Trump on the ropes...

The American mid-term elections were a slap in the face for Donald Trump. His Republican party was hammered from coast to coast by the resurgent Democrats who gave the Republicans a kicking in states the “Grand Old Party” like Kansas and Texas thought they once owned.
Millions of working people throughout the USA rallied to the Democrats at the polls. They now have the majority in both Houses of Congress in Washington. They can now halt the Trump offensive against bourgeois democracy and civil rights in the United States. They could reverse some of his worst excesses and curb his Gestapo – the ICE militia that has led the brutal campaign against immigrants and ethnic minorities over the past two years. They might even be able to rein in Trump’s hands over foreign policy to prevent future provocations in the Middle East that could easily trigger a third world war.
On the American communist street Trump’s defeat was universally welcomed. But opinion is divided between those who see this as a historic victory over reactionary forces whose hidden agenda was oligarchy and others who say the battle has only just begun. Though social-democratic elements have come to the fore in the Democratic Party’s ranks the party is essentially still just a bourgeois liberal front whose leaders have consistently supported their own version of the “new world order” for the 21st century.
While the Democrats rejoice in the Republican camp the blame game begins. Donald Trump is top of the list. The man who started the Iran war that has sent oil prices soaring triggering a cost-of-living crisis for millions upon millions of working people in America.
 J D Vance, the vice-president who sees himself as the heir to the throne, is openly distancing himself from Trump’s disastrous war with Iran. In the Vance camp there’s talk of a senile Trump being manipulated by the Israeli leader, Netanyahu, into a war the United States cannot win. But that’s just an alibi for the American oligarchs who pull Trump’s strings. It’s ludicrous to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Zionist leader who cannot even successfully rig his own re-election in Israel, could exert such influence over the President of the United States. Netanyahu clearly egged Trump on with false rumours and bad advice – something Israeli intelligence is known for throughout the Middle East. But the tail doesn’t wag the dog. Israel is a total dependency of the United States that does, and always has done, Washington’s bidding since the 1950s. Trump is, of course, the fall guy. The guilty men are the representatives of the vested interests in the United States that propelled Trump into the White House and led the drive to war in the Middle East. 
 
 

No surprises then…

A mediocre Budget. A few crumbs for the poor. A few pennies more on the minimum wage. Scrapping import taxes on token products like gherkins and marmalade. Ten billion pounds-worth of economic and military support for the puppet regime in Ukraine. Is this what the Burnham bounce is all about?
Sure –  no one’s going to complain about scrapping standing charges for gas or the £100 rebate to help those on lower council tax bands cope with the cost of heating.  The removal of standing charges from household gas bills and the extension of the cut in VAT to July 2027 was welcome news but at the end of the day it will barely off-set the energy price hikes that we can expect this winter as the crisis in the Persian Gulf continues with no perceivable end in sight.
Some say we should be thankful for small mercies. We got nothing out of Starmer. And it would be much worse under the Tories or the Faragists. All indeed true. But it’s still crumbs from the rich man’s table and Burnham needs to do much, much more if he wants to see Labour stay in power at the next election.
That will only happen if there’s mass pressure from the labour movement to build the fight-back to make the rich pay for the crisis of their own creation. Yes, the union bureaucrats speak out now and then against austerity but they’re never going to lead a mass movement for real change unless they’re forced to by the rank-and-file. They talk about pay scales and minimum wages but the only way to get social justice on the pay front is to abolish all the repressive anti-union laws imposed on the labour movement since 1979 and restore the free collective bargaining we once enjoyed in the 1970s.
They talk about public control – but we must campaign for public ownership – the renationalisation of the entire public sector Britain once had in the post-war era – so that we can maintain and expand the health service and the benefits system and restore the welfare state. 
They even talk about rebuilding the country’s manufacturing base – a laudable aim but an immense task that can only be undertaken through central planning and massive state intervention. But, of course it can be done in a country as wealthy as the United Kingdom.
As for costs – well the rich can pay. They can afford it. They’ve had plenty of tax breaks since 1979. Restoring tax rates to the levels set in the 1970s would be a start...

  

A French lesson

 If anyone had any doubts about leaving the European Union a brief glance at the European news from France would soon put them straight. Million-strong student-led protests; rampaging riot police; tear gas and stun grenades; looting; cars and buildings torched; curfews and talk of a state of emergency and martial law.  Now it’s spreading to Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal as workers join students campaigning for an end to the dismal regimes of their schools and colleges to demand an end to bread-line wages and austerity.
This is the European Union that the Remainers say millions of young people in the UK was to rejoin. This is the Common Market they say is the answer to all our woes. It may be for the British bourgeoisie – but it’s not for us. Nor is it for the millions upon millions of European workers who are now taking to the streets in mass protests against the whole capitalist system that the EU upholds.
The French ruling class and the Brussels bureaucrats often say that anger on the street is largely down to anti-immigrant feelings stoked up by far-right racist and fascist movements while painting the current protests as the work of deranged communist and anarchist “agitators”. But it’s austerity that has crippled the education system and it’s the cost-of-living crisis that’s inflamed working people. 
The Remainers are preparing the ground for returning to the European fold. All sorts of nonsense is being peddled about the European Union not least from the union bureaucrats who sold out to Brussels a long, long time ago. 
The Remainers say Brexit has failed. But it was never tried. The Tory Brexiteers didn’t want the independent free trade opportunities that leaving the EU provided. They didn’t want more trade with China or the rest of the Global South. They only wanted to swap the Treaty of Rome with a “Treaty of Washington” to create a “North Atlantic Free Trade Area” that only existed in their dreams. 
There were many good reasons for leaving the European Union. It’s a common  market for the capitalist class to help them better exploit the working people of Europe. The “social contract” the social-democrats say justifies membership is a farce – a cover to abolish free collective bargaining and incorporate careerists and opportunists into the European bourgeois consensus.
Unfortunately the Brexit case has largely been left to the enemies of the working class – the Faragists and the racist gangs that strut around the south coast in their Black Shorts pretending to hunt “bogus asylum seekers”. 
There are very good reasons for staying out of the European Union. It isn’t a social-democratic haven. It’s not some sort of proto-world government. It’s just a capitalist club. When the going is good the workers get some crumbs. When it get’s tough out comes the mailed fist… 

Donbas communists fight for freedom!

Last week members of International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) interviewed Boris Litvinov, secretary of the Donetsk branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and Tatiana Desyatova of the CPRF Moscow Interbrigade.

How is the work of the Donetsk CPRF progressing?

The CPRF’s work continues in the Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, including participating in elections. We discuss improving the party’s structure and its integration into the electoral system. Many young people and students, including those who are fighting on the front line, and people over 40 with memories of the Soviet Union, are joining. Many people working in science and education have realised that the communist ideology is correct, and that they were deceived over the past 25 years. This was shown in the recent Duma elections. These groups – young people, scientists and people fighting on the front line, realise that ours is the only ideology which fully explains the situation they find themselves in today.

Does Europe want an endless war in Ukraine?

Yes, Britain France and Germany want to prolong the war against Russia for as long as possible. Their leaders have openly declared that they will be able to fight Russia in 2029-30, and they have just allocated $90 billion to prepare the military and material base in Ukraine. The plan is for Ukraine to weaken Russia, after which the European NATO states will be ready to continue the war.
Their leaders said openly after the Minsk peace talks that they were prolonging the talks to build up military support for Ukraine. Then during the Istanbul peace talks, Boris Johnson declared that Ukraine must go on fighting, if necessary to the last Ukrainian soldier.
At the recent Valdai Discussion Club Putin stated that Russia has no intention and no interest in attacking any other country. Many countries and people around the world are suffering from the sanctions on Russia and now the USA is planning secondary sanctions to punish any country which trades with Russia. The NATO states are now instigating extremely dangerous provocations. Finland has now suggested closing the Gulf of Finland to Russian shipping, through which 50-60 per cent of Russian oil and gas is exported. Putin has also warned that if NATO attempts to blockade the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, Russia will respond with “the most serious weapons”. We remind you of the phrase “don’t wake the Russian bear” – if you force him out of the forest, you will live to regret it.

How are conditions in Donetsk province?

During the past 12 years people have got used to war. The most difficult problem at the moment is water. Ukraine has targeted and destroyed the water system, and we only get tap water once every three days, for sanitation, not for drinking. Two large power stations have also been attacked so that when there is water the electricity goes off. But people are used to these problems.
In the last few months the drone attacks have stepped up – often 30 every night. When they approach it is very stressful for everyone and it is very easy to mistake other sounds for drones. And of course all these drones are supplied by NATO countries.
There is enough food – vegetables, meat etc – and the transport system is working, but sometimes there are problems with petrol. One of the biggest problems is the roads. The Russian government has built many new roads but Ukrainian drones are now chasing vehicles on the roads – buses, cars and ambulances – so drivers are recommended to drive at 75 miles an hour.

What is your opinion on the recent arrests of CPRF activists in Moscow?

All other parties, religious groups etc are able to hold large public events, but 60 people were arrested at a CPRF rally. For us such restrictions aren’t new, we’ve experienced them for several years, so these arrests didn’t come as a surprise. In our opinion United Russia (the ruling party) is not actually a political party, it is actually a group of people with no ideology, membership or structure. For us, the final aim is communism. For them the final aim is capitalism, the interests of the oligarchy, and increasingly the international oligarchy. But they can’t openly state their true aims. Young people working in science and education can’t see their future with United Russia. However, many people have been influenced by anti-communist propaganda and the mass media, or simply prefer to do nothing, to sit on a sofa drinking beer.

How important are international connections with Donetsk? 

We regard international relations, such as with the New Communist Party of Britain, as extremely important. These parties are able to make genuine information about Ukraine available to a Western audience. International delegations are also important as they are able to see the situation in Donetsk with their own eyes, and we regard them as very welcome visitors.

What can we in the imperialist countries do?

This is very simple. In 1918-20 when Soviet Russia was attacked, workers around the world heard the message - “we want peace, not war”. We suffered the loss of millions of people in both the first and second world wars. We don’t want to attack anybody. We want to to develop trade and international relations, but unfortunately we have been attacked by NATO. We would like a return to 1991, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, and we don’t want any NATO countries on our border.

How will Donetsk be rebuilt in the future?

We regard education as one of the important foundations for the future. The question of retaining young people is not unique to Donetsk, but the effects of war make the problem considerably more difficult. We are also worried about the growth of fee-paying higher education providers. We don’t accept that access to high-quality education should depend on peoples’ ability to pay. So it’s not simply about physical reconstruction, we need to provide young people with a perspective for the future, and this relates to questions about capitalism and socialism, and the social and economic direction that Russia and the Donbas should take in the years ahead.

Gunning for the Greens

The Palestine National Charter, drawn up in 1964 said that “Zionism is a colonialist movement in its inception, aggressive and expansionist in its goal, racist in its configurations, and fascist in its means and aims. Israel, in its capacity as the spearhead of this destructive movement and as the pillar of colonialism, is a permanent source of tension and turmoil in the Middle East, in particular, and to the international community in general. Because of this, the people of Palestine are worthy of the support and sustenance of the community of nations”.
During the Brezhnev era Zionism was defined by the Soviet Union as the reactionary ideology of the "big Jewish bourgeoisie". In 1975 the UN General Assembly determined that “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination" – a position supported by the USSR and People’s China and upheld by the world forum until 1991.
Now the Zionists are out to get the Greens following the Green conference’s binding “Zionism is racism” resolution that also stressed the ecological party’s commitment to Palestinian liberation and their right of return, the boycott campaign and a full arms embargo against Israel. Green leader Zack Polanski has been branded a “self-hating Jew” by Zionists demanding his resignation while their Labour lobby works to split the Greens at a national and local government level. Labour councillors have been told to end all power-sharing agreements with Green partners who do not condemn the party’s new “Zionism is racism” policy which Andy Burnham calls “antisemitic”. 
We saw the Zionists in action when Jeremy Corbyn was at the helm. Sadly the Corbynistas caved in to Zionist pressure. Long-standing Labour activists were hounded out and eventually even Corbyn was driven out of the party he once led. The Greens, however, are putting up a fight.
“For the Labour government to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism is disappointing and wrong” they say. “Trying to tell local parties what to do and who they can work with is undemocratic. Whilst Labour continue to try to meddle in our internal democracy, arm a genocide and lock up protesting pensioners, we will not take lectures from them”.
The Greens are a liberal-bourgeois party that voices the demands of disaffected members of the middle strata. But on this issue they deserve the full support of our class for taking the principled stand on Palestine and Zionism.
Back in 1903, Lenin described the Zionist idea as "absolutely false and essentially reactionary". He was right then and he’s right now. 

Tales of ancient Rome

by Ben Soton

Agrippa by Robert Harris, Cornerstone / Hutchinson Heinemann, London 2026, 384 pp, rrp Hbk £22.00, pbk £9.99

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa is one of history’s lesser-known figures.  He appears William Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra was well as in Robert Graves’ I Claudius.  He was the grandfather of Caligula, played by John Hurt, in the television adaptation of I Claudius.  Agrippa played a pivotal role in the last years of the Roman Republic and its transition to Empire.  The right-hand man of Octavian, who later renamed himself Augustus (meaning majestic or venerable) who is regarded as the first Roman Emperor.  He is now the subject of Robert Harris’ latest novel.  And it takes the form of the memoirs of an older Agrippa looking back on his life.  
Harris has written extensively on this period; most notably the Cicero Trilogy – Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator.  Agrippa starts at the end of this period with the assassination of Julius Caesar.  It covers the power struggle between Augustus and Mark Anthony to become Caesar’s successor; as well as covering the early years of Augustus’ rule.
For centuries Rome had been ruled by the nobility, the patrician class, who dominated around the Senate. The Senate disliked the idea of a king, having removed their last one, Tarquinius Superbus in 509 BC.  The republic that followed was noted for its conflict between the Patricians and the Plebians, a class of freeman who owned little property.  As Rome expanded from a city state into an empire controlling large parts of the Mediterranean, the plebians, the backbone of the Roman army, demanded a greater share of its wealth and land.  As a means of circumventing class struggle the Roman general, Julius Caesar, took up the plebian’ demand for greater land ownership and attempted to establish himself as dictator.  Caesar’s role was to balance class interests rather than overthrow the Senate; in effect saving the patricians from themselves.  After Caesar was murdered by the Senate in 55 BC, the question was who would take his place.  His adopted son Augustus or his close friend and military ally Mark Anthony.   
With Mark Anthony and his consort, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, defeated at the battle of Actium Augustus was the undisputed victor.  In 27 BC the Roman Senate awarded him a number of tiles including Princeps, meaning First Citizen, and Imperator, giving him control of the Roman Army.  Strictly speaking the title Emperor is just a generic term for the holder of these posts; with all of Augustus’ successors ruling on behalf of the Senate.  They used initials SPQR, meaning The Senate and the People of Rome.       
According to Harris, Augustus’ success is almost entirely down the military and practical skills of Agrippa.  The author paints Augustus, who had little miliary experience as venal, thin-skinned and often in poor health.  For instance Augustus’ victory over Mark Anthony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium was entirely down to Agrippa.  Meanwhile in the years after his triumph Augustus is continually calling Agrippa to run the empire.  In later years Augustus’ wife Livia becomes increasingly important; she I determined to see her son Tiberius, by a previous marriage succeed Augustus.    
The novel includes detailed accounts of battles and feats of engineering that Agrippa was responsible for.  As well as defeating Mark Anthony and other rivals Agrippa is also known for the construction of the temple of the Pantheon and improvements to Rome’s water supply.   The author states that administrators and engineers were often over-looked in Roman history.  This fits in with Harris’ technocratic, Blairite view of the world; he fails to point out that the most overlooked people in history are the slaves, workers and artisans whose labour built the city that was the hub of an empire that spanned three continents as well as all the Wonders of the Ancient World!

         

Joint statement on Cuba

Memorandum of Understanding For The  Combined European & North American Support of  Cuba

The parties in support of this Memorandum recognise and condemn the illegal actions taken 
by the United States of America in regards to the blockade of Cuba and the occupation of 
Guantanamo Bay. The blatant disregard for the sovereignty of Cuba is the manifestation of 
the fear the bourgeoisie, notably the ruling class of the United States as a world superpower, 
holds in regards to the resilience and successes of the socialist project in Cuba. The 
Communist Party of Cuba has shown inspiring resolve against the warmongering capitalist 
menace to its north that is hellbent on the oppression of the Cuban people under their 
despotic empire. Communist parties across Europe and North America signing this 
Memorandum staunchly believe that the truest antidote to imperialism is every nation’s right 
to self-determination and Cuba deserves no less in its pursuit of achieving Communism as 
defined by the people of Cuba and their Communist Party. 
The global movement of Communism must be steadfast and organised in its efforts to 
support the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban people as they valiantly stand up to 
imperialist aggression. The signing parties of this memorandum signify their intent to:

1. Respect and champion the needs and wishes of the people and nation of Cuba. 
2. Commit to the education of their party/organisation members on Cuba's history, 
current events and relevant political theory. 
3. Pressure their respective government to vote in the United Nations to: 
a.  End the United States of America’s illegal blockade of Cuba. 
b. And end the illegal occupation of Guantanamo Bay, returning it to the Cuban 
government and recognise Guantanamo Bay as sovereign Cuban land. 
4. Commit to the creation and support of national protests in support of Cuba. 
5. Promote organised visits to Cuba in order to support the nation. 
6. Organise the logistics of humanitarian aid from Europe and North America 
collectively and by directive of the Cuban government. 
7. Challenge and campaign against the extraterritorial application of laws and sanctions 
from the United States of America on Cuba by financial and banking institutions in 
Europe, so that donations and monetary aid can be sent to Cuba from any nation. 

Signing parties: 

● Italian Communist Party (PCI) 

● The Federation of Young Italian Communists (FGCI) 

● Communist Party (Italy) 

● Communist Youth Federation (Italy) 

● Danish Communist Party 

● Left Party - Политичка Партија Левица (Macedonia)

● Hungarian Workers Party 

● New Communist Party of Britain

● League of Communist Youth (Belarus)  

● Kommunistesch Partei vu Lëtzebuerg  (Luxemburg)

● Communist party of Finland 

● Partito della Rifondazione Comunista - Sinistra Europea 

● German Communist Party 

● Partidul Socialist Român 

● Communist Party of Canada 

● Communist party of Bohemia and Moravia 

When the hurly-burly's done…

 So the battle of Holborn & St Pancras is over. Labour held the seat. The Greens did well and George Galloway’s intervention was a dismal failure. At the end of the day nothing surprised us. Labour was always the bookies’ favourite. Though their candidate was the lack-lustre leader of the local council Sagal Abdi-Wali clearly benefited from the “Burnham bounce” that has revived Labour’s fortunes across the country. She also had the full support of the Starmerite machine built up over the years when the former premier held the seat as well as the Blairite gang in the House of Commons who joined the local canvassing teams to get the traditional Labour vote out on the day. And on that day Labour held the seat with a comfortable majority – 13 points ahead of the nearest contender, the Green leader Zack Polanski.   The Greens, who were backed by the local Corbynistas, had high hopes. Some call them  “Tories on bikes” which is, perhaps, unfair as they are actually a liberal bourgeois trend that has largely sprung from the Liberal-Democrat milieu. In fact Polanski’s political career began when he joined the Liberal Democrats in 2015.
In practice they have little to offer working people. Like the Liberal-Democrats they echo the social demands of the middle strata but they have little to offer working people beyond the usual platitudes these politicians routinely churn out at election time to get the vote. They trumpet their support for the Palestinians. They pose as social-democrats. They take their campaign, led by their flamboyant leader, to the streets. They secured a 22.4 per cent swing in their favour on Thursday. But it wasn’t enough to beat Labour.
The Corbynistas, in the form of the Camden People’s Alliance, backed Polanski. But George Galloway did not. The maverick former Labour MP who now leads the Workers Party of Britain from self-imposed exile in China and the Russian Federation, fought a “remote” spoiler campaign against the Greens that would continue “unless the Greens make an offer we can't refuse". Though Galloway did not return to our shores to fight his corner his followers took up his call. But to no avail. Galloway got no more than a protest vote – 314 to be precise –  that the also-rans fight over in these sorts of polls.
Count Binface was on holiday but the Loonies fielded Barmy Brunch, the man who wears a baked-bean balaclava, who got 87 votes. And we can all take comfort from the fact that the misnamed “Communist League” – a former Trotskyist sect that now rabidly supports the Zionist entity got nine... 

Brussels bound

Like St Paul Andy Burnham is “all things to all men”. The Apostle was slowly making his way to Rome. Burnham, on the other hand, is on the road to Brussels and he’s clearly not sparing the horses. Those around him echo the talk of “resets” and “realignments” while Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, calls on Labour to take urgent action to rejoin the European customs union and pledge to return to the European Union without a second referendum if it wins the next election.
While most of the union bureaucrats are Remainers Labour’s ranks in parliament are more cautious. Hostility to the Common Market amongst their traditional community – that lost them the northern “Red Belt” at the last election – still has to be overcome. Reform UK has been rocked by funding scandals. Farage is down – but he’s still not out.  And the terms for Britain’s return to the EU that would resolve the problem of the asylum-seeking “boat people” have still to be settled. 
Within the ruling class the Brexiteers are in retreat. The dream of a trans-Atlantic free trade area has come to nothing. The US Democrats didn’t want to replace the Treaty of Rome with a ‘Treaty of Washington’ and it’s never going to happen under Trump or whoever takes his place when he goes. Closing ranks with Franco-German imperialism to counter Trump’s tariffs seems a better bet these days – and France and Germany’s current weakness can only serve the British interest should the UK sign up to the Treaty of Rome. If Canada joins even better. That just leaves the parliamentary opposition from the Tory Brexiteers, Reform UK and Restore Britain to be overcome along with the rag-bag of street gangs that use immigration to promote their racist and fascist agendas.
Labour’s overwhelming majority in the House of Commons and the guaranteed support of the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland mean that Parliament could agree to rejoin the European Union any time it wanted. But it would be political suicide given that public opinion is still evenly divided on the issue.
Changing the public mood is now top of the list on the Remainers’ agenda.
They’ll go for Nigel Farage first using the investigation into his dubious benefactors to try and drive him out of Parliament altogether. Dealing with the “Black Shorts” and all the other rubbish will be no problem for the police. Rejoiner arguments will be reduced to claims that it will once again allow ex-pats to return to care-free lives on the Spanish coast and give tourists delay-free travel into and across Europe. 
They’ll move once Labour has a clear lead over Reform in the opinion polls. Once again we’ll be told that new golden age beckons. Sadly Lexit, the left argument against the European Union never got off the ground. The alternative is the EU with its austerity regime, the highest food prices in the world, ham-strung unions and mass unemployment. Another Europe is indeed possible –  but it’s certainly not the European Union.