Author: ourbulgarianlife

Rob J. Hawkins SLP Southwest Region

Above. Supporters from Indian Workers’ Association, IWA and Socialist Labour Party, SLP West Midlands Region, in support of action to save Birmingham’s heritage for future generations. This evening, 25th September, a meeting of BIrmingham Council was being held to discuss the way ahead following a declaration that it was not able to balance its books as a result of equal pay claims for women dating back years. It was announced that Michael Gove would be sending in a team to run the Council. Decisions had to be made. Unite, Unison and GMB were prominent among those anxious to save their members’ jobs. The NEU took a lead by preparing a leaflet and promoting the event. It is timely to remind BIrmingham citizens, Unions, City Councillors and others of the great victory the people of BIrmingham had in 1972 at the Batlle of Saltley Gate. 20,000 union members downed tools and marched to Saltley Gate where miners and other supporting unions picketing, heavily out numbered by police sent in from across the U.K. A then unknown miner, Arthur Scargill, took charge stopping the marchers in front of the gates. The Chief of Police had just assured the Home Secretary he had everything under control until this happened. He was forced to close the gate to stop coke stocks going in or out. Scargill held a victory rally, the subject of a mural held at South and City College at Digbeth depicting the scene with him standing on top of the urinals to address the crowd. A consequence was the downfall of the Heath Government in 1974. People power works and can do so again now. We must take courage and refuse to allow BIrmingham to be sold. Birmingham Post and Mail. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/five-key-issues-behind-birmingham-27681215 John Tyrrell, SLP President 25/9/2023

From Clubland https://www.petebrown.net/2023/04/25/harry-belafontes-near-miss-with-barnsley-clubland/ Socialist Labour Party 23/9/2023

I am appalled at the Britain is continuing to support the United States and the European Union and all the countries who are supporting Ukraine in the crisis in that Country by providing billions on armaments when it is obvious that this crisis was planned by NATO and the United States following the Coup d’etat in 2014 which led to the overthrow of the elected President. All these countries who have and are conducting a media campaign not seen since the unlawful war against Iraq in 2003 which resulted in over a million deaths including hundreds of British citizens. The argument by all those say that they support Ukraine on the grounds that Russia have occupied areas of Ukraine stay silent about the Neo-Fascist State of Israel who on a daily basis bomb and shell the Palestinian people and evict them from their homes as part of its determination to occupy the whole Palestine. The United States occupy part of Cuba and use it for the detention people for years without a charge or an opportunity to challenge their unlawful detention. The billions of pounds supplying armaments, money which should be spent on our National Health Service, Education System, Care for the elderly and disabled, monies which could and should help the 14.4 million people who are existing below the poverty line. On behalf of the Socialist Labour Party I call for an end to Britain sending weapons of war and an end NATO . I was appalled to see the TUC support this deplorable policy. It’s reminiscent of the TUC policy in its support for Lech Walesa and Solidarity. Walesa supported Margaret Thatcher and opposed the National Union of Mineworkers who were on strike. Look at the situation today in the free market. I call on the Trade Unions to stop accusing Russia for the conflict in Ukraine when on any test the Conflict was started by NATO and the United States. Arthur Scargill Socialist Labour Party 22/9/2023

Socialist Labour Party member, David Jacobsen from Edinburgh, has called attention to weekly meetings in London in defence of Julian Assange. He calls on SLP members and supporters to act in solidarity in any way possible, including attending the protest rallies. Socialist Labour Party 21/9/2023

The Socialist Labour notes that the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio da Silva, “Lula” has spoken out over the continuing blockade by the United States of Cuba which has lasted for 60 years. The accusation that Cuba as a state sponsors terrorism is not universally held. Many in fact recognise that despite the vindictive and viscious attack on Cuba’s fragile economy the country was exemplary in its spread of humane actions both at home, in neighbouring countries in the Caribbean, Southern America, many African countries or wherever there was desperate need Cuba responded. The Peoples’ Forum stated “Cuba is a sponsor of healthcare, education, assistance and solidarity – NOT terrorism! For decades and recently during #covid, Cuba exported and trained doctors to the benefit of countries in need of them. The US, world’s biggest exporter of war and weapons, has no place to judge Cuba!” Bolivian and Argentian leaders echoed Lulas’ sentiments in their addresses to the U.N. Assembly. Socialist Labour Party 21/9/2023

The International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS) organised a demonstration in London on 16th September, 2023. REPORT It was a very important demonstration. Highlighting western imperialism. USA and European Union aggression towards Russia and China. They are not prepared to accept a multi polar equal world with Russia and China. We are in a critical stage in history as the Brics countries has 31% of world trade and the western G7 bloc only 30%. So whatever the EU and the USA say a new multi polar world is being formed. The USA is responsible for the conflict in the Ukraine they were behind the fascist coup against the democratically elected president in 2014. As a member of the Socialist Labour Party, I am pleased that the party leader Arthur Scargill has played an excellent role in explaining the role of Nato in starting the conflict in the Ukraine. By moving troops up to the Russian border thus going against a previous decision not to expand nato up to the Russian border. The mood on the demonstration was positive. Members of the public asked questions about the campaign. Kevin O’Connor London region SLP. 16/9/2023 Background Protest: Warmonger Britain – Stop Arming Zelensky, Get Out of Ukraine! No more British arming and training Ukrainian fascist Banderites! Protest in London, opposite Downing Street, Whitehall, Saturday 16 September 2pm Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelensky meeting leading Ukrainian fascist, Andriy Biletsky, 14 August 2023 In the past 20 years Britain has joined wars, regime changes and covert interventions which have brought death, destruction and chaos around the world, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Belarus. Today the British ruling class is virtually at war with Russia in Ukraine, while desperately trying to organise subversion in Russia and Belarus. Britain has worked with reactionary Islamic terrorists around the world, and with resurgent fascists in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic States to further its imperialist aims. British weapons are being used by the openly Nazi Azov regiment, (See: Ukraine Neo-Nazis pictured with UK-made rocket launchers, Declassified UK, 10 March 2022), while on the eve of Ukraine’s major offensive against the Donbas republics on 17 February 2022 the UK military were training Ukraine’s National Guard, which includes a thousand-strong neo-Nazi unit, (See: UK Commanders in Ukraine met Neo-Nazi linked National Guard to ‘Deepen military cooperation’, Declassified UK, 15 February 2022). Boris Johnson himself led the way to sabotage the Istanbul peace agreement in April 2022, which we now know was very close to completion. Now Britain is coming under attack even in Kiev for sabotaging the talks, considering the enormous losses Ukrainians have suffered for effectively fighting on NATO’s behalf. According to Tony Brenton, former UK ambassador to Moscow, Britain is the most aggressive of all the NATO members in Ukraine. He told BBC Radio 4 in May: “We have more special forces in Ukraine than any other NATO country. We are seen as an absolute hawk up there with the Poles and the Baltic states.” Vlodymyr Zelensky’s Jewish heritage has not prevented him from allying with the fascist, Banderite gangs in Ukraine. On 14 August he posted a video on his Telegram channel showing him meeting Ukraine’s top neo-Nazi Andriy Biletsky, founder of the Azov Battalion and the Hitler-worshipping Right Sector. (“Zelensky holds court with Ukraine’s most notorious neo-Nazi”, The Grayzone, 16 August 2023). Biletsky famously declared in 2010 that the Ukrainian nation’s mission was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen [subhumans]”. Now he claims not to be a fascist, and that this quote was fabricated – conveniently for Kiev’s NATO backers! Video report of demonstration London 16/9/2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL4oVRlCk7I

Members of the Socialist Labour Party are activists in Trades Councils across the Britain including Scotland, Yorkshire, Midlands and Cornwall. Christopher Butler is involved with Bradford and Shipley Trades’ Council and is drawing attention to a resolution proposed by the POA Union to give greater recognistion to Trades’ Councils drawing attention to their significant contribution to communities in Britain. Across the years they have shown the importance of Socialism in action. As the article says “their time has come”!

A protest was held in Birmingham outside the India High Commission on 9th August 2023 against state-sponsored violence in Manipur, India, and outrageous assault on women. Members of the West Midlands Socialist Labour Party attended the protest in solidarity with Indian Comrades and the Indian Workers’ Association who organised the event. A number, including the President and Secretary are long standing SLP members. John Tyrrell, SLP President, 11/8/2023

This week the U.K. Government announced a “nuclear renaissance” with the promise of a succession of small nuclear at sites across the U.K. Grant Shaps believes idenifiying sites will be easy. Last year the Guardian reported that the “UK’s nuclear waste cleanup operation could cost £260bn” on existing installations. Much of this is accounted for on one site, Sellafield (Windscale) “one of the most hazardous sites in the world” according to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which the Government has itself set up to address an escalating problem. The concerns surrounding various alternatives of energy supply have long debated, with particular fears of repetition the experience of global effects of nuclear “accidents”, not least Sellafield. Arthur Scargill was invited to speak to the Trade and Industry Committee in Parliament on 10th December, 1998. (See https://youtu.be/_8wNKLkszBA) Arthur Scargill foretold the situation that has now materialised including the still hidden cost in decommissioning existing sites which are escalating expontentially as the figures below indicate. Similarly the energy crisis emerging needs a look at alternative sources of energy when some are ruled out. With the possibilities of developing carbon capture technology exist, but ruled out because of cost, there is a need to revisit. Whereas it was considered uneconomic prices in Europe of products developed have risen to a level where that is no longer the case. Figures are shown in extracts from Wikipedia with links given to entries giving information in some detail. Excerpt from Wikipedia entry re decommissioning nuclear installations ending after ending their productive life and costs of maintaining safety in the event of faults arising: Sellafield accounts for most of the decommissioning cost and increase in cost. Its share (discounted, including Calder Hall and Windscale; excluding Capenhurst) increased from 21.9 billion (65%) in 2007[29] to 97.0 billion (82%) in 2019.[31] In 2013, the UK Government Public Accounts Committee issued a critical report stating that NMP had failed to reduce costs and delays. Between 2005 and 2013, the annual costs of operating Sellafield had increased from £900 million to about £1.6 billion. The estimated lifetime undiscounted cost of dealing with the Sellafield site increased to £67.5 billion.[32][33][34] NMP management was forced to apologise after projected clean-up costs passed the £70 billion mark in late 2013.[35] In 2014, the final undiscounted decommissioning cost projection for Sellafield was increased to £79.1 billion,[36] and in 2015 to £117.4 billion.[28] The annual operating cost was projected to be £2 billion in 2016.[37] In 2018, it was revealed that the cost could be £121 billion by 2120.[5] The cost does not include the costs for future geological disposal (GDF). These include research, design, construction, operation and closure. The undiscounted lifetime costs for a GDF were estimated £12.2 billion in 2008. The NDA’s share of this is £10.1 billion, which results in a discounted amount of about £3.4 billion.[2 A further Wikipedia article (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage ) discusses carbon capture and storage arising from the use of fossil fuels and associated costs. Whilst Scargill’s fears concerning the closure of of productive and cost effective British pits have been realised, imports and of costly and greatly inferior coal in terms of pollution are continuing: “Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and CCS are sometimes discussed collectively as “carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration” (CCUS). This is because CCS is a relatively expensive process yielding a product which is often too cheap.[9] Hence, carbon capture makes economically more sense where the carbon price is high enough, such as in much of Europe,[5] or when combined with a utilization process where the cheap CO2 can be used to produce high-value chemicals to offset the high costs of capture operations.[10] Storage of the CO2 is either in deep geological formations, or in the form of mineral carbonates. Pyrogenic carbon capture and storage (PyCCS) is also being researched.[11] Geological formations are currently considered the most promising sequestration sites. The US National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) reported that North America has enough storage capacity for more than 900 years worth of CO2 at current production rates.[12] A general problem is that long-term predictions about submarine or underground storage security are very difficult and uncertain, and there is still the risk that some CO2 might leak into the atmosphere.[13][14][15] Despite this, a recent evaluation estimates the risk of substantial leakage to be fairly low.[16][17][when?]” Points mad by Scagill in 1998 were accepted then. They need to be re-evaluated in the context of today’s realities. Socialist Labour Party 19/7/2023