No31_Layout 1 06/06/2018 05:34 Page 1 ISSN 1758-5708 www.thesocialistcorrespondent.org.uk Issue Number 31 Summer 2018 TThhee £3.00 Socialist CCSoororrrceeissapplooinsntddeenntt An ever-deepening crisis on the railways Calls for rail nationalisation grow n Tories stagger from one crisis to another ppaaggee 44 n A more dangerous n Syria: the West’s war n 100 years of world with Trump votes for some page 6 will continue page 8 women page 13 n Modern slavery: the n Eight weeks that n 200 years on, why neoliberal UK model transformed politics Karl Marx was right page 15 page 30 page 34 No31_Layout 1 06/06/2018 05:34 Page 2 ISSUE NO. 31 Contents SUMMER 2018 Discussion, debate and authors’ opinions: To encourage the broadest possible discussion and debate around the aims of exposing capitalism and promoting socialism, we hope our readers appreciate that not all the opinions expressed by individual authors are necessarily those of The Socialist Correspondent. Tories stagger from one Palestinian defiance crisis to another to apartheid Israel SCOTT M cDONALD BRIAN DURRANS Page 4 Page 20 A more dangerous world S. African lesson of hope with Trump for Palestine ALEX DAVIDSON CHRISTABEL GURNEY Page 6 Page 23 Syria: the West’s war Cuba 2018: unity and will continue commitment SIMON KORNER PAT TURNBULL Page 8 Page 25 1915: remembering a Short-circuiting history in China rent strike victory GINA NICHOLSON FRIEDA PARK Page 28 Page 11 Eight weeks that 100 years of votes transformed politics for some women ALEX DAVIDSON FRIEDA PARK Page 30 Page 13 The Socialist Correspondent Modern slavery: Podcasts the neoliberal UK model Page 33 MICK WILKINSON Page 15 200 years on, why Karl Marx was right Swing to Labour in PAUL SUTTON local elections Page 34 BRIAN DURRANS Page 18 Pictures: Unless otherwise stated all pictures are courtesy of Commons Wikimedia. Some of these will be attributed to an individual photographer. This does not mean that these individuals agree with the opinions expressed by individual authors or The Socialist Correspondent. Further information: http://commons.wikimedia.org 2 The Socialist Correspondent Summer 2018 No31_Layout 1 06/06/2018 05:34 Page 3 To contact The The Socialist Correspondent email the editor: [email protected] Socialist www.thesocialistcorrespondent.org.uk Correspondent Iran Nuclear Deal Commentary Women’s suffrage President Trump’s withdrawal of the This is the centenary year of some U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal has women winning the vote and Frieda made the Middle East an even more shambles, the NHS crisis, the Win - Park looks back at that momentous dangerous place. It will further em - drush scandal and other issues . campaign in, A hundred years of votes bolden Israel in its attacks on Syria McDonald writes, “The British rail for women . and threats to Iran as Simon Korner system is in deep crisis after years of She points out that not all women explains in his article, Syria: the privatisation and fragmentation. Thou - got the vote in 1918 but only those West’s war will continue . over the age of 30; and that it was Israel’s massacre of unarmed Pales - the first time that all men got the tinian protesters in Gaza is an exam - vote at 21 as prior to that working ple of it being further emboldened in class men were excluded by prop - its repression of the Palestinian ery/wealth requirements. people. She argues that much of the main - However, as Brian Durrans argues stream media coverage “lauded mid - in his article, Palestinian defiance to dle class leaders of the suffrage apartheid Israel , “… there is some - movement, neglecting the working thing about the mobilisation of large class women and socialist campaign - numbers of unarmed Palestinians , sands of trains have been cancelled ... ers who fought for the vote.” with its potential to attract support Virgin East Coast has had its franchise She sets out to re-balance the from around the world , that particu - withdrawn ... Four other private rail (non-class) mainstream narrative, larly alarms the Israeli authorities...” companies are teetering on the brink of and takes issue with those today who Israel fears the development of an collapse.” As he points out, “The call do not relate gender and class issues. international solidarity campaign simi - for nationalisation grows stronger and She argues, “For working class lar to that which opposed apartheid louder ... .” women cuts to benefits, poor and un - South Africa. Having lost Michael Fallon, Damien equal pay, lack of child care and ris - As Christabel Gurney points out in, Green and Amber Rudd (pictured ing prices for basic goods mean that South African lesson of hope for Pales - below) from her cabinet the Prime their enemy is not men so much as tine , “In the 1970s the situation in Minister may have to sacrifice Grayling the system which imposes these con - South Africa did seem almost as her Transport Secretary. ditions on them.” hopeless. ... Anti-apartheid ac - Elsewhere in the article he In a separate article, 1915: Remem - tivists did not think the end refers to the House of Com - bering a rent strike victory she reports was in sight . But they contin - mons joint committee report on on the unveiling of a statue in Glas - ued to campaign ... in the end the collapse of Carillion, gow of Mary Barbour and her army it came quite quickly ... So ulti - Britain’s second largest con - of working class women, men and mately the message is one of struction company, and con - children, which - through a rent strike hope.” cludes that it is “not just a in 1915 - forced the government to The US pulling out of the critique of how Carillion was introduce the Rent Restriction Act. Iran nuclear deal has another managed but ... it exposes the side to it, as Alex Davidson describes corrupt relationship between Marx at 200 in his article, A more dangerous world Big Business … and the Tory govern - 2018 is the bi-centenary of the birth with Trump , with the US’ western al - ment.” of Karl Marx. Paul Sutton in his, lies very unhappy with its decision 200 years on, why because it upsets their business inter - Modern Slavery Karl Marx was ests. Mick Wilkinson traces the growth of right , recounts Western companies, especially the modern slavery in Britain in, Modern Marx’s life as a oil companies, were re-entering Iran slavery: the neo-liberal UK model . show - revoulutionary in following the lifting of sanctions and ing that “forced labour in the UK is theory and practice now they are having to pull out to widespread and increasing, perpetrated and concludes that avoid risking their interests in the US. by criminal gangs, unscrupulous gang - “in the range of Inter-imperialist rivalries have come masters and employment agencies ... concepts Marx in - to the fore since the defeat of the who operate almost with impunity troduces to explain Soviet Union and they are not leading within a de-regulated labour market.” capitalism is a rich - to a more peaceful world. He argues that “There is growing ness of theory that has not since been anger at labour exploitation ... never- equalled.” Tory government in crisis ending revelations of business impropri - In commemorating Marx’s bi-cen - As Scott McDonald describes in his ety, of corporate and political negligence tenary, Paul Sutton writes that Marx article, Tories stagger from one crisis to (Grenfell), and, with the fall-out from “remains a source of continuing in - another, the government is unable or the Windrush scandal still upon us, at spiration for those seeking a different unwilling to deal with the rail system the appalling treatment of migrants.” and a better world” Summer 2018 The Socialist Correspondent 3 No31_Layout 1 06/06/2018 05:34 Page 4 Tories stagger from one crisis to another Tories stagger from one crisis to another The Tory government in Britain is staggering from one crisis Windrush scandal to another. Amber Rudd was forced to resign as Home Secretary when an audit of docu - ments threw up several memos to and By SCOTT McDONALD from Rudd discussing targets for depor - tations for 2018-2019. The list of issues includes the Grenfell Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%), These memos included one she wrote Tower fire, the shambolic state of the had its contract terminated in June and to Prime Minister May setting-out her in - rail system, the NHS crisis, the Win - its operations were passed to the gov - tention to increase deportations by 10%. drush scandal, the collapse of Carillion ernment-owned operator of last resort, The revelation sharpened the focus on and the Brexit negotiations. London North Eastern Railway the role of the Prime Minister, the archi - Prime Minister, Theresa May, has lost (LNER). tect of the “hostile environment” policy close friends and allies, Amber Rudd Four other private rail companies are that ended up persecuting the Windrush and Damien Green, from her cabinet teetering on the brink of collapse. generation. and before them Defence Secretary, Sir Meanwhile the rail unions have been In 1948 the ex-troopship ‘Empire Michael Fallon. Windrush’, ar - Chris Grayling GONE GONE GONE NEXT TO GO? rived at Tilbury could be next to Docks from Ja - go. maica with 482 Grayling, Jamaicans on Transport Secre - board, emigrat - tary, is in charge ing to Britain. of Britain’s rail These were the system, which is first group of in deep crisis migrants from after years of pri - the West Indies vatisation and to help re-build fragmentation. post-war Britain Thousands of and many others trains have been Sir Michael Fallon Damien Green Amber Rudd Chris Grayling followed from all cancelled or de - over the Commonwealth.