Socialist Democracy

Should we support the Ukrainian Left’s route to victory?

01/11/24 (​Sráid Marx)

At the start of the war in Ukraine various leftists in the West said that we should listen to the voices of Ukrainian socialists, which might have made some sense were these people socialist. Except they are not.  Two recent statements by them confirm their reactionary character and have value only to illuminate their political bankruptcy and, by extension, those in the West who follow them and have called for others to do so. (read more)

A First Minister for All?

16/11/24

On November 10th Stormont’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill participated in a Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Belfast City Hall – the first time a senior Sinn Féin figure has taken part in such an event. More than 100 relatives of republicans killed in the Troubles attacked her ‘shameful’ decision to honour those they blame for the violence in the Troubles.     (read more)

Labour and the North

11/11/24 

A standard cry from Sinn Féin supporters in the North has always been: “wait until Labour comes to power!” After all, the programme of the British Labour Party over generations has, at least formally, been in support of an Irish democracy.  Surely the close ollaboration with Unionism would come to an end?   Sir Kier Starmer did not wait for the British general election to upend these fancies. He said he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK if such a referendum was held in his lifetime.    (read more)

The British Labour budget

11/11/24

The Starmer - Reeves Labour budget has been lambasted as a traditional tax, spend and borrow budget in the tradition
of old Labour. That’s not true. Old Labour budgets were based on Keynesian ideas of high levels of government
spending to stimulate the economy and on the high levels of profit drawn into Britain through imperialist exploitation.   (read more)

Belfast’s transport hub descends into chaos

10/11/24

The opening of Belfast’s brand-new traffic hub designed to be at the heart of the North’s new transport policy was hailed as a triumph of the devolved administration. Yet getting from A to B in Belfast in the past few weeks has been problematic. As widely reported, the reason is the troubled opening of the same “travel hub”.  Demolition of the nearby Boyne Bridge and the closure of nearby streets, for perhaps a year, has caused chaos.    (read more)


Full Sanctions Now

09/11/24

Last month an enormous demonstration in Dublin, linked to ongoing protests around the world, showed the mass
sympathy here for the Palestinian cause. Today’s march will demonstrate that sympathy yet again.  Yet the genocide, carried out by Israel with the support of the US, proceeds apace. A mass siege of northern Gaza involves the outright slaughter of civilians, starvation and destruction of the remaining medical facilities.    (read more)


Videos

Gender identity ideology

Presentation by Orla Ni Chomhrai on why socialists should oppose a dogma which undermines women's rights, gay rights, free speech, and science.

18 October 2021