No. 28
May/June 2015
derbyshire@communist-party.org.uk
07979 230175
This is not an exhaustive report, just a “taster” of what we do. Why not meet us informally& find out more?
As Labour leaders turn their back on the working class, and lose the Election, remember the words of the Red Flag inscribed on our Party Branch banner,
Though Cowards Flinch and Traitors Sneer, We’ll Keep The Red Flag Flying Here! Clearly the Labour Party’s national failure to offer any substantial or credible alternative to Tory Austerity lost them the election - but it was with regret that we saw Chris Williamson losing his seat, standing for Labour against the Tories (both those in the Conservatives and in his own Labour Party?)… one of whom, one-time leftist Dame Margaret Becket “Member of the British Empire”, Blairite war monger, anti-TU law supporter – kept hers (presumably til she’s ready for the House of Lords)! Now Labour seems almost certain to seal its fate by cutting itself adrift totally from working class lives and organisation, electing either one of the mealy mouthed pro-capitalists or one of the open Blairites who will stand. Anyone want to bet against? If you want to keep the Red Flag flying – read on… and come and talk to us!
Just a few of the many Party flags on the Silk Mill demo as featured on UNITE Community’s video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II61dGqdyBw
The People’s Assembly Demonstration & Festival London June 20th “an enormous expression of working class resistance” Party Branch members are on both the national and local organising committees. Coaches will be leaving from Derby Bus Station at 8.00am. Contact our comrade Moz Greenshields, mozgreenshields@gmail.com Secretary of Derby Area Trades Union Council, for seats on the coaches (free to unwaged, donations up to £5 waged). The demonstration is not now just AGAINST Austerity, it is also FOR The People’s Manifesto and The People’s Charter. Find them on “What We Stand For” on The People’s Assembly website www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk . Party members worked closely with others in the production of both, now working on further .policy publications for The Assembly.
March with the Communist Party, the Young Communist League and Communists from around the world living in Britain…
Derby Trades Union Council & Derby People’s Assembly Party branch comrades were instrumental in organising the Derby Trades Union Council and Derby People’s Assembly anti-cuts demonstration on the night that the then Tory Coalition government forced the latest massive cuts on Derby City Council, and we were pleased that the turnout included Labour Councillors pledging to help build a real Derby movement against austerity amongst ordinary people not yet involved, to enable them to refuse to implement the cuts in future. Watch this space! We also made sure that the Silk Mill March & Rally was not solely a commemoration of the 1833/34 struggle in Derby, but an inspiration for the current struggle. Together with our banners and red flags we’d handpainted anti-austerity placards & distributed these to marchers. The Party section of the march together with our comrades of the Indian Workers Association was the biggest, loudest & liveliest section of the march – as shown by UNITE Community in their youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II61dGqdyBw
…and our militant approach was taken up by many others taking part. There is an excellent film “Locked Out” about the 1833/34 Silk Mill dispute by UNITE Community and QUADfilms – see it if you can. As well telling the historic story, it also shows the Silk Mill rally of 2014 – again with flags flying high
A couple of comrades’ press contributions http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/s-time-tellGovernment-want-fairer-country-ndash/story-26386392detail/story.html http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/real-democracyaction-Derby-Saturday-ndash-reader/story-26381661detail/story.html
We proposed that preparations for Silk Mill 2016 should start straight away, and issue an invitation to all trade union, community and progressive organisations to take part in this planning rather than the rather ossified triumvirate of Trades Council, Labour and Co-op Parties that it has “traditionally” been! This will meet in July. Again, let Moz Greenshields, Secretary of the Trades Union Council, know if you know of an organisation that would want to take part.
Get ‘Communist News & Views’ www.communist-party.org.uk
We also went “on tour” to Chesterfield May Day this year to join up with comrades there, and were very pleased that seeing our hammer and sickle flags people previously unknown to us came to join in with us! The International Speaker was a comrade from Iraq who spoke eloquently of the necessity not just desirability for working class solidarity. The Sheffield Socialist Choir delivered a great rendition of The Internationale – the anthem of the world communist movement. Great day!
International Women’s Day Branch comrades were invited to speak for the Party at the Indian Workers’ Association event to celebrate Women’s Day, and for the Trades Council at the Derby City Council event in the Market Place. Both events went well. International Women’s Day was established by the world communist movement – and we need to make MUCH more of it!
TTIP – the gathering of sharks Following successful public meetings on TTIP, a Stop TTIP group has been formed in Derby. TTIP is the neoliberal trade deal being hatched up by the European Union and United States, writing privatisation into international law, allowing corporations to sue governments for loss of profits, attacking rights at work, undermining democracy etc. See the Stop TTIP and War on Want websites. Opposition is growing very quickly – and again Labour is nowhere to be seen! Stop TTIP held a very successful leafleting and street theatre event on the international day of opposition to TTIP, and Party members participated distributing leaflets and talking to members of the public about TTIP and the Silk Mill demonstration. Thanks to the organisers! The Trades Union Council are meeting with Ranjit Banwait the Labour left leader of Derby City Council with view to the Council declaring Derby to be “TTIP Free Zone”, and our Party comrades will be at that meeting. But there is a lot more than that to be done.
Read the Morning Star every day www.morningstaronline.co.uk
Derby Against UKIP Party branch members taking part in anti UKIP work successfully argued that there should be one local campaign rather than two – “Hope Not Hate” and “Stand Up To UKIP”. There was a regular stall in Derby in the run up to the election – and this work will now continue. The Party believes that our opposition to UKIP has to be expressed within the context of the need to take a socialist, working class message to people turning to UKIP out of despair and contempt for the capitalist establishment political system, to dispel UKIP myths and deceptions, but not attack many honest workers who have given them support. We need to convince these people, not abuse them! This was one of the themes from Party’s Anti-Racist Anti-Fascist Commission that should improve our work.
Cuba night A number of organisations, including the Derbyshire Cuba Network, the Morning Star, the Indian Workers Association and the Party came together to organise a celebration of the success of the Cuban people in forcing the USA to begin to back down on its aggression against Cuba. Ranjit Banwait for Derby City Council and Chris Williamson – then MP for Derby North - brought greetings. We had Indian food and dancers and a great reggae band. It was a good night for those there, but maybe organised at too short notice, as we could certainly have done with more than the 40 people able to take part. But the message was clear – Cuba’s determination is winning the day!
Socialist Sundays Our William Paul Society “Socialist Sunday” discussion groups have continued with two very well attended sessions, and one smaller session. Our comrade Alex Gordon of RMT Union led a lively debate on Europe and the European Union, making the case that we . want more links and solidarity with the workers and peoples of Europe, and cooperation and determination to withdraw . from and see an end to the bosses’ club that is the European Union – “neoliberal, anti-working class and unreformable” as Alex put it.
This session led to a further one on the struggle in Ukraine against the pro EU putchists and their fascist enforcers who destabilised and brought down the Ukrainian government when it withdrew from relations with the EU and refused to meet its demands for “austerity on a Greek scale”. Then the coup leaders gave the green light for physical and murderous attacks on those who opposed them – notably trades unionists, socialists and communists. Openly fascist organisations are now represented in the Ukrainian government, as well as terrorising on the streets. David Ayrton from “Solidarity with Antifascist Resistance in Ukraine” (SARU) and the Marx Memorial Library led this session The third Socialist Sunday was led by Mark O’Neil of the People’s Assembly and the Communist Party EC and Anti Austerity Commission. He spoke about the People’s Manifesto and the struggle after the General Election, the necessity to build mass movement amidst the crisis in working class political representation. It was a very interesting productive discussion, but on this occasion numbers were smaller, and all but one person were Party members!
William Paul Society
“Socialist Sunday” discussion Sunday June 28th 2pm prompt
Family Parlour, Brunswick Inn, 1 Railway Terrace DE12RU (near the railway station)
The Power of the Media Introduced by Ben Chacko Morning Star Editor In the 1992 Tory won election the Sun claimed, “It’s the Sun Wot Won It” There’s no “free press” in Britain – just media owned and controlled by the multi-millionaires. How big a part did they play in this Tory win? How do we counteract their malign influence? The Morning Star is the world’s only daily, socialist, English language paper. It’s owned by its readers and supporters and has a management committee from the wide Trade Union and working class movement.