Former Labour MP Terry Fields died at his home in Liverpool on Saturday 28th June.  Solidarity wish to express our deepest sympathy to his family and comrades.  Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan said:

"I am deeply saddened by this news.  Terry was a wonderful man who inspired many to get involved in the fight for a fairer society.  He will be missed by all of us."

The Court of Appeal has issued its judgement on the case of the Belfast airport shop stewards who were sacked in 2002 by airport security firm, ICTS, after they had organised a strike over pay.

The judgement upholds the Fair Employment Tribunal 2007 ruling that ICTS discriminated against the shop stewards on political grounds, sacking them for their trade union and socialist political beliefs. The Court of Appeal judgement reinforces the original decision and means that this case has now set new law which can be used to the benefit of millions of workers throughout Britain.

In the wake of the election of the fascist British National Party's Richard Barnbrook to the London Assembly and of more BNP councillors in other parts of the country, we will show once again that anti-fascists are the majority.

On Saturday 21st June there will be a national demonstration and carnival parade against fascism and racism in London celebrating the diversity of our society and making it clear that racism and fascist organisations like the BNP will not be tolerated. There will be a march and carnival parade, with floats, marching bands, speakers and banners from every organisation opposed the BNP's racist hate.

Join this march and celebration of diversity, let's oppose the fascist BNP.

The Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) Carnival at the end of April showed the mass multicultural audience opposed to racism and fascism and now is the time for the Carnival to hit the streets and for delegations from scores of organisations opposed to the BNP's racist hate to come join in marching in unity against hate and division.

Please come along and bring your friends and family, union banners welcome.

For travel from Glasgow contact Margaret on 07870286632, for further details www.uaf.org.uk

George Galloway, the RESPECT MP, has called on Boris Johnstone to order a swift inquiry into the conduct of Metropolitan Police at a demo against the visit of US President George Bush.

The Vice-President of the Stop the War Coalition has written to Johnstone, as well as Police Commissioner Ian Blair after demonstrators were attacked by police using truncheons, in a heavy-handed attempt to silence opposition to Bush and Brown.  He said:

“The policing of the event was way over the top.  The primary cause is the profoundly undemocratic decision to ban a peaceful protest from going down Whitehall – so that George W Bush would not be embarrassed: our rights are shredded to save the face of a foreign potentate.

“As I wrote to Sir Ian Blair, I’m not a habitual complainer against the police, but the behaviour of some of his officers on the day was such as I have not witnessed since the Miners’ Strike of 1984. A minority of officers appeared to relish laying into an unarmed crowd of largely young anti-war protesters.

From Scotland Against Criminalising Communities www.sacc.org.uk

"I never thought I would be in the House of Commons on the day Magna Carta was repealed."  - Tony Benn
 
"There will be widespread consternation among our supporters seeing a Labour Government prepared to use every tactic available in its determination to crush essential civil liberties...This is no way to run a Government. Securing votes by threats, bribes and personal pleading demeans the role of the Prime Minister." - John McDonnell MP (Labour)
 
"Rarely has a government hazarded so much of its credibility for so narrow a victory - and in such certainty that it will shortly crumble into pitiful defeat" - Simon Hoggart (The Guardian)
 
Gordon Brown has brought the Labour Party and the British Parliament into disrepute by using of bribery and threats to win a hairsbreadth majority for the extension to 42 days detention without charge for terrorist suspects - a measure that almost nobody sincerely supports.

Gordon Brown, New Labour and big business are carrying out daylight robbery.  Food prices are increasing by 16% a year, fuel costs are out of control and all Brown and New Labour can offer millions of low and average paid workers is pay cuts and tax increases.

The abolition of the 10p tax rate means an effective wage cut for millions. At the other end of the scale a tiny minority are continuing to rake it in at our expense.

Four Unison members under attack from their own union leadership had their disciplinary hearings this week.

In June last year the Unison bureaucracy launched a disciplinary investigation into five union officers. This was for daring to print and publish a leaflet attacking the union leadership's blocking of the union conference's right to debate issues such as the funding of the Labour Party, the election of fulltime officials and control over strike action.

Solidarity Co-Convenor, Rosemary Byrne, criticised the tactics of the union leadership:

"UNISON are running scared of the debate on their links to Labour.  Their over-reaction to this leaflet shows that they will go to some lenghths to shut down debate on the issue."

Rosemary was joined in her criticism by Rory Bremner and Mark Thomas.

Internationalism has been and continues to be one of Solidarity’s key priorities. It is based on the understanding that an economic system predicated on profit regardless of the human, social or environmental cost is global in scope and reach.

This means that resistance and opposition to it must also take on a global aspect. Under globalization workers across the world have found themselves plunged into a race to the bottom with one another as they compete for the favours of global corporations.

It is for this reason that the wages and conditions of Scottish workers have diminished and will continue to diminish in real terms. As a socialist party which fights for a world in which cooperation and solidarity replaces competition and endless wars for markets and resources, we reject the idea that workers must compete for the crumbs from the table of global corporations whose profits rise year on year to levels that are beyond obscene.