PAGE 8 SYRIA: A LETTER FROM A YPG VOLUNTEER SCOTTISH LABOUR: HOW NOT FOR PEACE AND SOCIALISM TO HANDLE A GAFFE PAGE 9 £1 Monday February 12 2018 Proudly owned by our readers | Incorporating the Daily Worker | Est 1930 | morningstaronline.co.uk As the NHS nears its 70th birthday on July 5, marches and demonstrations are beingNOW held across 54 towns andLABOUR cities today demanding action over the crisis ■ NEWS PLOTTERS SET CORBYN’S GREEN ENERGY BATTLE LABOUR leader reiterates calls for public ownership of Britain’s energy system to help combat the “threat of climate catastrophe.” THEIR SIGHTS Turn to page 2 ■ WORLD 30,000 RALLY AGAINST RACISM ITALIANS took to the streets at the weekend in a show against fascism following ON LEONARD a shooting spree targeting migrants. Turn to page 6 SCOTTISH LABOUR ACTIVISTS SLAM ‘CONSTANT UNDERMINING OF LEADER’ by Our News Desk “lacking leadership” on Brexit. day, a Holyrood insider leaked who, in the words of one the leadership for using the Days earlier, the Scottish a story about former leader- activist, are engaged in “the term “a chinky” to describe Daily Mail received fi gures ship contender Anas Sarwar sort of refusal we saw to a Chinese takeaway during a SCOTTISH Labour grandees suggesting that the apparently refusing to sit accept Corbyn’s victory in speech. have been accused of plotting Unite union had next to Mr Leonard during 2015, now being repeated in Mr Sarwar and others have against party leader Richard spent more on First Minister’s Questions. Scotland.” Mr Corbyn’s early since accused Mr Leonard of Leonard, following a week of backing Mr Supporters of Mr Leon- leadership days were plagued a lacklustre response — but ■ SPORT negative headlines. Leonard’s lead- ard’s leadership say that by frequent negative briefi ngs supporters argue that party On Sunday, his predecessor ership bid than these events stem from some parliamentary col- procedures were followed to SIX NATIONS: Kezia Dugdale claimed for the on Scottish from a hard core leagues. the letter, and Mr Gaff ney’s fi rst time that her resignation Labour’s elec- of plotters on The apparent seating immediate apology and SCOTLAND’S BOOST last year was over Labour’s tion cam- the party’s snub was in response to an acceptance of a public repri- GREGOR TOWNSEND’S MEN Brexit stance, while STUC paign. r i g h t incident earlier this week, mand made an investigation have kick-started their Six general secretary Grahame A n d in which Labour MP Hugh unnecessary. Nations campaign with a 32-26 Smith accused Mr Leonard of on Thurs- Gaff ney was reprimanded by Turn to page 3 win over France. Turn to page 16 PAGE 6 UKRAINE: MEDIA HUB ATTACKED PAGE 11 BOOKS: HILARY WAINWRIGHT Morning Star morningstaronline.co.uk 2 Monday news morningstaronline February 12 2018 @m_star_online n ENVIRONMENT A green future for publicly owned energy, says Corbyn by Our Newsdesk He said: “Nobody is fooled government will offer a com- by Michael Gove’s reinvention prehensive programme of of himself as an eco-warrior. retraining and employment JEREMY CORBYN called this “Behind the rhetoric lies a to all workers displaced by weekend for public ownership trail of environmental destruc- transition in the energy sector. of Britain’s energy system to tion. Mr Corbyn said that a green help combat the “threat of “This is a government that energy system will look “radi- climate catastrophe.” has licensed fracking, declared cally different” to the current He accused the govern- a moratorium on renewable one. ment of having left a “trail of levies while massively subsi- It would be heavily decen- environmental destruction” dising fossil fuels, dithered tralised and locally account- and lampooned Environment over tidal, held back onshore able, with new sources of small Secretary Michael Gove for wind, U-turned on making all and large-scale energy “from fashioning himself as an “eco- new homes zero-carbon and is tidal to solar.” warrior.” failing to take the necessary Emissions reduction would Speaking at a Labour event measures to meet our legal be a central focus of a publicly on alternative models of own- commitments to reduce CO2 controlled national grid. ership, the Labour leader told emissions.” Labour’s environmental attendees on Saturday that He declared that “to go pledges also include banning measures as radical as those green, we must take control fracking, insulating four mil- taken by the 1945 government of energy” and that “it cannot lion homes, and delivering 60 under Clement Attlee to rebuild be the workers who pay the per cent of our energy from Britain after WWII are needed price.” renewable sources by 2030. to tackle climate change. He pledged that a Labour [email protected] n ALCOHOL MISUSE ‘Horrific’ problems faced by children of boozers SUNDAY OUTING: A mighty leviathan PARENTAL drinking is factor in 37 per cent of Mr Byrne, who lost his disturbs the peace of leafy Iver Heath in linked to more than one neglect and abuse cases father to alcoholism in 2015 Buckinghamshire yesterday as it in three cases of the death that resulted in death or and is chairman of the all- scrunches through the streets on its or serious injury of a child serious injury of a child party parliamentary group way to disgorge its king-size cargo at through neglect or abuse between 2011 and 2014. for children of alcoholics, Uxbridge in England, according to a Birmingham Hodge Hill said: “Our campaign has report published today. Labour MP Liam Byrne now won a new commit- Yet more than half of said that parents who ment from government for councils still do not have misuse alcohol can cause a national strategy to stop a strategy to help children “horrific” problems for parental alcohol misuse. of alcoholics despite the their children. Freedom of information n DISABILITIES dangers of addiction, the Children report feeling requests show that 92 per study commissioned by a isolated and are reluctant cent of the 53 councils cross-party group of MPs to seek help due to feelings that provided information and peers found. of stigma, shame and guilt, are cutting budgets for DWP’s ‘scandalous’ Alcohol misuse was a according to the study. addiction services. efforts to deprive n BREXIT McDonnell claimants of cash cautions against 2nd by Our News Desk MORE than £100 million has referendum been spent on administering reviews and appeals against SHADOW chancellor John disability benefit claims in just McDonnell (pictured) said yes- over two years, figures released terday that it would be better to today show. let people express their views on The Department for Work EU membership via a general and Pensions (DWP) spending election than to have a second is in addition to the tens of referendum on Brexit. millions spent every year by In an interview on ITV’s Pes- the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) ton On Sunday, Mr McDonnell on appeals. warned that a new referen- Disability benefits make up dum would “divide the coun- the bulk of these MoJ tribunals try again” and ran the risk of and about two thirds of them increasing xenophobia and hate While Labour leader Jeremy European Union. have been won by claimants in crimes. Corbyn has not ruled out a She told the BBC’s Andrew the past year. He said that an election would potential referendum, he has Marr last month: “We have But the department is also enable a “wider debate” on all made clear that he is not call- said that we must respect the facing questions from the work the issues, adding that Labour ing for one. result of the referendum, which & pensions select committee would never “turn our back on Shadow foreign secretary means that we have to leave. over the figures amid claims democratic engagement.” Emily Thornberry has also com- “But we have to look after it was not given similar infor- and support allowance (ESA). 2015, figures obtained by the Back-bench Labour MPs have mitted to “doing as instructed” the economy which, in my mation for its own inquiry into The DWP has spent £108.1m Press Association through a expressed a preference for a ref- by voters, which “as things cur- view, means that we don’t go personal independence pay- on direct staffing costs for ESA freedom of information request erendum on the terms of exit. rently stand” means leaving the very far.” ment (PIP) and employment and PIP appeals since October show. The figure covers manda- morningstaronline.co.uk Morning Star morningstaronline news Monday @m_star_online February 12 2018 3 ■ FOREIGN POLICY ‘WHY ARE WE SUPPORTING THIS BRUTAL CRACKDOWN?’ HONDURAS: Thornberry demands answers over export of spyware to repressive regime SHADOW foreign secretary by Nathan Akehurst aid from the US. involvement with organised Emily Thornberry demanded Since the 2009 coup d’etat crime. an explanation from the gov- that ousted leftwinger Manuel Ms Thornberry accused the ernment yesterday after it was Zelaya, allowing the still British government of double revealed that British spyware ing emails, phone calls and incumbent National Party to standards, pointing to minis- was used by the Honduran online messaging apps. It has seize power, the administration ters’ lack of response to repres- government in a brutal crack- been reportedly used in Hon- has been accused of extrajudi- sion in Honduras — in contrast down on anti-government duras’s sweeping clampdown cial killings, election fraud and with vociferous condemnation protests. on protests that followed of alleged state violence in Ven- Her letter to Foreign Secre- November’s disputed general ezuela, where the left is being tary Boris Johnson asked for election result; thousands of threatened by a putschist oppo- detail on whether the spy- police and troops swarmed sition funded by the US.