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Challenge magazine of the young communist league issue I! £1 Say no to Mcjobs! Adult pay for young workers now The Young Communist The Young Communist The Young Communist The Young Communist League is revolutionary. League is the youth League is part of a mass League is It aims not to mend wing of the Communist movement. internationalist. It is a member capitalism; but to end it This Party. It never puts: its own for does not mean that the AAD of the World It.aims to. build support interests as an organisation organisation of Democratic League calls for an armed people for the above those of the Federation among young uprising in moder Britain, Communist Party's movement as a whole and it Youth, which represents millions of progressive although we defend the right Britain's Road to seeks to build the widest programme of the oppressed to take up Socialism and to increase possible coalition behind young people in around 100 countries. It arms for their liberation. It young people's involvement progressive policies. in solidarity means realising that only a in politics. The Young The Morning Star, Britain's campaigns with sister Young fundamental shift in power Communist League is only socialist daily Communist organisations from the capitalists to the organisationally autonomous newspaper, plays a vital role around the World and working people can guarantee activities in strengthening the left and stand | and decides its own social League works actively to defends existing socialist democratic rights and and priorities. progress. Socialist revolution support the paper and raise countries. It backs the its circulation. The League right to self-determination in Britain can and should be The Young Communist achieved by peaceful means, League is democratic. also recognises the and opposes any attempt states such through a combination of Policies are formulated by a importance of trade unions by imperialist the US and the elections with mass work Congress, which must be as the broadest mass as Britain, we European Union to outside parliament. The held at least once every two organisations of the working impose their will on the League publicises its activities, years, and are carried out by class and fights all anti-trade or its theory and its revolutionary an elected Executive union laws. peoples of the world to exploit or to exploit perspective on the day-to-day Committee. The League also for struggle through its magazine fights to defend and The Young Communist the world's resources It calls for Challenge, which also strengthen democratic rights. League is communist. capitalist profit. unilateral, immediate and provides a channel for debate It rejects unfair discrimination It works to abolish nuclear within the organisation and on the basis of race, sex, age, capitalism and establish a unconditional disarmament. the wider movement. or religious or other socialist society based on * what sexuality belief. It calls for the abolition common ownership and of the monarchy and the democratic control, drawing House of Lords and regards on the ideas of Marx, Engels, the European Union as an Lenin and others as well as the young communists undemocratic and on the experience of socialist join reactionary institution, which countries since 1917. In the | would like to join the Young Communist League serves the interests of big context of this struggle it Get more information Please tick as appropriate business rather than those of seeks to defend and Europe's working people. strengthen public services, the welfare state and the name _ The Young Communist NHS. It believes that League is centralised. everyone has the right to Democratically taken free and inclusive secular address decisions are binding across education including nursery the organisation, although care, schools, universities, local branches decide how community colleges and ReeERS best to implement them in adult education centres. The post code their own areas. struggle for socialism must go hand in hand with the struggle to protect the ELAS natural environment, which is phone being wilfully damaged by LL corporations and capitalist governments in their drive e mail AT for short-term profit. _www.yclorg.uk EATERS | i www.communist-pa rty.org.uk www.solidnet.org Challenge cere ote pmang emma mer Hh A ee "ye % cue ‘ Sg sta “f from crisis to.crisis’ © of. * The government’s Higher Education Bill, which will introduce variable tuition fees of up to three thousand pounds a year scraped through the Challenge House of Commons on January 27th by just five votes. Top-up fees are another step toward the privatisation of higher education Issue I 1 Spring 2004 and an elitist “Ivy League” system based on the US model where the logic of the market sets the agenda. The government argues that the introduction of top-up fees is essential to solve the funding crisis in higher Joe Kelly is skint for socialism education. The basic fact remains that this government is committed to and solidarity! military spending and to subsidising greedy, reckless privateers rather than Hijab Joanne Stevenson on directing resources into public services. The government constantly secularism and religion lectures public sector workers about the need for “modernisation” and “efficiency”, but refuses to provide adequate funding. Instead it relies on Oliver Little on the march the private sector to make up the shortfall, which is like letting a vampire against Aldermaston’s new loose in a blood bank. nuclear generation The fact that the Hutton Report into the death of Dr David Kelly let Tony Blair off the hook is no surprise given that it was stitched-up by a Say no to Mac jobs trusted servant of the British Establishment. The report was designed to Dave Du on adult pay for draw attention away from the lies the government told to Parliament and young workers now! the British public over the threat posed by Iraq’s (fictional) weapons of mass destruction. Ben Stevenson’s The Hutton Report has also provided an excuse for New Labour to industrial diary continue its attacks on democracy and the BBC as an independent public broadcasting service. Thousands of members of the National Union of Kadie Kenneh joins in Journalists have taken action in support of BBC Director-General Greg the cannabis debate Dyke, who was forced to resign by the government. The NUJ is defending our democratic rights by protesting over government attacks on press Back to basics freedom. Production (Value) This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the 1984-85 miners’ strike when the National Union of Mineworkers took on the Thatcher Ed Griffiths reviews Michael government to defend their jobs and pit communities. The miners held out Moore’s new book for a year in one of the bravest struggles ever waged by the organised Dude, Where’s My Country? working class in Britain. Although the strike ended in defeat it is still an the best of the celebrity lefties inspiration to working people today. The NUM was prepared to take on the power of the British state with all its mechanisms of repression. The strikers faced police intimidation and brutality, sabotage by the security services and daily attacks in the right-wing tabloid press. Despite all this Young Communist League they came very close to victory, which shows the power of solidarity and 94 Camden Road London NWI 9EA collective action. general enquiries: [email protected] The New Labour project is politically bankrupt. The labour movement Challenge editorial: [email protected] must keep up the pressure on Labour MPs to oppose reactionary policies, www.ycl.org.uk but the battle to defeat New Labour is not simply confined to Parliament. It also means mass democratic activity by the labour movement in communities, workplaces and campuses. This combination of parliamentary and mass struggle by democratic, anti-monopoly forces can win Labour to progressive, pro-working class policies and create the potential for a left government in Britain. SEER Joe Kelly is skint for socialism and solidarity! Times are hard for young people. University students face mounting tuition fees and student loans. They leave college saddled with enormous debts. In the workplace poverty pay is the norm. The national minimum wage is set at a low enough level as far as adult workers are concerned - it is | fixed at an even lower rate for young workers. Internationally, young people have borne the brunt of the neo-liberal offensive. Social provision and educational services have been relentlessly put under the auctioneer’s hammer in the interests of capital, leaving many young people with a legacy of poverty and misery. Corel ie) ai) The Young Communist League is campaigning to end government’s law to ban religious symbols in student fees and replace them with a decent maintenance schools (political symbols are already banned). grant, which would end student poverty. We are a Ce Le el Ce (ol campaigning to end discrimination against young workers secularism and an attack on religious and and to raise the level of the minimum wage for all. cultural freedom motivated by the rise in The YCL takes its solidarity commitments seriously. We Islamaphobia. Whilst there is cross-party are deep in the fight against imperialist war and the Pio) Seem Colma CM (dtr te Cel Me ule ey Cirle) murderous occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. We are Islamic communities have been up in arms. campaigning against discrimination on the basis of gender, race and sexuality, against fascism and discriminatory immigration and asylum laws. Do you believe that no religion should have an In unison with young communists in Austria, Cyprus, the overriding influence in schools because in Britain we Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal, don’t have a secular school system? Turkey, and the USA, we are raising money to help rebuild seminar rooms in the University of Matanzas in blockaded RTR | fully believe in a secular school system.

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