PaPer of the SocialiSt Party
iSSue 109
outrageous frame-up of Jobstown exposed...
July / auguSt 2017
INSIDE
Varadkar: Thatcherite assumes power
p4
The whole
sysTem
is guilTy! socialistpartyireland
Corbyn’s message galvanises million
p6-7
Public sector pay deal: Reject austerity
p9
Join the Socialist Party Text ‘Join’ to 087 314 1986
WWW.SOCIALISTPARTY.IE
2
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
news
Key facts from the Jobstown trial... 1. If a lie is told enough times... it's still a lie paul Murphy took a megaphone, walked over to protesters who were surrounded by Gardai, and asked “Will we let her go or will we keep her here all night?” at least that’s what numerous Gardai told the jury. they all heard him say exactly the same thing, through a megaphone. Surely it must be true? these are Gardai who are trained to record events correctly? Well... no, it's not true at all. unknown to the prosecution, youtube footage of this incident was retrieved by the defence which showed paul Murphy did not say anything like that! in fact, in the vote that took place, he voted in favour of a slow march.
2. Pants on fire it was a bad day at the office for detective Cooke when he took the stand. Not only was he caught out lying but his credibility was shredded and he had to take a severe dressing down from defence barrister Sean Guerin. in his statement Cooke had claimed that he saw paul Murphy on a megaphone directing people where to stand to block the exit of the car containing Joan Burton. however, in the stand he changed his evidence to say he saw ‘paul Murphy doing different things.’ When he was questioned on this major difference between his statement and testimony, he claimed his statement was true. So, CCtv footage of when he was supposed to have seen it was
ict outside the court after the verd The seven Jobstown defendants
produced. For nearly twenty minutes, the court watched as he got more and more agitated watching the CCtv footage praying for paul Murphy to appear on a megaphone telling people where to stand. of course, it didn’t happen. and, apart from a few minutes, Garda Cooke wasn’t near paul Murphy so couldn’t have seen anything – yet incredibly he still claimed it was true… despite... the… video… evidence.
3. Trial by media in the two and a half years between the protest and the case being heard in court, the media had attempted to try the defendants in the court of public opinion, despite this being in contempt of court. Claire Byrne had flatly accused paul Murphy of the crime saying: “you did falsely imprison her.” david Quinn wrote a piece with accusa-
tions of thuggery. all of this was to lay the ground for a guilty verdict and prison sentences. even when the trial began they couldn’t hide their bias. the front pages carried stories of how ‘terrified’ Joan Burton was, how paul Murphy was ‘smirking’. they barely reported the cross examination by the defence barristers for some witnesses - in a full page article the irish times gave six lines. So much for being the “paper of record”.
By Solidarity Court reporter, dave Murphy obvious Garda conspiracy, they attempted to say “you might have got away with false imprisonment, but you were guilty of something!” rte’s drivetime opened an interview with Councillor Mick Murphy by asking whether Joan Burton was treated badly on the day. the irish times got itself even more worked up. their front page was more interested in paul Murphy’s tweets and social media than Garda lies, or the actual verdict itself. their editorial department got itself into a terrible state and ended up suggesting that the trial of political opponents to the government shouldn’t be heard before a jury. this is the supposedly liberal irish times putting vladimir putin to shame with their calls for political show trials.
5. What keeps Fine Gael awake at night? the media weren’t the only ones getting worked up about social media. despite presiding over crisis after crisis in the Gardai with the fabrication of one million breath tests, a smear campaign against Maurice McCabe, and financial irregularities, Fine Gael weren’t worried about having another Garda conspiracy on their hands. No, they were more worried about a hashtag and videos on social media. Josephine Madigan, renowned anti-traveller td, claimed she would rush forward legislation about the use of social media in court cases, despite laws already being in place. Because you see it was due to social media that the jury were tricked into finding the defendants not guilty, not because of the obvious Garda lies!
4. The verdict – an inconvenient truth the establishment and their media lackeys just couldn’t stomach the Not Guilty verdict, their two year smear campaign and denigration of the left and Jobstown had just blown up in their faces. instead of discussing the
The expression of Labour Party leader, Brenden Howlin, as news of the verdict was announced in the Dail by Mick Barry TD
Breaking the rules of a rigged game – join the socialists today!
I
sons is equally important. In this respect, the Socialist Party is regarded, by a more astute element of the establishment, as their most troublesome opponents. We’re not the largest organisation, but we have an impact well beyond our numbers. What's bothered them most of all, until now, is our ability to gain mass support for radical demands, as well as tactics, such as the widespread defiance of the law through the boycott of water charges. But something more fundamental is bothering them now: that it's not just demands and tactics, but our vision of an alternative that's gaining traction.
By Eddie McCabe
t’s not a coincidence that three socialist Party members who are solidarity public reps were among those singled out from a protest of more than 500 people and stitched-up on charges of false imprisonment. Just as it’s not a coincidence that three socialist Party members who are solidarity public reps engaged in a sitdown protest alongside the working-class community they represent. Other political parties don't do such things, and other parties aren’t attacked and conspired against by those who enforce and prosecute the law. But the Socialist Party is not like other parties. Struggle, Solidarity.... We don't play by their rules because they are the rules of a game that's rigged. The struggles of workers, women, and young people can only win if they break those rules. That's why the history of all progress is the history of civil
disobedience, mass protests, and independent organising by the working class and oppressed; actions that are vilified by the establishment whenever they take place.
For the 1% elite to maintain their privileged position and power, it's important that the 99%, as much as is possible, aren’t aware of this history. So the suppression of voices that champion these les-
...& Socialism Jeremy Corbyn’s slogan, “For the Many, Not the Few”, roused millions of workers and young people in Britain. On its own this slogan can be interpreted as radical or moderate, but it expresses a sentiment that chimes with a new generation looking to the left after decades of the same discredited neo-liberal consensus. “For the Few, Not the Many”
would be a slogan that epitomises capitalism, and the politics of any parties that support this system. A society actually based on the the many not the few would have to involve genuine rule by the majority, which can only be realised if the resources in society are owned and controlled by the majority to meet the needs of all. That means socialism. That's where the aspirations of this generation will lead them. It's for precisely this reason that the conflict between the Socialist Party and the state, the media and parties of the right will only intensify into the future. And for our part, we're confident, prepared and optimistic.
Join Today! Text your name & where you live to 087 314 1986
3
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
A sinister conspiracy exposed Joe HIGGIns on THe RoTTen Case aGaInsT THe JobsToWn PRoTesTeRs
t
he antI-water charges protest in Jobstown on 15 november, 2014, triggered by the visit of then tánaiste and Labour Party Leader, Joan Burton, to that community, dramatically illustrated the anger of working-class people against six years of assault on their living standards. It also was indicative of the hatred toward the political establishment, and Labour in particular, who treacherously imposed the savage austerity in government that it had solemnly pledged it would resist. Two and a half years later, the trial of seven participants in the protest – for the alleged crime of false imprisonment – stretched from 24 April to 29 June. The Garda investigation into the protest and the conduct of senior Gardaí in the course of the trial, as well as the conduct of the state and much of the mainstream media, illustrate graphically so much that is rotten in the present system. What lay behind this trial? The protest in question, which was called for by a few local people on social media, developed spontaneously with no organised plan. As a result it was often chaotic, but above all it expressed the raw anger that was felt in the community after six years of austerity resulting from bailing out bankers and financial speculators on the backs of working people. Having been defeated and humiliated by the massive movement against water charges – the last major instalment of the austerity agenda – organs of the state seized on the Jobstown protest as an opportunity to try and reclaim lost ground and send a chilling warning against future mass protest with an attempt to criminalise protesters. It was also an opportunity to target the Left and, in particular, members of the Anti-Austerity Alliance (now Solidarity – The Left Alternative) and the Socialist Party. It was not just the right to protest that was under attack. It was also
that section of the Left who championed the civil disobedience tactics of mass boycott, and organised the non-payment campaign in relation to water charges, which was central to the success of the campaign when embraced by a mass movement. Coinciding with the Jobstown trial, in a courtroom down the hall, another trial was taking place; that of Sean Fitzpatrick, the former Chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, which was a massive contributor to the financial speculation that caused the disastrous financial crash in the property and banking sector in 2008. But unlike the trial of the seven workingclass activists, the case against the banker collapsed. The judge said that the investigation that led to that trial fell short of an unbiased, impartial, balanced investigation that an accused is entitled to. He said the investigation failed to seek out evidence as to the innocence as well as the guilt of the accused. Garda fabrications All of these features also characterised the Garda investigation of the Jobstown protest, in fact more so, and this was strongly brought out in court by the defence teams for the defendants. Dozens of Garda statements grossly exaggerated alleged violence during the protest and some told downright lies, especially about the role of Solidarity TD, Paul Murphy, and Solidarity councillor, Mick Murphy. The prosecution then tried to fix the trial against the defendants by excluding from the jury a huge section of the population: anyone from Tallaght or with connections to Tallaght; anyone part of an organisation that campaigned against water charges (the ICTU for example); or anyone who ever expressed an opinion about water charges anywhere, including on social media. An energetic campaign inside and outside of the court forced them to retreat on this attempt to narrow of the jury pool. So the state then tried to achieve convictions by introducing fabricated evi-
Jobstown
Jobstown frame-up:
Supporters from the campaign were present in the court throughout the nine-week trial
dence by Garda witnesses in court. A succession of Gardaí had their testimony shown to be riddled with falsehoods when confronted with graphic video evidence and powerful challenges by the defendants’ very diligent legal team. This led to a dramatic exchange between Paul Murphy’s Senior Counsel, Sean Guerin, and a Superintendent who was challenged about being involved in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The ‘Not Guilty’ verdict delivered on 29 June proved that the jury, which seemed to be composed of ordinary working-class people, clearly saw through the falsehood. Media attacks The verdict was greeted with outrage in many sections of the establishment media. They had slandered and smeared the community of Jobstown as well as the protesters by their lurid coverage of the protest against Joan Burton. Like the political establishment, they had hoped that if protesters were criminalised, working-class people would be in fear of mounting effective mass protest over future economic and social issues. They had hoped that Solidarity and the Socialist Party would be damaged, cutting across the potential to build a major anti-capitalist and socialist opposition in this state. Instead of an objective assessment of the State’s tactics to
achieve convictions in the trial, there was a virulent attack on the “Jobstown Not Guilty” campaign, and on Solidarity and our social media reporting during the trial. When the whole situation cried out for an independent public inquiry into the Garda investigation and conduct, no high profile journalist and no editorial writer added their voices. When it comes to dealing with those who oppose and organise against the present system, the interests of the establishment take precedence over establishing the truth.
However, all those who see the need for fundamental change in society should take enormous heart from the success of the campaign against the criminalisation of the Jobstown protesters. We managed to get our message across to a mass audience despite the hostility of the media and political establishment. That should be a platform to build an new and active movement of the Left, to put in place a strategy for building a mass movement to take on this corrupt capitalist system and build a truly just society.
Drop all remaining charges! the Jury took just three hours to throw out the state's case in the Jobstown trial and come back with six unanimous 'Not guilty' findings. the prosecution's case was based on garda after garda getting up and lying in court, as shown by the video evidence that repeatedly contradicted garda claims. there should be a public enquiry into the whole way in which this political trial was prosecuted. crucially, the scandalous lies told in court now mean that the whole process is corrupt, and there is zero basis for any future trials related to the Jobstown protest to go ahead. the garda's investigation is completely compromised. all impending charges on Jobstown protesters must be dropped and furthermore, the record wiped clean and ruling overturned on the 17 year-old who has already been found guilty in the children's court (by a judge, no jury) on the same garda evidence that has been shown to be utterly false.
4
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
Inspiring Solidarity rally
new & analysis
Making the case for a left-wing challenge a solidarity rally shook the grounds of the Tivoli Theatre on sunday 2 July, with speeches, chants, and performances. More than five hundred people showed up to this inspirational event with the hopes of building a new left alternative. MonIKa Janas and Leanne Geaney report. International speakers The highlights of the rally included international speakers. Hannah Sell, a Socialist Party organiser in Britain, who was on the national committee of the Labour party, spoke about the amazing Corbyn phenomenon and the effect it’s having on the working class there. She also spoke about the Grenfell tragedy and its avoidability had it not been for the greed of capitalists. Eljeer Hawkins, a leading member of Socialist Alternative in America, spoke to us via live
teen years. “Sooner or later, this country is going to have a revolution,” he exclaimed fearlessly. School students for choice The young Megan Brady, founder of School Students for Choice, electrified the room with an uplifting speech about the unfairness of the connection between church and state, particularly in schools. She urged us to draw our voices together in order to change the world.
Some of the 500 who attended the Solidarity rally in the Tivoli Theatre in Dublin on 2 July
feed, congratulating us on the Jobstown verdict and speaking about the Black Lives Matter movement, especially concerning the Ferguson protest in 2014. He spoke of the history of working class movements and left activists being attacked by the establishment for their dissent and using their right to protest. Fighting discrimination Eileen Flynn, a traveler activist , gave a speech on the extreme conditions that the travelling community faces every day in this country. She spoke about the oppression, the
Carrickmines fire, and how the surviving families still haven’t been given proper housing. She made the jarring point, in connection to Eljeer’s speech, that if the Gardai had guns here, they’d be shooting travelers. Gail O'Rourke gave a emotive speech concerning the nature of her “crime” against the state, when she helped her friend with euthanasia. “Corruption, betrayal and deceit are commended,” she said whilst drawing connections between the rotten role of the state in her own case, as well as Jobstown, and the completely different approach to the Sean
Fitzpatrick trial. What is Solidarity Mick Barry TD outlined the need for solidarity within movements as well as between movements. This solidarity is crucial to succeeding in this capitalist society that oppresses us all. Paddy Hill of the Birmingham six One man who knows the pain of false imprisonment, Paddy Hill, spoke passionately on the subject of freedom and the need to organise and unite. He was falsely imprisoned for six-
Artistic flavour A powerful performance of “Gay, Male, Votes Fine Gael,” by the author, Oisin McKenna. The performance explored the intertwining of class and sexuality, with a focus on the hypocrisy of a gay Taoiseach standing over backwards legislation. Brian Leech also recited his own poem, a retelling of the Jobstown protest and trial thus far. “We’ll beat them again” The underlying thread connecting all the speakers was the feeling of betrayal at the hands of the system that perpetrates inequality, oppression and fear. However, the mood of the rally was celebratory and militant, and in the words of Paul Murphy TD, “We beat them, we’ll beat them again!”
Leo Varadkar: Unapologetic Thatcherite assumes power positions that cut strongly against the interests of the working class and will clash sharply with the left.
By Mick Barry TD
t
he eLectIon of Leo Varadkar, first as leader of Fine Gael, then as taoiseach, has been hailed by the international media as an important change. Varadkar is an openly gay man and the son of an immigrant, and the election of such a man as Taoiseach would have been unthinkable up until relatively recent times. This reflects positive social changes driven in large measure by LGBT community campaigning work based on the ideas of justice and solidarity. Hostility to the left However, Varadkar taking the Taoiseach's chair was an important change for trade union activists, social justice campaigners and those who support the left for another reason too: this was the election of a particularly rightwing Taoiseach. Fine Gael, of course, has always been a right-wing party, Varadkar's rival for the FG leadership, Simon Coveney, is a right-wing politician too. However, there's something
Varadkar is an Irish Tory, socially and economically conservative
about Leo. He makes no attempt to appear as all things to all men, he clearly stakes out right-wing positions, and he makes no bones about his hostility to the Left. Although he likes to project himself as a politician of the "centre", defending the "centre ground"
against the perceived "extremes", his unapologetic right-wing nature makes him the closest thing Irish politics has seen to a classic Tory politician. Like his colleague of the "European Centre", France's Emmanuel Macron, he will take up
Smearing the unemployed His "Welfare Cheats Cheat Us All" campaign deployed classic Tory "strivers versus skivers" tactics to court the right-wing Fine Gael rank and file vote in the leadership election and win the support of a section of workers who have been affected by media lies about welfare fraud. His comments about representing "the people who get up early in the morning" were aimed at tapping into the same attitudes and at winning support from some private sector workers who have bought into media propaganda about "cosy" conditions for public sector workers. The support Varadkar voiced for banning or restricting the right to strike for some essential workers gives the lie to any idea that his policies might be worker-friendly. The right to strike is an essential workers' right and an essential human right. A ban for a few categories of workers would be the thin end of the wedge. Big busi-
ness and other employers would quickly demand further restrictions. This is the type of agenda Varadkar would like to implement. The decision of Varadkar's cabinet to end the freeze on bin charges is another sign of this right wing agenda. Build a socialist left However, the decision to postpone implementation of a new charging regime to September shows the weakness of the Varadkar government. They are haunted by the ghost of the anti-water charges movement and hampered by their minority position in the Dáil. The latter may prompt Varadkar to consider a general election in the next year in an attempt to strengthen the Fine Gael position. However, the stronger the attacks the stronger is the potential for a backlash. The sharper the right wing edge to the policies the more the left can be brought into play. If the left plays its cards well the election of this most right wing Taoiseach could well spur the left to a position of strength unseen in recent times in this country.
5
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
Allow vote on Citizens' Assembly proposals
a
By Diana O’Dwyer
oireachtas sPecIaL committee has now been set up to consider what proposal should be put in a referendum on the 8th amendment next year. socialist Party member, ruth coppinger is solidarity’s representative. she will fight for repeal and implementation of the progressive citizens’ assembly recommendations to give all pregnant people the right to choose. Anti-choice parties Aside from a hardcore ‘pro-life’ or ‘conservative’ minority of mainly male TDs / Senators like Mattie McGrath, Ronan Mullen, and Fianna Fáil’s Anne Rabbitte, a clear majority on the Committee support holding a referendum on the 8th amendment. Unfortunately, most are not pro-choice but will likely only favour access to abortion on restrictive grounds like fatal foetal abnormalities and rape. Unsurprisingly, this includes most of the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael representatives that are not virulently anti-choice. It also includes the three Sinn Féin members who will toe the party line of allowing abortion only in “cases of fatal foetal abnormalities, rape and incest” and where a woman’s “life and mental health
are at risk or in grave danger”. Many prominent Sinn Féin members are not even fully behind this weak position. Peadar Tóibín marched alongside the misogynistic religious fanatics on the socalled ‘Rally for Life’ while Committee member Jonathan O’Brien has said he “personally wouldn’t be in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment”. The final positions of Labour and the Social Democrats are less clear at this stage. Neither is fully pro-choice and Joan Burton’s denigration of “the ‘ultra’ sides of either side” as “shrill” inspires little confidence Labour will be any less useless than in the past. Repeal not replace In contrast, Solidarity will be advocating a strong pro-choice position based on two core demands: a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment early next year; and an advisory vote or plebiscite to give people a chance to vote on the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations. Holding a referendum early next year is vital because allowing it to drift into next summer and beyond would play into the hands of the anti-choice lobby, who are hoping the Pope’s visit next August will trigger a wave of religious reaction and block reform of the 8th. It is also essential that the question posed must be to repeal not amend
or replace the 8th. The Citizens’ Assembly voted narrowly to ‘replace’ the 8th but only because of misleading legal advice that a simple repeal would cause legal uncertainty and a lack of trust in the Oireachtas to follow up with abortion legislation. Their lack of faith in the establishment parties is understandable, however the Socialist Party believes repeal is the best way to take women’s bodies out of the Constitution once and for all. Citizens’ Assembly Solidarity’s second demand is for a
Review: Let Them Eat Chaos by Kate Tempest
Reviewed by Carah Daniel
K
ate temPest is a spoken word artist and poet that came from a working class background in London. she recently came to the attention of many after her performance at the Glastonbury music festival, where she performed a piece containing an extremely sharp critique of theresa may and the tory government. She spoke of May dividing the country, and of the Islamphobia, racism, poverty, and privatisation that exists in Britain today. This was the same Glastonbury where Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was greeted on stage like a rock star when he got up to speak,
news
Dáil committee on repeal:
with thousands of people chanting the now famous chant of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn!” Tempest’s spoken-word poem was mainly focused on anger at the Tories and made important political points, but did perhaps fail to capture the Corbyn movement that was reflected even on that particular day and the genuine hope people have for the left. Attacking injustice Kate Tempest’s most recent album came out last year, called Let Them Eat Chaos, and is fuelled by her anger at both the injustices that take place everywhere and the establishment internationally who are responsible for them. “Europe is Lost” is one track that strikes
blows at capitalism, political corruption, global warming and many other issues all in one. She describes the ruthless nature of big businesses and says: “its smile is hideous.” She refers to the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, particularly children of colour being murdered in broad daylight by “those employed to protect them.” On the issue of global warming and the extinction of many animals she has the line: “the water is rising, the elephants and polar bears are dying.” She certainly doesn’t shy away from any of the problems facing society today and she lays them out bluntly in her work in a powerful way. Tempest definitely resonates with swathes of people and is a voice for how many young people are feeling today, but also can be quite disillusioned and pessimistic. One line, “riots are tiny though, systems are huge” echoes this. However the movements around Sanders, Mélenchon and Corbyn, and also growing protest movements around the world, are all indications that the left is rising and that there is huge potential for growing left, anti-capitalist, socialist movements internationally that are capable of changing the system that Tempest lacerates so well.
plebiscite on the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations. This would be held at the same time as the repeal referendum but rather than changing anything in the Constitution would consult the people on follow-up abortion legislation. This would consist of four key options based on a simplified version of the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations, such as: abortion on request up to 12 weeks, on grounds of health, foetal abnormalities and for socioeconomic reasons up to 22 weeks. Working class people, women and young people are light years
ahead of the political establishment on social issues from same sex marriage to abortion. Empowering them, rather than the Dáil, to decide on future abortion legislation is far more likely to produce a progressive outcome. It can also mobilise a mass movement of women and young people, who could be disillusioned by a campaign for minimal reform, but will be spurred into action by clear repeal and pro-choice demands. A historic opportunity exists to build a mass movement on abortion rights. We must adopt the right tactics to seize it.
Fighting for bodily autonomy in schools
By Jodie Doyle “School Students for Choice” is a brand new group for secondary school students to get their voices heard in the repeal the eighth movement in ireland. the group was started early this april, by myself and two school friends, with the help of activists from roSa. our aim is to get more young people involved, because many people my age feel that their voices are diminished or go unheard just because they are young. repealing the eighth and the separation of church and state is so important to us, not just because it will affect our future, but because it will also affect how we are taught at school. it will prevent us being forced into a religion that oppresses us. We want to enable and empower these people by organising rallies, protests, and meetings where the focus would be on our voices.
July / August 2017
THE SO
T
HeResa May and her hated Tories suffered an utter humiliation in the recent election in britain. May crawled back into no. 10 without a majority. In reality, her minority government will be wracked by crisis and division and prone to deep splits. “strong and stable” – the slogan of the Tory campaign – is a distant memory writes PHILIP sToTT of socialist Party scotland.
special feature
6
m
ILLIons oF working-class and young people took the opportunity to hit back at a decade of austerity and growing inequality to torpedo the establishment's hope for a 100 seatplus tory majority. as socialist Party scotland commented at the start of the election campaign: “If Jeremy corbyn's policies are built on to form a clear unambiguous anti-austerity manifesto, he could defeat may.” It was the existence of a clear left and anti-austerity manifesto from Jeremy Corbyn that electrified this election and provided the lightning conductor for a mass uprising against austerity. From being over 20% behind the Tories at the start of the campaign, Corbyn's platform won a stunning 12.8 million votes and a 40% share, up 10% from 2015. It was the biggest vote increase for a political party since the 1945 Labour landslide. Youthquake Huge support for Corbyn's core polices of £10 an hour minimum wage, public ownership of the railways, taxing the rich and the corporations and an end to austerity, free tuition for students in England, inspired millions to vote. The election proved that left and anti-austerity ideas are hugely popular, as has been a feature internationally over the last few years. Young people voted in unprecedented numbers in the election. 75% of those under 25 took part and twothirds of those that voted backed Corbyn. He also mobilised hundreds of thousands to rallies across Britain. Even Michael Crick, the political editor of Channel 4 news, tweeted “Corbyn has probably addressed bigger meetings in 2017 than any leader since Churchill.” Social media played a crucial role as hundreds of thousands promoted Corbyn's tweets and Facebook messages. The now ubiquitous chant, “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn”, which began when he spoke a Libertines gig in Merseyside, is now common place at many public events, whether Corbyn is there or not. Tens of thousands rushed to the main stage at Glastonbury to hear him address the crowd. Rotten role of Blairites The rise of Corbyn, in the teeth of ferocious opposition from the right wing in his own party, the media, and the capitalist establishment, has shaken the elite to its core. No one was more shocked by the surge to Labour than the right wing Blairites who have actively attacked and attempted to sabotage Corbyn since his election to the Labour leadership in 2015. Many of them refused point blank to have any reference to Corbyn in their election material. Phil Wilson, Labour candidate in Tony Blair's old Sedgefield constituency, declared:
"People don't like Corbyn; I don't like Corbyn". Ironically, scores of Blairites owe their election to Jeremy Corbyn and his left policies. But there is no gratitude as far as the pro-capitalist wing of Labour is concerned. Licking their wounds and defeated in their hopes that a crushing defeat for Corbyn in the election would have led to his removal, their strategy now is to try to use their overwhelming majority among Labour MPs to undermine the antiausterity wing of Labour. Not so much a fifth column as a four fifths column, the Blairites are already seeking “cross-party” cooperation with the Tories, Lib Dems and others over Brexit. This is a potential pre-cursor to a new party of the neo-liberal “centre” at a certain stage. They will also hope to shift Labour's policy platform to the right over the next months. Corbyn must appeal over the heads of the right and present his own democratic constitution to a referendum of all Labour Party members which would have at its heart mandatory reselection of MPs and the replacement of the bureaucratic machine, with power resting in the hands of the membership, particularly new members and the trade unions. This would allow the rights to party members to select proCorbyn, left candidates to stand for Labour at the next election, which could come at any time. May’s support collapses further Since the election on 9 June, Jeremy Corbyn's support has grown even further. The horrific fire in West London’s Grenfell tower block has laid bare the responsibility of deregulation, austerity and privatisation for this totally avoidable tragedy. And it has exposed the cold and callous Theresa May and the billionaire class she represents. The latest polls have support for Labour now at 45%, 6 points ahead of the Tories. In contrast, May’s approval has slumped to -20%, a 40% drop in just two months. This general election campaign in Britain has introduced radical left ideas to a new generation. That is enormously positive. It has also given a glimpse, however, of how far the capitalists would go to try and sabotage any attempts to introduce policies in the interests of the many not the few. To defeat this sabotage requires far-reaching socialist measures. The Tories have come out of the election in tatters. Now we need to build a movement to force them out of power, with the trade unions playing a decisive role in this. The 8 June was the beginning not the end. It was the beginning of a movement to get the Tories out and to build a socialist movement to end the rule of capitalism. On this basis we can create a democratic socialist society that provides free education, decent housing and a well-paid job for all.
FoR THe noT TH Corbyn’s message
“Corbynomic By Kevin McLoughlin
I
Corbyn addressed over 100,000 at Glastonbury Festival
May's minority government is now forced to rely on votes from the DUP
F the leaking of Jeremy corbyn's manifesto mid-way through the long election campaign was designed to damage him, it had the opposite effect. The manifesto became one of the vital factors in creating one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent history. For some commentators and the Blairites in his own party it seemed an impossibility that Corbyn could do well. His programme was of a by-gone era and would never win support from a significant portion of society. In fact it was because of who Corbyn is that people had hope in his programme. It is not difficult to see why people, particularly the young, women and workers responded. Completely disconnected from the reality of the mood, the Tories were proposing more cuts and attacks on living standards. The limits of reformism While the situation is significantly different in many ways, his policies would have had echoes of the early years of Chavez's Bolavarian revolution and the reforms it granted. Taking on the capitalist establishment in Venezuela was a serious business, but even more so in Britain. It would be imperative for the capitalist class internationally to undermine such policies and a government that would try implement it. In this, undoubtedly they would receive much assistance from the Blairite apparatus and MPs who still pre-dominate the Labour Party.
July / August 2017
OCIALIST
Grenfell fire shows class injustice is at the heart of capitalism
By Aprille Scully
galvanises millions
cs” & the need to challenge capitalism While Corbyn’s programme included the very welcome renationalisation of railways (over time), energy, the water system and the Royal Mail, it wasn't based on actually taking public ownership and democratic control of the key wealth producing sectors of the economy and using them as part of a democratic socialist plan of production. It was fundamentally based on increased taxation of the wealthy and big business and borrowing for capital expenditure. Corporation tax was to be increased, up a number of percentage points to 26% and all those on more than £80,000 and £123,000 a year, would have their income tax increased to 45% and 50% respectively. Corbyn and McDonnell understated what could come in from such policies, reflecting that they expected big business and the rich would try take measures to avoid paying even this. They estimated their tax changes could bring in an additional £50 billion approximately. Challenging capitalism This would really only scratch the surface. The thousand richest people in Britain have wealth in excess of £658 billion and increased their wealth by £83 billion in the last year alone. Yet Corbyn's manifesto acted like a beacon. It and the momentum it engendered has helped solidify the view that austerity and neo-liberal attacks must end and has provoked a discussion about what type of change is necessary and even about
67% of those aged 18-24 voted by Jeremy Corbyn
what socialism is. In this, it has played a vital role. At the same time it is also vital that goals are matched by the policies that can actually ensure they are achieved. Corbyn and McDonnell are completely correct to expect that the capitalists won't play by the rules. The capitalist market creates inequality and it is impossible to develop just solutions to the problems we face based on a rigged system. Mixed economy? Their proposals don't even go as far as the “mixed economy” based on private and public ownership of its resources envisioned by some in the Labour Party up until the 1980s. The vast bulk of the economy and wealth would remain in private hands. Corbyn and McDonnell's income and spending targets could therefore be sabotaged by business interests, and so their election promises, important but limited as they were, could
be shipwrecked. They would also be at the mercy of the financial markets through their borrowings and be affected and even controlled by negative developments in the actual economy. To achieve the goals outlined in the manifesto and to repair the damage and devastation of neo-liberal cuts to public services over decades and to create the investment necessary to create secure jobs and a secure future and to be able to defeat the attacks of big business, Corbyn's Labour would need to decisively break with the system of capitalism. If Corbyn gets elected, the establishment will try to move against him. But if and when they do, they could unleash a mass reaction in defence of Corbyn and such a movement could encourage or force a Corbyn government to go much further. The lesson from Venezuela is not that Chavez went too far, it’s that they didn't go far enough when they had the opportunity.
AS MoRe details emerge about the Grenfell fire tragedy and how this tower of public housing went up in smoke in Britain’s richest constituency, killing well in excess of 100 people, the anger at its causes rises. There is anger at the council, at the management company of the block, at the contractors who did the refurbishment, and at the Tory government’s begrudging response to the tragedy. After years of being ignored by the council, some of the tenants who campaigned for fire safety in the block have been killed. Two women who were threatened with legal action by the council for their campaign for safety are missing, presumed dead. Tory austerity In Kensington, where Grenfell Tower is, the average price for a terraced house is £4.2 million. The community in Grenfell Tower are working class, many are Black and Asian, in low paid work, living alongside the immense wealth of the super-rich. It is a testament to the solidarity displayed by ordinary people that £5 million was donated to the victims of the tragedy. However, it is dwarfed by the resources at the disposal of Kensington and Chelsea council: £300 million in usable reserves. They have been running a £15 million annual surplus -- taking £54 million in rent and service charges and spending £40 million on housing -- adding to the reserves. They scrimped to save £200,000 on sprinklers in Grenfell Tower, and there were no fire alarms. Much of the £8 million refurbishment budget was spent on cladding - aluminium panels that contained a flammable polyethylene core. It was a low cost way to prettify the block. Construction companies, refurbishing on the cheap, were actively risking lives in their profiteering. Local rapper and writer Akala said it best: “We are in one of the richest spaces not only in London but in the world. So they put panels,
pretty panels on the outside, so the rich people who lived opposite wouldn't have to look at a horrendous block. These people died because they were poor.” Callous indifference Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party took the Kensington seat, an historic first for Labour. MP Dent Coad said social housing provision was a central part of that campaign. “We have a very rich council which spent £26m repaving Exhibition Road for tourists at the same time as it was closing nurseries, pruning youth clubs, closing older people’s lunch clubs, not investing in social care.” What is clear after the Grenfell Tower is the arrogant disregard for the lives of working class people. Austerity is a choice taken by successive capitalist governments to take money away from public services and wages and given to the rich in the form of bailouts and corporate tax cuts. The devastating impact of that is felt by working-class people in longer hospital waiting lists, lower standards of living, skyrocketing rents, and a corresponding homelessness crisis. It means construction companies profiteering from social housing and delivering substandard homes for people, which was the case with Grenfell Tower, killing and traumatising a community. Wealth inequality The struggle for the right to housing is a profound battle between the capitalist class, property developers, speculators only interested in making a profit, and the working class, the majority, to have a safe place to call home without fear of eviction. The top 500 wealthiest people in Britain are now wealthier than the entire top 1,000 were in 2016, many of these holding huge residential property portfolios. A socialist housing policy would mean tackling this huge wealth inequality: massive investment in public housing, rent controls, and nationalisation of the banks and major construction companies to provide safe, secure, and genuinely affordable homes for all.
special feature
e Many He FeW
Grenfell Tower: a monument to capitalist greed
7
8
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
Climate change
international
Trump tears up Paris agreement t
By William Foley
rumP’s decIsIon to remove the us from the Paris climate agreement shows that he represents one of the most dangerous and reactionary elements of us capitalism. It signals that his administration does not even seek to meet the minimal targets set by obama when his government negotiated the deal. This should not, however, encourage us to have any illusions about the Paris agreement in the first place. It was a very successful public relations operation for the governments in the major capitalist powers – then-French president, Francois Hollande, described the accord as “an ambitious agreement, a binding agreement, a universal agreement.” A flawed agreement But the agreement was neither ambitious nor binding. The actual targets committed to under the deal will, according to the UN Environmental Programme, lead to an increase of three degrees in global temperatures, far more than the agreement’s stated minimum target of two degrees. Further, the targets which countries agree to are not binding, and there is no mechanism to enforce them.
Trump has been influenced by the arguments of climate change deniers
In fact, the US negotiation team almost derailed the agreement at the last minute when they discovered that a particular article of the treaty stated that developed countries “shall” enact economy-wide emission reduction targets, rather than that they “should” do so. John Kerry, US Secretary of State, said that “The bottom line is that when I looked at that, I said, ‘We cannot do this and we will not do this.”
Racist killings continue in the US
It is unsurprising that big oil companies like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips backed the agreement, as did several of the largest coal companies in America, such as Peabody Energy Corp, and Cloud Peak Energy Inc. The agreement protects them from growing criticism, while allowing them to go about business as usual with sights cheerily set on increased carbon consumption at a global level.
Climate change denial So Trump could have just massively diluted the already weak commitments. Instead he went against the advice of many energy companies, as well as the counsel of his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is a former CEO of ExxonMobil. Probably the vulgar and attention-seeking character of the gesture appealed to him, but he
was also certainly influenced by outright climate-deniers in his circle, such as his appointee to the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt. Ultimately, we should reject the agenda set by the establishment media, the think tanks, and other curators of public opinion. We should not be forced to choose between utter climate-denial on one hand, and, on the other hand, a hobbled, ineffectual policy pushed by the liberal wing of the ruling class, with backing from more the more marketing-savvy carbon producers. In reality, action needs to be taken to immediately deal with the planet-destroying effect of capitalism. Capitalists who have investments in companies that produce fossil fuels, that tear up huge sections of the rainforests, and that pollute the air and water that people breathe and drink, need to make a profit on their investment and will do anything to protect these profits, and the social system which creates them. Environmentally destructive companies should be taken into public ownership as part of a democratic socialist plan of production and their resources redeployed to create sustainable and environmentally friendly activities that meet our needs and desires.
Refugee disaster deepens obscenely rich get... richer
By Connor Cruikshanks AT THe beginning of the year it was revealed that just eight men held the same amount of wealth as the poorest 3.6 billion people on earth. Just six months later, that number has changed to just five.
By Sarah Zanchetta In JulY 2016, Philando Castile was gunned down by Police in St. Anthony, Minnesota in front of his partner and young child. Castille disclosed he had a licensed firearm that was unloaded. Despite being carried live on Facebook the police officer that killed him has been acquitted and will face no serious repercussions for the murder. Days after the aquittal was announced, Charleena Lyles, a pregnant black woman from Seattle, was killed in front of her children by police after calling them to report a robbery. After years of protests by Black Lives Matter and other activist
groups, the black community in the US continues to face discrimination and injustice at the hands of the police. Full investigation needed Socialist Alternative, the sister organisation of the Socialist Party in the US, has demanded a public investigation into these killings be carried out by the community, labour and social justice organizations as a step towards an elected civilian board with full powers over the police. These gross injustices once again expose the capitalist system as being inherently racist and unjust. It shows the need to build a party of the 99% that unites all struggles against this rotten system in order to fight injustice and discrimination.
By Melissa Kelleher
w
orLd reFuGee day was marked by the tragic news that over 2,000 refugees have died so far this year, attempting treacherous boat crossings to europe. these figures are particularly shocking as the death rate among refugees attempting to cross the mediterranean to enter europe has almost doubled over the past year. NGOs and aid agencies have attributed the rising death rate to a shortage of search-and-rescue vessels in the Mediterranean and the increasingly unsafe boats being used to traffic vulnerable, displaced people. News of the developing crisis came as disturbing details emerged regarding farright activists and their plans to send boats to the Mediterranean to
disrupt search-and-rescue vessels that are attempting to save the lives of refugees. Fortress europe The European Union’s disgusting policy of “Fortress Europe” must be brought to an end. This policy, combined with the wars waged for power and profit in the Middle East and North Africa have created this catastrophe. As a matter of urgency, the barbaric border restrictions and racist immigration laws must be done away with and displaced persons and refugees must be granted the right to asylum. The vast wealth hoarded by the super rich should be seized in order to provide jobs, homes, healthcare, education and a decent standard of living for all people, both refugees and nonrefugees alike.
The extreme and rapidly increasing wealth inequality that exists under neo-liberal capitalism means that you can count on one hand the number of people who are collectively as wealthy as half the world’s entire population. These capitalists have not made themselves rich by their own work or creativity, but by ruthlessly exploiting workers, and squeezing all the profits they can in their need to continue profiteering.
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
By Councillor Michael O’Brien
t
he worthIness of the proposed deal that emerged from the public sector pay talks has to be measured against the scale of cuts imposed since the crisis began, the cost of living increases, the blatant unfairness of a two tier pay and pension system, and the maintenance of repressive FemPI legislation. On all of these counts this deal is not acceptable and the early recommendations for rejection from all three teacher unions are entirely warranted. This was a talks process rigged from the outset. But unfortunately a number of the union leaders refused to see this. In particular a senior IMPACT official’s claim, quoted in the Irish Times, that this was the best deal in the 'tight parameters of what was available' is extremely revealing and indicative of an absence of political and economic vision on his and his colleagues part to identify the resources that could be fought for real pay restoration and pay equality. It’s no surprise therefore that IMPACT alongside SIPTU are recommending the deal to their members. 1% make a killing This government and its predecessor have been speaking of “recovery” since 2014. Clearly it has been a recovery for some. The recent Sunday Independent
Rich List shows that the 300 wealthiest individuals increased their personal wealth from €50 billion in 2010 to €100 billion in 2016! The 12 wealthiest people in Ireland made €6 billion tax free in the last year alone. According to the CSO profits in the same period have increased from €41 billion to €75 billion. The trade union leaders should be bringing these facts and figures into the national debate to push back the right wing antiunion anti-public service agenda. The experience of the campaign run by Jeremy Corbyn in the recent UK elections demonstrates the renewed popularity for policies that favour the many over the few. was What demonstrated last year during the Luas and Dublin Bus disputes as well as the threatened action by the Gardai is that determined action can bust through the limits the government and employers want to impose. Other unions or groups of workers who make a stand should be supported and not left isolated like the ASTI. need to organise Overall defeat of this proposal will rest on rank and
Industrial action is key to winning pay increases and rolling back austerity measures
file activists getting organised and challenging those of their officials who recommend this deal. We can say with confidence that most public sector workers will see this deal as highly deficient. However those union leaderships who will be recommending it are banking on demoralising their membership into thinking that there is no alternative. This is why we need political trade unionism that points to the massive undertaxed or untaxed wealth and economic activity in Irish society that needs to be gone after if we are to win real pay rises, secure decent pensions, restore pay equality and invest in public services. The TUI and CPSU conferences have already resolved
to embark on action if fundamental issues such as pay equality were not resolved this year. If
workplace news
Public sector deal: Reject austerity pay & conditions
other unions join them this deal can be sunk and real pay restoration and pay equality achieved.
Why this deal will mean for public sector workers: l No restoration of 2008 pay levels despite the rise in cost of living in terms accommodation, childcare, and third level fees l retention of the pension levy for the overwhelming majority of public sector workers l retention of unpaid hours l retention of the two tier pay and pension system, compounding the betrayal of new entrants who have a right to be enraged l Perpetuation of the crisis in nursing recruitment and retention in our healthcare system
Crane operators: Collective fight back against bosses’ greed and are supported by their union. Tom Fitzgerald, Unite Regional Officer, said: “SISK was part of an employers’ delegation which attended the Labour Court on Monday seeking reductions of up to 30% in their workers’ pay – at a time when the company has enjoyed an estimated increase in profits of around 53% over the past two years.
By Susan Fitzgerald
t
he crane operators who are unite members are seeking an industry agreement which recognises their level of skill and responsibility. this agreement would cover terms and conditions along with pay. Strike action was initially rolled out on two sites in Dublin on 29 June, targeting Sisk and Cairn Homes in the first of a series of actions. While approximately twenty operators were on strike that day, more than 300 other construction workers refused to pass pickets. At mid-day cranes right around the country stopped in a collective show of support for those striking. A second successful ballot to extend the industrial action of crane operator’s throughout the country was held on 5 July. The first ballot targeted nonConstruction Industry Federation (CIF) employers. The second ballot extends its reach to all crane companies.
On 29 June, cranes across the country stopped as crane operators took industrial action
Decent wages Three days before the strike action the CIF marched into the labour court seeking a drastic cut in wages. The claim of the construction group of unions in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions via the
labour court process is for a raise of 10-15%. While an uplift in pay would be welcome, and many construction unions argue that the Labour court is the forum for such things to be thrashed out, it is essentialthat
those discussions and any negotiated figures are seen as a basic floor for pay and conditions and not a ceiling. Unite has supported the pay claim as a starting point for the industry but crane operators are prepared to fight for a better deal
9
Profits up by 53% “Since the recovery started in 2012, profits per employee in the construction have more than doubled. In contrast, construction wages are still below 2004 levels in real terms. “We warned that if the employers don’t engage with us in meaningful talks that cranes would stand idle, they should remember that an idle crane means an idle site. There is huge anger amongst our members, about being ignored, about not earning enough for them and their families to live with dignity. But most importantly there is huge determination to win and the employers should note that we won’t let up until we do”.
10
July / August 2017
THE SOCIALIST
Orange & Green parties
north
Regressive, backward & sectarian t
By Ciaran Mulholland
he success of Jeremy corbyn in the British General election left the conservative Party short of an majority. the overall democratic unionist Party (duP) unexpectedly found itself holding the balance of power and negotiated a financial package for northern Ireland in return for agreeing to support the formation of a tory government. The DUP-Tory deal has not solved the crisis facing the British ruling-class. Theresa May has been badly damaged and the continuous threat of backbench revolts limits her room for manoeuvre. This is clearly a weak and unstable government and its time in office may be short. Tories propped up The on-going sense of political crisis, and Corbyn’s clear anti-austerity position, has resulted in mass enthusiasm for a Labour government. The millions who rallied to the radical programme put forward by Corbyn were stunned to find that a party they knew little about (or in some cases had never even heard of) was putting the hated Tories back in power. The DUP/Tory “confidence and supply” arrangement shone a spotlight on the DUP and its reactionary positions on issues such as a woman’s right to choose and equal marriage. There is no short-
age of sticks to beat the DUP with, and every backward statement of its leading figures has been publicised across social media. The astonishment at the DUP’s positions from those who have never heard of the party is understandable. The commentary in the press and in social media has not all been balanced however. In fact some comments border on the denigration of those who voted for the DUP, and by extension the entire Protestant population. This is entirely unjustified. There is ample evidence that an equal of Protestants hold similar positions to Catholics on issues marriage equality and abortion rights. Who are the DuP? The DUP is a right-wing populist party which tries to face several ways at once. It is careful to maintain its relatively small, and largely rural, fundamentalist Christian constituency, from where it drew its original support base. In the 1970s and 1980s it sought to broaden its appeal by posing as the opposition to the “big house” unionism of the Ulster Unionist Party, which historically was dominated by landed grandees. The DUP is now the dominant party among the Protestant working class - or at least for those sections who turn out to vote, as between one third and one half do not. But by far and away the most important reason why the DUP has advanced is that it plays the sectarian card and plays it well. It delib-
erately stokes sectarian division and then profits from that division as voters come behind the party seen as the most resolute defenders of “their” community. The same applies to Sinn Fein. It has become dominant because it too deliberately foments sectarianism and is the most strident and vocal advocate for the Catholic community. Sinn Féin progressive? Sinn Féin’s basis in sectarianism nails the lie that if the DUP is a reactionary party then its sectarian mirror opposite, Sinn Fein, must by definition be a “progressive” party. But politics in Northern Ireland operates to different rules than elsewhere. Day to day issues that affect working class people, such as pay and conditions at work, and the state of public services, are just as important as they are in other places. Often however, these issues are pushed to one side by divisive, sectarian issues. It is in the interests of the big four sectarian parties – the DUP, Sinn Fein,the SDLP, and the UUP – to ensure that this is the case. Today, Sinn Fein remains a party based on sectarian division. It.is a party which argues for a sharp reduction in corporation tax and suggests that cutting 20,000 public sector jobs will pay for this handout to the rich. It does not support the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. This stance has nothing in common with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.
Both Sinn Féin & DUP oppose extension of ‘67 Abortion Act to the North
The Tory government of austerity can be defeated by a mass movement of opposition and replaced by a majority Corbynlead government in the period ahead. It is important however that opposition to the DUP-Tory
deal does not lead to any illusions in other sectarian parties. Parties based on sectarian division have nothing to offer the working class of the North and have no positive role to play in bringing about a Corbyn victory.
People power can win marriage equality & abortion rights By Kevin Henry
s
aturday 1 July saw a lively and colourful demonstration of 10,000 trade unionists and young people from both sides of the sectarian divide, marching for marriage equality on the streets of Belfast. The DUP’s undemocratic block on marriage equality goes against the wishes of 70% of people in Northern Ireland, including a majority of their own voters. The DUP has a strong religious fundamentalist wing and a history of homophobia going back to the “Save Ulster from Sodomy” demonstrations, and including the more recent range of vile homophobic comments from their public representatives. However, they are not impervious to pressure from below. Pressure from below The historic majority vote for marriage equality at Stormont in November 2015 was achieved after MLAs from Alliance and the UUP changed their position in the wake of a 20,000-strong demonstration on the issue in Belfast, fearing that standing in the way of progress would damage them politically. We
Belfast: 10,000 took to the streets on 1 July to demand marriage equality
can’t wait two more years for a major demonstration in order to push forward on marriage equality. A concerted and consciously nonsectarian campaign for equality has the potential to stop the abuse of the ‘petition of concern’ mechanism to block equality.
All the main parties are united in opposing a woman’s right to choose, even though a majority of people support full decriminalisation of abortion. On the day of the demonstration, while Sinn Féin members in Belfast marched for marriage equality, in Dublin their
TD, Peadar Tóibín, was attending a pro-life demonstration. As Coretta King once said “Freedom and justice cannot be parcelled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.”
Build a left alternative In the week of the demonstration women won an important victory. The Tories in Britain, under pressure from a resurgent Labour party, were, despite their “confidence and supply” agreement with the DUP, forced to grant women from Northern Ireland access to abortion on the NHS in England, Scotland, and Wales. While this is merely a stick plaster and no substitute for allowing women the extension of the 1967 act and full abortion rights, it does show that even with a right wing government it is possible to win rights for working-class people. Alongside building powerful movements that can win social change we need to build a political alternative to the backward policies of all the establishment. Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign has brought socialist ideas back centre stage and enthused many with his vision of a society for the many, not the few. In Northern Ireland, we need a cross-community left that will organise against austerity and be principled fighters for LGBTQ and women’s rights.
July / August 2017
11
THE SOCIALIST
Why Varadkar does not “personify” progress a
By Conor Payne
s Leo Varadkar took office the media nationally and internationally trumpeted the appointment of a gay, son of an Indian immigrant as taoiseach as a sign of social progress and equality. the BBc said: “he has come to personify the liberalisation of a country which was once regarded as one of europe's most socially conservative nations”. Varadkar himself said that his election showed “that prejudice has no hold in this republic.” Deeply conservative state It is undoubtedly the case that a gay man being able to become Taoiseach reflects the positive change in attitudes towards LGBTQ people which has taken place in recent years. But the fawning coverage ignores an inconvenient reality - that the Irish state remains deeply conservative and backward and that Varadkar offers no break from this approach. The majority of schools and hospitals are controlled by the Catholic Church. We have a constitutional ban on abortion. Despite the very real progress encapsulated by the marriage equality referendum, LGBTQ young people suffer four times the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress as others in their age group.
The right wing government Varadkar leads is in reality an opponent of real progress on these issues. Varadkar is antichoice, supporting abortion rights only in some “extreme” cases - not for the ten women a day who leave this state to access abortion. When the left proposed replacing the 14 year prison sentence for women who have abortions with a nominal fine, Varadkar responded by attacking "people who think the life of the unborn is worth €1." Church and state Varadkar was in cabinet when the grotesque proposal to hand over the National Maternity Hospital to the Sisters of Charity was made. Like the rest of the right wing parties, he stands over church control of our public services. How can young LGBTQ people get decent, affirming education when their schools are controlled by a homophobic church hierarchy? His Thatcherite economic policies particularly hit vulnerable LGBTQ people - such as the proposed €12 million cut to mental health services during his tenure as Minister for Health. Varadkar is a particularly right wing expression of an establishment which is conservative through and through. The positive changes which have been won in terms of LGBTQ rights in recent years were won as a result of cam-
Above and below, two different stage managed images Varadkar wants to present of himself
paigning and a change in attitudes from below - not because of the initiative of FF, FG, Labour etc. In the current Dáil only the left stand for basic progressive measures like abortion rights and the separation of church and state. To fight for equality, we need to focus not on gaining equal representation within our backward elite, but in building a movement on the left which fights for real social and economic equality for all.
The toxic legacy of the Poolbeg incinerator
Ireland’s wealth gap By Cian Prendiville 85 new multi-millionaires... "Let's keep the robbery going", was Fine Gael's wish from the 2016 general election. And it seems it is coming true, with 85 new multi-millionaires created in Ireland last year. There are now 1,330 "Ultra High Net Worth Individuals" in Ireland, more than in the famous billionaire's playground of the United Arab Emirates. Never mind the 1% - this is the 0.03%. The Wealth-X report didn't provide the breakdown of the total wealth of these multimillionaires, other than to say they all own over €30m, meaning their combined wealth in Ireland is somewhere north of €40 billion. In fact, Ireland has one of the highest number of multi-millionaires per person, ten times the global average. Bear that in mind next time Fine Gael say we "don't have the money" to provide a house, a job and a decent standard of living for everyone.
news & analysis
Anti-choice, backward and right wing
By Léa Valence
t
There are 1,330 individuals in Ireland who own more than €30 billion
...one million struggle to survive A new survey conducted by Red C shows that one million adults in Ireland are struggling to cope financially, with over 70% of them seeing no hope of their position improving. In particular, the high cost of childcare, housing and debts were highlighted. With wages stagnant, while rents and prices sky-rocket you'd expect these figures to get even worse. The survey also highlighted
that people are working longer hours, and under more stress at work too. This just highlights how capitalism is putting the squeeze on us all, trying to get more profits out of each worker. Only one in four people say they have benefited from the so-called "recovery", and of these the vast majority say they have benefited only "slightly". This is the reality of Ireland in 2017: Recovery for the rich, rent hikes for the rest!
he newLy opened Poolbeg incinerator has been the focus of much opposition and controversy in recent years. the incinerator, which has been open since march 2017, was the scene of a serious incident on 7 June, when lime was released from a gas treatment silo. at the time of the incident about 30 workers were in the vicinity of the leak and 11 had to be admitted to hospital for fears that they might have ingested the toxic substance after they reported respiratory and eye problems. This not only confirmed the fears voiced by campaigners opposing the project since its inception, but also showed the real danger of the plant’s activity. Activists and local residents had voiced their concerns over the safety of the plant, the danger of potentially toxic emissions that could be released from it, and the increased traffic pollution in the area due to trucks. The latest accident did not come as a surprise. Covanta, the US multinational which owns the Ringsend plant, had previously faced emissions test failures at a similar Canadian plant.
Privatisation and profit The Combined Residents Against Incineration (CRAI) action group and others have opposed the construction of the plant for the last 15 years. Nevertheless, the contract with Dublin City Council was signed in 2014 as part of Public Private Partnership, amidst fears and concerns that its part privatisation would result in safety costs being cut by Covanta to increase profit. In this context, it is crucial that we re-iterate our opposition to the Poolbeg incinerator and the use of a private multinational to profiteer from the incineration of waste. We need publicly owned waste management facilities and real reduction of waste at source by taking the businesses that dominate our economy out of private hands.
PaPer of the SocialiSt Party
iSSue 109
July / auguSt 2017
Abortion rights now! Demand a vote on the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations... JOIN THE SOCIALIST PARTY!
Text ‘JOIN’ to 087 3141986
www.socialistparty.ie