THE LIGHT, FRIENDS HOUSE, 173–177 Euston Road, LONDON NW1 2BJ
Notes from the front of 9-10-2017
Tory disarray, division and conference disaster
Last week’s Tory Party Conference was not just a personal disaster for Theresa May’s premiership but further underlined the chaos at the heart of the Tory government.
Two recent events in the US – the victory of Steve Bannon backed candidate Roy Moore in the Alabama Republican Senate primary and the huge dispute around NFL players kneeling during the national anthem – confirm the deepening polarisation in US politics. The background which is driving this is the very slow growth in the US economy.
By Ian Richardson
The attempt of the Catalan independence movement to hold a referendum has been met with brutal state repression. The Madrid government used Guardia Civil forces from outside the region to block voters and attack them, seize ballot boxes and smash up polling stations. TV footage of unarmed protesters and voters being brutally assaulted have now been seen worldwide, despite the ludicrous denials of ministers in Madrid and their spokespersons.
By John Ross
The outcome of the 24 September German elections was dramatic itself. The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union’s (CDU/CSU’s) 33 per cent was its lowest per centage of the vote since the first election in West Germany in 1949. The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) result was even worse – at 20.5 per cent it was the lowest vote ever recorded by the SPD in any election in West Germany or the reunited Germany. The extreme rightest Alliance for Germany (AfD) received 13.5 per cent of the vote – the highest for an extreme rightest party in Germany since World War II. The radical left Left Party received 9.2 per cent of the vote.
By Brian Jackson
The left in Britain now has a very serious chance to achieve what many people have worked their whole political lives for – to create a genuine left-wing Labour government. That is the meaning of Labour’s success under Jeremy Corbyn at the last election and the clear strengthening of the left at this year’s Labour Party conference. Because this is a truly historic opportunity, which would be a huge step forward for ordinary people both in Britain and internationally, it is necessary both to celebrate the successes already achieved and to prepare to overcome the resistance capitalism and reaction will put up to achieving that goal.
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