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We were outside Herne Hill overground station this morning distributing leaflets and back copies of the Socialist Standard to make our presence known.
This is going to be a hotly contested election between Labour and the Greens (who once had a councillor elected for the ward) and so should attract some local publicity.
The Labour people have already been out distributing leaflets.
“The question of Free Trade or Protection moves entirely within the bounds of the present system of capitalist production, and has, therefore, no direct interest for us socialists who want to do away with that system.” (Engels, 1888)
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1888/free-trade/index.htm
This, from the sane period, is good too, especially the title:
Tariff Reform, Free Trade or No Trade? The fiscal fraud exposed
We’ve been opposing the idea that tariffs can somehow better the condition of the working class right from our start. Here’s a pamphlet from 1912 on “Socialism versus Tariff Reform” when the Tory party was advocating tariffs to protect British capitalist industry.
Interesting observation by columnist Janet Samuel in yesterday’s Times with reference to the last time Trump imposed tariffs, in 2018-19:
“Back then, the tariffs were not actually paid for by consumers. As far as one can tell from the data, they were paid in two ways: first, US importers accepted lower margins on goods bought from abroad, and second, the dollar rose in value, boosting US spending power almost by exactly as much as Trump had put on tariffs.”
Thus confirms a point made above that in the first instance tariffs are paid for by the business importing goods from outside and that this will hit their profits; which depending on the nature of the good and market conditions they may or may not be able to pass on to consumers. In this case, apparently they couldn’t.
Here’s the official list of candidates standing in Folkestone West and Folkestone East of Kent County Council.
The Homeland Party appears to be a fascistic party, according to Wikipedia;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Party_(United_Kingdom)
Here is the official list of candidates standing in the local by-election in Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction ward of Lambeth Council in London. As can be seen, here too we are up against the usual suspects and TUSC:
Here is the official list of candidates standing in Stroud Central of Gloucestershire County Council. As can be seen, we are up against the usual suspects plus TUSC.
https://www.stroud.gov.uk/media/pwdaal4v/stroud-central-division.pdf
After Rumania and Turkey, another NATO country practises “democracy” by banning the main opposition candidate for President from standing — France. As in Rumania the banned candidate is less opposed to Russia than the current office-holders.
The facade that NATO is defending democracy against undemocratic Russia is beginning to crumble.
Interesting development in Gaza : some ordinary people there rejecting the rhetoric of “national resistance” in favour of being able to get on with their life in peace.
https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinians-gaza-hold-rare-protest-against-israel-and-hamas
They’re giving up (or at least say they are). They claim that this is because they have achieved their goal of stopping further drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea. In fact they had nothing to do with this being suspended. If it does prove to be permanent it will have been achieved through the ballot box by electing a different government— but, as we know, governments, especially Labour ones, tend to be forced to renege on their promises (if only because they make bigger promises than the Tories). If the “economic headwinds” prove sufficiently strong the government could easily end the suspension.
Mind you, neither is Roger Hallam, the guru behind JSO, to be trusted not to renege on what he says.
In any event when Extinction Rebellion, of which JSO was an offshoot, was set up in 2018 it announced that, if greenhouse gas emissions continued, 2025 would be the point of no return, the beginning of a period in which millions and millions of human would die from the effects of climate change. They didn’t manage to achieve that aim of stopping that supposed point being reached.
In their giving-up statement JSO say:
“So it is the end of soup on Van Goghs, cornstarch on Stonehenge, and slow marching in the streets. But it is not the end of trials, of tagging and surveillance, of fines, probation and years in prison.”
This is typical of how direct action groups end up — concentrating on trying to get released those who have ended up in prison. Which is all they will now be doing.
The record of JSO has been entirely negative. They got many of their naive followers jailed. And their antics provided the state with a reason to invoke for bringing in further legislation to limit protests. They won’t be missed.
For the record and without comment:
“Millions of poorer families and disabled people will lose thousands of pounds a year after chancellor Rachel Reeves slashed benefits to fill a new £14 billion black hole in Britain’s finances — but boosted military spending.
Her cuts mean 250,000 more people will be pushed into poverty in five years, the government’s own figures show. Some 3.2million families on Universal Credit will lose £1,720 a year, and 800,000 fewer people with physical and mental health issues will get Personal Independence Payments, losing an average of £4,500 a year.
But Ms Reeves also revealed an extra £2.2million for defence in her Spring Statement, and £400 million to help UK arms manufacturers build hi-tech drones and AI-weapons to ‘make the UK a defence industry superpower’.”
(Metro, 27 March)Came across this anti-jingo musical hall song from the 1880s. Seems appropriate for today:
“I don’t want to fight. I’ll be slaughtered if I do!
I’ll change my togs and sell my kit and pop my rifle too!
I don’t like the war, I ain’t no Briton true,
And I’d let the Russians have Constantinople.”Not a socialist view of course but a view that might spread when the austerity required to militarise Europe begins to bite.
