War and Empire:
a two part discussion with
Alan Freeman (economist)
Part One
The US march
towards global war
Tuesday 29th October 2024
7.00 pm (London/Dublin)
Zoom Platform
(click for details)
The dysfunctionality and
incompetence of the Stormont administration is well documented. Responsibility
for this is most often attributed to local political parties. And whilst this
is true it would be wrong to think that politicians are solely to blame. In nearly every scandal that has erupted in
Stormont over the period of devolution, civil servants have been deeply
complicit. (read more)
The issue of child welfare has
raised its head once again in the Dáil.
Once around the scandals besetting Sinn Féin and once more around the
state and its child protection agency’s abrogation of its responsibilities
towards children. Neither the state,
Sinn Féin or the Left came out of it very well. (read more)
In
the aftermath of the British Labour Party conference there was a fair degree of
convergence on the Left. The Socialist Workers Party warned correctly that the
Starmer policy of austerity offers a way forward towards a far-right government
at the next election. On the positive
side it noted the many issues that have sprung up (read more)
As the Dublin coalition moves
towards a general election, Sinn Féin are embroiled in a slow-motion car crash
around internal investigation and disciplinary procedures. In the North a former Sinn Féin press
officer who was accused (and later convicted of) various sexual offences,
including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity received
two references from other party staff members that led to his employment by the
British Heart Foundation (BHF). (read more)
The recent announcement by the
British government that it would not be providing any additional funding for
the redevelopment of the Casement Park GAA stadium in west Belfast is a major
blow for the Stormont Executive and for Sinn Fein in particular.
The expectation was that the building of a
high-grade multi-sports stadium at Casement Park would allow Belfast to be one
of the host cities for the finals of the Euro 2028 soccer tournament. (read more)
The TUC’s general secretary, Paul
Nowak, has made great claims for the new Workers’ Rights Bill being introduced
this week. The deal is linked to a public sector pay deal which was the minimum
that would get through a union vote and has not been accepted in many areas,
especially in the NHS. According to Nowak, the Bill will turn the
tables on the Conservatives’ “low rights low pay economy” and will “make work
pay again”. (read more)
Palestine Solidarity Bulletin
Bookshelf
As part of a new publishing project Socialist Democracy is
digitising books, pamphlets and magazines from its back catalogue and putting them online for download. Click on
the link below to view the titles that are currently available.
view titles
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April 2023 was met with jubilation and celebration in Belfast. Past and present taoisigh (Irish government leaders), British prime ministers, US presidents and a raft of academics were brought together by the local universities and media in an extended celebration.Yet all is not well. If the decay of the agreement is of concern, the universal failure of academia, of the press, the trade unions and political parties to acknowledge such decay is astounding. John McAnulty provides that missing critique and suggests how Ireland will move beyond this historic inflection to fulfill the revolutionary implications of its initial struggle for freedom.
Buy Now: £6
(includes P&P UK & ROI)
Socialist Democracy statement on neutrality
The headline rush by the Irish government into the ranks of
NATO, the clumsy duplicity of the fake consultation process and the evidence of
impunity in asking a conservative pro-NATO academic, a Dame of the British Empire,
to oversee the process has caused outrage across Ireland. (read more)
10 April 2023
25 Years On: in the debris of the Good Friday Agreement
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is being
marked by assemblies of the great and the good. Joe Biden rushes through the
North, avoiding attention to the barren political landscape. On RTE television
the ghost of Bertie Ahern dominates, while the high point will be the upcoming visit
of Bill and Hilary Clinton and Tony Blair to a celebration at Queens
University.
No-one will remark on the unsavoury character of
these saints of peace. Even less will anyone notice that the fine mansion that
they built is now in ruins. (read more)
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
Ireland's Housing Crisis
Discussion on the housing crisis with Brian Leeson of Eirigi and author Conor McCabe.
17 October 2021
Kevin Keating (1949-2020)
Rayner O' Connor Lysaght
(1941-2021 )