there’s ascus Declaration calling manding other moves, members attended, which picket lines. It’s something straightforwardly demand - also a debate amongst our for peaceful democratic including the end of mili - was about 700. very practical and impact - ing the non-implementation membership about taking transition, was released tary tribunals for civil - ing that other trade union - of cuts and the restoration “Small groups of other political action. It’s possible from jail on 30 May, follow - ians, and a quicker trial ists can do. of terms and conditions. workers, including civil ser - that we’ll get a Labour ing a pardon. of Mubarak. “But beyond this, we Nearly 1,000 workers vants, teachers and dockers, council at the next election, The government began a As of 19 July, rebel want the wider movement demonstrated on Wednes - also joined us, so it was which opens up certain po - "National Dialogue" in mid- forces in Libya are re - to observe and learn from day 13 July. probably around 800 people tentials but it also new pres - July which was boycotted ported to have taken the our experience. It’s very The new strikes were altogether. It was a very sures and potentially new by the opposition as a important oil centre of clear to us that the one day launched as a leaked coun - angry, lively, and colourful disputes. The demand of sham. Brega. Both the rebels strike is no more. Unions cil budgeting report demonstration. It was our campaign, on all fronts, On 16 July the National and the big powers seem needs to start bringing showed that the council scheduled to coincide with remains to restore our Salvation Congress, a gath - increasingly confident workers out strategically plans to spend £5 million a a full council meeting members’ pay. ering of 350 expatriate Syri - that Qaddafi is on the and putting resources in to year between 2012 and 2014 which many of our mem - “We feel that the model ans meeting in Istanbul, way out. make sure those strikes are on making more workers bers went into. The strength we’ve got in Southampton Turkey, elected a 25-mem - On 19 July, the US gov - well supported and backed redundant. The report of feeling and the anger had can work nationally. The ac - ber board. The conference ernment said it was "time up. Unions need to think shows how the council to be seen to be believed. As tion we need for a dispute issued a statement saying to recognise the Transi - strategically about where plans to axe 361 posts in the council leader was like the pensions fight has activists in Damascus tional National Council we can apply maximum 2012, 725 the following speaking we turned out to be on a much longer would elect another 50 [in Benghazi] as the offi - pressure to the employers; year, and 1,224 by 2014. backs and walked out. term – maybe a week, board members. The aim cial voice of the Libyan we’ve deliberately targeted This amounts to a reduction “Throughout the dispute, maybe two weeks. had been to form a shadow people". the income streams for the “We’ve got to be putting The Libyan rebels will of around 25% of the total our joint stewards’ commit - government, but divisions council, such toll booths our resources into those have to be wary of workforce, at a cost of £15 tee has worked very well. between the participants - and parking. We’ve also disputes and making sure moves by NATO to use million, in just three years. We’ve met at least once a democrats, Islamists and brought out workers who members are supported the military help it has Unite regional organiser week and if action intensi - Kurds – prevented that. can provide a visual picture in taking action for as given the rebels as a Ian Woodland described the fies we might meet twice. Kurdish organisations of the impact of the strike, long as it takes to win. lever for power to figures as a “disgrace” that Every morning we’ve had pulled out accusing other like street cleaning and re - That’s what unions are shape a post-Qaddafi would devastate those mass meetings on the picket participants of ignoring fuse. The involvement of for.” government. workers who accepted the lines giving members up - Kurdish rights. port health certification offi -