The dramatic deadlock in the UK over Brexit is a spectacular expression of a broken political system. Our existing form of democracy is simply incapable of representing the diverse interests of the people, whichever way they voted in the 2016 referendum. Read more
Boo the gig economy
Several hundred precarious workers and supporters marched behind the banner of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) in a united protest action at London’s High Court on Tuesday.
Call time on neoliberal-driven climate disaster
Only a not-for-profit economy can enable the urgently-needed, rapid transition from a society dependent on extracting and burning fossil fuels to one founded upon collective stewardship of the planet’s valuable resources. Read more
Oceania celebrating
Oceania at London’s Royal Academy has opened at a time when efforts by indigenous, native and first peoples to decolonise their cultures have reached a high pitch. With this astounding display of Pacific island art and culture it is possible, perhaps for the first time, to begin to appreciate their achievements. Read more…
Unblocking the pawn
As London grows and grows and grows, once familiar nooks and crannies in the centre where poetry could flourish have been ousted by property developers. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that talented and enterprising individuals like the organisers of Beyond Words have created sources of wonder and cultural solace in what for some may seem a cultural desert. Read more…
Fracking is the failure of democracy – so say today’s Suffragettes
Several hundred women from around the country took up the call of the Women of Lancashire to demonstrate in Parliament Square on Wednesday.
Dressed in white costumes with suffragette sashes, they raised their voices demanding an end to fracking. Read more…
Videogaming – the good, the bad and the ugly
If you thought global corporations just sold stuff like trainers or phones, think again. China-based Tencent is the world’s biggest Internet-related products company with a market value of US$850 billion, making it the largest enterprise in Asia. The phenomenon of online videogaming is key to its success. Read more…
Brexit crisis: beware threat of a national government
Brexit as seen by Banksy
A deepening, unpredictable political and constitutional crisis sparked by Brexit could have far-reaching consequences before the year is out. Some commentators have suggested that it is the biggest political challenge facing the ruling elites since the General Strike of 1926. Read more
The politics of seeing – the haunting work of Dorothea Lange
In the age of Instagram we are all photographers. And the way we see the world has been transformed by other photographers past and present.
Dorothea Lange must be counted amongst those who expanded our understanding of how economic and political change – and the state – have affected countless people. Read more…
No “hostile environment” in Glasgow
Suddenly, and in the face of big community opposition, an attempt is being made to make Glasgow a hostile environment for migrants. Read more…
Death penalty or the Treason Act: both are wrong
The UK government’s decision to waive objection to the death penalty in the case of two Islamic State fighters facing trial in the US led to calls for a revival of the Treason Act of 1315. Edward Winters looks at the morality of the death sentence and why restoring the Treason Act would be dangerous. Read more
Tories ignore global heatwave and give backing for fracking
In the midst of the global heatwave, energy minister Claire Perry’s approval of the first UK fracking licence under its new, more permissive regulatory regime reveals more of the real, corporate power behind the government. Read more
The Modernist future, interrupted
New Art in Turbulent Times is an exquisite presentation of the achievements of Katarzyna Kobro and Wladyslaw Strzemiński. Malmö’s Moderna Museet is staging a must-see show about Modernism. It brings to life two little-known Polish artists whose ideas and life were shaped by revolution and its aftermath.
Read more …
First steps taken in scenario-planning to defend a Corbyn government
As the Tory government staggers from pillar to post, split many ways over Brexit, the prospect of a Jeremy Corbyn-led government becomes more real by the day. That’s why making preparations now for the attacks it would inevitably face is critical. Significant progress was made at our recent scenario-planning day where an open and participative discussion examined a variety of threats and possible solutions. It began with a message from shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Read more …
NHS needs a strong dose of democracy for its 70th birthday
The National Health Service remains the greatest achievement in the ongoing struggle for social justice in Britain and the best way to mark its 70th birthday is to move forward into a new era of democratic control and accountability.
Read more…
Everything you wanted to know about neoliberalism but were afraid to ask
A profound crisis is threatening humanity. Democratic politics is being driven out by authoritarian populism in country after country. The planet’s fragile ecosystem is under unprecedented assault as a result of profit-seeking overproduction. International conflict looms more threateningly than at any time since the 1930s. Last, but not least, the global economic system has been undermined by financial speculation and slowing growth, says the introduction to Time’s Up for Neoliberalism. Read more
Trade unions at the crossroads as TUC marks 150th birthday
In June 1868, trade unions in Britain came together to launch a combined organisation. As the TUC — Trades Union Congress — celebrates its 150th birthday, the movement faces, arguably, its biggest battle for survival. Peter Arkell reports. Read more
A one-state policy is route to peaceful solution for Palestinians and Israelis – RDM statement
The RDM and its supporters condemn the criminal actions of the Israeli government with regards to the violent, unprovoked response to peaceful Palestinian protesters taking part in the Great March of Return on the Gaza/Israel border.
A victim of the Israeli army’s brutal response to the Great March of Return
We also condemn the complicity of the UK government in failing to acknowledge the Israeli government’s persistent violations of international law and the export of arms to the Israeli armed forces.
We affirm our support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and ask RDM supporters to find ways to support it. The Palestinian people, who on May 15 mark the 70th anniversary of the Nakba – when 700,000 had to flee or were expelled from their lands – cannot win their rights and a future on their own. They need global solidarity.
We also send our support to the six Israeli human rights organisations currently taking court action challenging the shoot-to-kill policy of the Israeli Defence Force. A small but growing number of Israeli teenagers are refusing to join the IDF for their national service and their stand gives hope for the future.
We salute the heroism of those Palestinians taking part in the Great March of Return. It is clear that a fresh approach is needed, for the two-state policy has collapsed. President Donald Trump has put the final nail in its coffin with his illegitimate recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
We support the courageous one-state campaigners inside Israel – and others who campaign for this policy – as the only route to a peaceful solution where Palestinian and Israeli people of all ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations can live together.
RDM planning group
May 2018
In 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was agreed. But how effective was it? In a process that has now been running for over 25 years, this 2 part article explores how climate change was kicked into the long grass by the rising tide of neoliberal expansion.
In the beginning was the mark
Frances Aviva Blane has been included in 60 out of 2,700 applicants as an exhibiting artist in this year’s John Moores Painting Prize, the UK’s best-known painting competition. The exhibition, a key strand of the Liverpool Biennial, will be at the Walker Art Gallery from July to November 2018. Read more
After Carillion, what is the private sector for? Good question!
The collapse of Carillion, which made its money by sucking resources out of the public sector, begs the question: What use to society is the private sector of capitalism, when all is said and done? Read more
How the 1% protect their wealth at our expense
Have you heard of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)? Thought not. Here’s the inside story about how STEP members make sure the 1% stay wealthy and pay nominal amounts of tax. Read more
Bitcoin fever could spark new crash
Nine years after Bitcoin’s launch, economy watchers are anxiously studying the markets and scouring each new official report for signs of the next crash. The Bitcoin-bubble hysteria could well prove to be one. Not if, but when. Read more
Achieving Catalonia’s right to self-determination
We should support not just the right to self-determination but the independence of Catalonia itself. Achieving this would be a blow against the centralising Spanish state and for democracy everywhere. Read more
Why we need a governing legislative framework at the heart of a new written constitution
What I argue for is a governing legislative framework that forms the heart of a new written constitution, one that incorporates basic principles of environmental, social and economic justice. Read more
Demand the release of Catalan political prisoners
We have sent the following message to 10 Catalan political prisoners held on remand in prison in Madrid while they await trial on spurious charges related to the referendum held on self-determination.
The Real Democracy Movement planning group supports the people of Catalonia in their desire for democracy and self-determination. We condemn the Spanish state’s violent treatment of voters, the closure of Catalonia’s Parliament and the jailing of Catalan political leaders as a blatant attack on democracy.
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