Opposing Racism and Fascism

The anti-fascist Stand Up to Racism campaign is calling on the labour movement to rally against the anti-immigrant hysteria over asylum-seekers that has been whipped up in the bourgeois media and on the streets by the Faragists and right-wing extremists in recent days. 

There’s no doubt that the High Court’s decision, that asylum-seekers must be removed from the Bell Hotel in Epping, was a  “terrible concession to racist protests organised by fascists” while Reform UK’s call for the mass deportation of asylum seekers, which Nigel Farage says is needed to prevent “major civil disorder” has already created a climate of fear in some parts of the country where people no longer feel safe on the street for fear of racist violence.
Silly season opinion polls put Reform ahead of Labour. Some suggest that the Faragists will win over 70 seats at the next general election. Others that Reform will get well into three figures to become the biggest single party in the House of Commons. That, of course, is still in the lap of the gods. Nevertheless Reform does have five MPs, over 70 councillors and 200,000 members and cannot be ignored.
The ruling class is not inherently racist but has always used racism to divide and weaken the working class. When any worker suffers abuse or discrimination because of their race, religion, gender, sexuality or for any other reason, the class as a whole is weakened and it is the responsibility of the whole class to combat racism and all other divisions of the class.
Reform campaigns against housing asylum seekers in UK hotels. But the problem
goes back to 2002 when the  “New Labour” government banned asylum-seekers from paid employment, which would have allowed them the resources to seek their own housing rather than depending on the state for shelter and care. Tony Blair’s government argued that allowing asylum seekers to work would make the UK a more attractive place to claim asylum and that asylum issues needed to be kept separate from economic migration.  
The TUC and the anti-racist campaigns want this reversed. We agree and also call for the repeal of the Immigration & Asylum Acts of the 1990s, passed by both Tory and Labour governments, which make it very difficult for many genuine asylum seekers to establish their claims.
Asylum seekers must be treated humanely and their claims dealt with swiftly. While this process takes place they must be given decent accommodation and welfare benefits to survive. No asylum seekers should be locked up unless there is good reason, with evidence, to believe they are criminals. And no child asylum seeker should ever be locked up.
The New Communist Party recognises the need for any sovereign state to set an immigration policy in accordance with its resources. But we firmly oppose any immigration policy that discriminates, either directly or indirectly, on the basis of race, creed, colour or gender.

Wakey, Wakey!

By John Maryon

A humorous exclamation from the 1940s. The catch-phrase of Billy Cotton’s band in the 1950s. A gentle expression softly whispered into the ear of a sleepy recruit by a benevolent Sergeant-Major.  Such a call is needed today and it is the working class that needs to wake up.  To start to think and become aware of the true reality of the modern world. 
It is important to overcome the anaesthetising effects of constant bourgeois propaganda, lies and half truths pushed every day by TV, popular internet sources and newspapers.  All made palatable with a diet that includes bland trivia, affordable alcohol and an excessive dose of big money sport.
The reality is that Britain has a prime minister who is one of the worst warmongers in Europe and the country is heading towards becoming a failed state.  Decades of government incompetence, a lack of long term investment and planning and also an eager role of playing lackey to the USA have all taken their toll.  Faced with irreconcilable contradictions imperialism is in its terminal crisis.  And there can be no doubt that it is the workers who are intended to carry the burdens of it's failure.
Continued austerity, collapsing public services, inflation, a  falling value of wages and benefits, increasing taxation and job losses are the symptoms of the crisis that has created poverty and anxiety in Britain. Ways must be found to make workers aware of their exploitation and the reasons behind it.  To wake up and come to realise that fundamental change is necessary.  Marxist philosophy, enriched and adapted to suit specific conditions, has enabled workers and peasants to achieve real freedom and growing prosperity in many parts of the world.  It has demonstrated that ordinary people from a humble background can reach for the stars.  Socialism has allowed formally down-trodden workers to flourish and reach their full potential without the exploitation of and subjugation to a parasitic elite ruling class.  The guiding principles of Marxism, with adjustments to reflect the history and culture of Britain, can bring socialist values to enable everyone to become masters of their own destiny. 
Socialism made possible Sputnik 1,  put the first man and woman into space and made it possible for the Soviet Union, the world's first workers’ state, to grow into a powerful force for peace. The USSR was able to play a major role in assisting countries break free from colonialism.  Socialism in People's China facilitated the transformation of a poverty-ridden largely peasant society into an industrial powerhouse on a scale that the world has never seen.  Socialism in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has enabled its people, against overwhelming odds, to build a successful modern industrial state. Socialism has given hope to oppressed peoples everywhere. It's what we need in Britain today. 
A cross-party alliance of UK politicians remain in denial about the seriousness of the country’s economic position.  They still exist within a colonial mindset. A Rule Britannia day dream in which they imagine Britain is still all-powerful, remains influential and continues to rule the waves. Any problems are blamed on others, which the media then demonise.  The UK Parliament, which they regard as the 'mother of parliaments' and a model for the world to copy, has become little more than a chamber for the living dead. 
Long gone are the days of stimulating debates resounding in the House as after the shouting the whips then tell anxious members what to vote for. It is no wonder that a majority support keeping the Ukraine tragedy going with no genuine proposals for peace. 
To tackle Britain's economic problems fundamental action for change is required.  Not ineffective half measures or tinkering by social democrats of a system well past its sell by date.  We need decisive action to put forward a real socialist alternative based upon a full Marxist analysis. The New Communist Party of Britain has clear policies for the peaceful, sustainable and stable development of Britain. A number of it's proposals now follows. 

Defence: It is said that the British army now has more horses than working tanks.  If this is the case anyone who wanted to attack the UK would already have done so while a significant response would have been limited to a slow motion charge of the light brigade.  Defence spending serves the military industrial complex creating huge profits for companies and associated warmongers.  Defence spending, £53.9 billion in 2023/24, will increase massively under proposals by Sir Keir Starmer with his commitment to increase the amount to 2.5 per cent of nominal GDP in an obvious attempt to appease Washington.  The NCP's priorities include drastically cutting military expenditure and using the money saved to secure the future of the NHS, investing in Britain's future and  increasing social welfare spending to eliminate poverty.  And importantly to work tirelessly for peace with sincere diplomacy. 

Nationalisation: Old photographs taken in the late 1940s say it all.  Miners are shown standing outside a pit admiring a new sign.  "This Colliery is now managed by the National Coal Board on Behalf of the People".  Winston Churchill, at the onset of World War One, had recognised that for a secure and reliable source of oil without being ripped off he needed to take a majority stake in the Anglo Persian Oil Company.  Full public ownership of energy companies and utilities is still essential today.  While private companies focus on profits to announce at the next AGM, public institutions can look ahead to plan and invest long term for an affordable and secure future.  Privatisation has been a disaster for Britain.  The NCP is fully committed to full democratic public ownership. Not state capitalism in which temporary ownership enables public money to be spent bailing out a failing industry.   We seek worker participation on the governing boards to protect their interests and promote good service above profits.  I believe also that it would be a good idea to establish a National Housing Board to oversee the building of badly needed council houses which could be financed by the issue of government bonds. 

Taxation: It is the working class, the ordinary people, who are being made to carry the can for the failure of capitalism.  Cuts to welfare benefits and vital public services have contributed to growing poverty in Britain today. Young families are turning to foodbanks for support while the elderly fear for their future. Meanwhile the wealthy elite who control our lives are laughing all the way to their tax havens.  The NCP would tax the rich with hard hitting fiscal policies that would redistribute wealth to the workers who with their hands and brains created it. 

In conclusion as capitalism fails it is time for the working class to turn off their televisions and start to think freely for themselves.  To wake up to reality and start to fight back. To organise, become involved, join a trade union and support a genuine political party committed to Socialism based upon Marxist philosophy.  We cannot rely on the Labour Party with its long history of betrayal and class collaboration to achieve success.  Building Socialism requires the vanguard role of a proper Communist Party such as the New Communist Party of Britain with its full commitment to Marxism.  

Arise ye starvelings from your slumbers!

Along the British Road

by Eric Trevett

Some people within the labour Movement argue that the Labour Party is not a party of the working class but a bourgeois party that is is part of the capitalist state machine and that revolutionaries should oppose it in elections.
    We in the New Communist Party believe that these arguments are wrong and an example of good people getting frustrated at the right-wing policies of the Labour Government and anti-working class policies that pave the way for the return of a much more anti-working class government.
    We believe that automatically writing off the whole institution of the Labour Party as a result of the policies of the government arises from a subjective analysis and runs contrary to the efforts to promote working class unity in the day-to-day struggles and in the more profound struggles for revolution and socialism.
    Before the Labour Party was formed the skilled working class tended to give its allegiance to the Liberal Party. When it became obvious that party would not defend the interests of the trade union movement there was a struggle to establish the working class party.
    The socialist parties in those days joined with the trade union leaderships and founded the Labour Party to represent the working class interests in Parliament.
    Most trade union members pay the political levy and are therefore affiliate members of the Labour Party irrespective of whether they are communists or socialists.
    The right wing was also involved in that struggle and from that day to this has been in the ascendancy for most of the time in both the Labour Party and trade union organisations.
    But with all its weaknesses the Labour Party has, from time to time and under pressure from the trade union movement, achieved a number of reforms beneficial to the working class.
    After the First World War in 1919 Clause Four was written into the Labour Party constitution – calling for the working class to take control of the means of production, distribution and exchange.
    And after the Second World War the Labour government was swept into office and launched a massive council house building programme. The railways and the coal and steel industries were nationalised. And the National Health Service was introduced.
    What the Labour government did not do was to carry through a socialist revolution and give the working class state power.
    And its foreign policy served the interests of imperialism, was strictly anti-Soviet and supported the spread of nuclear weapons.
    Historically the labour movement (the Labour Party and the trade unions) has had a reformist leadership whose priority has been to perpetuate capitalism.
    The trade unions are the Labour Party’s main source of finance. Most of the trade unions and the Co-Operative party are affiliated to the Labour Party. This is the basis of why we say the Labour Party is a working class party.
    The labour movement organisationally is not divided into warring trade union groups, as in Europe where the labour movement has been formed by different elements: socialists, Catholics and communists and this has hindered the struggle for unity. The unity of the movement in Britain is very important to maintain; it is an asset we should be proud of.
    It is true that with the introduction of individual membership it has been easy for petty bourgeois elements to penetrate the party and advance their personal careers and this has reinforced the position of the right wing in the Labour Party and trade union movement.
    But the way to counter this is to promote working class unity around working class policies. It is not for organisations to contest the Labour Party’s position in national and local elections. In truth we have seen in recent years that such efforts are futile. Both the Socialist Alliance and George Galloway’s Respect Party have collapsed and so has Arthur Scargill’s Socialist Labour Party. The tragedy of that is that Arthur Scargill has isolated himself from the movement in which he was widely respected.
    From its inception the Communist Party of Great Britain has tried to affiliate to the Labour Party; this aim was abandoned only in 1975. One of the reasons why the CPGB failed to win affiliation with the Labour Party was that it stood candidates in elections against Labour and the broad labour movement.
    In hindsight we believe this policy to have been wrong even in the days when the party’s vote was high and Gallagher, Saklatvala and Phil Piratin were elected to Parliament.
    Since then and in the post-war period the bankruptcy of standing against Labour was plain to see. Since the Second World War the emphasis on campaigning in elections in the localities has gained priority over the industrial work of the party. At one time factory branches were being closed in an effort to involve more party members in electioneering.This weakened the capability of the trade unions to exert pressure on the government of the day.
    Our declared aim is to work to strengthen the working class and its political consciousness and fight for the right to affiliate to the Labour Party ourselves as communists.
    That is the way we believe and demonstrate that we are genuinely concerned to participate in the struggles for full employment, peace and socialism in a manner that unites the working class and its allies, especially student bodies.
    It would be wrong for us to stand candidates in national elections because it would be seen to be weakening the fight against the Tories and reaction. This has not led to any watering down of our party’s critique of the right wing in the Labour Party.
    Experience has shown that communists do best in industry and at the places of work because they are a genuine, integral part of the working class and are regarded as such. It is there that we often get communists elected to leading union positions out of respect for their militancy, profound wisdom and practical understanding in the unending struggles with the employers.
    In today’s struggle against the cuts and for nuclear disarmament we can see rising levels of struggle in the localities and we must remember that most class battles are won in the field of struggle and not in parliamentary debate.
    No one knows exactly how the socialist revolution will come about in this country but the struggle outside of Parliament, which is a bourgeois institution, will be far more decisive that the struggle inside Parliament.
    If and when our party succeeds in affiliating to the Labour Party it will bring the struggle for fundamental change and socialism to a new height.
    We therefore ask those people who view the Labour Party as anti-working class to re-evaluate their positions and support the struggle as we have outlined.

Long live Marxism-Leninism!

Long live the struggle for working class unity in Britain and throughout the world!

first published in 2010

A disaster in the Channel

At least 31 refugees died trying to cross the English Channel from France to England when their dinghy sank off the northern coast of Calais last week. Boris Johnson said he was “was shocked and appalled and deeply sad by the loss of life” and French president French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would not let the Channel become a cemetery.
    But they only churn out these platitudes to absolve themselves from any responsibility for these needless deaths by pinning the blame on criminal gangs that allegedly run an illicit trade in human trafficking
    In the past bourgeois politicians and upheld the rights of defectors when they were used as political pawns during the Cold War. Tens of thousands of Poles and Ukrainians opposed to the socialist systems in their own countries were allowed to settle in Britain after the Second World War and the doors remained open for the Vietnamese “boat people” who, we were told, were victims of “communist oppression”. But its a different call when refugees and asylum seekers are no longer of any use to the ruling class.
    The New Communist Party recognises the need for any sovereign state to set an immigration policy in accordance with its resources. But we firmly oppose any immigration policy that discriminates, either directly or indirectly, on the basis of race, creed, colour or gender. Britain must abide by the principles it claims to uphold in dealing with refugees and asylum seekers. They must be treated humanely while they wait for their settlement claims to ve settled. The procedures must be speeded up and the dismal detention camps must go.
    The New Communist Party calls for the repeal of the Immigration and Asylum Acts of the 1990s, passed by both Tory and Labour governments, which make it very difficult for many genuine asylum seekers to establish their claims.
    Asylum seekers must be treated humanely and their claims dealt with swiftly. While this process takes place they must be given decent accommodation and welfare benefits to survive. No asylum seekers should be locked up unless there is good reason, with evidence, to believe they are criminals and no child asylum seeker should ever be locked up.