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Opposing the capitalist hellscape – why we joined Solidarity
Below a number of those that have joined Solidarity recently explain why they joined us. “We’re living in…
Rise up against the far-right! – solidarity against racism, machismo & division
(Text of solidarity anti-racist leaflet) The horror of the racist violence we saw this week cannot be overstated.…
Not one more–30 women murdered in the North since 2020
By Harper Cleves CW: femicide, violence against women, misogyny, racism, queerphobia “Violence against women and girls is the…
Socialist Party and Palestine Solidarity activist is targeted by Queen’s University for peaceful protest
Joint Statement from the Socialist Party and Queen’s University Belfast Palestine Assembly (QUBPA) A student activist and member…
Workers accept pay offers, but new battlelines ahead!
WORKERS in public transport, health, education and the civil service headed to the picket lines numerous times throughout the last two years which culminated in the largest public sector strike action across the North in a generation on the 18th January. Was this joint public sector strike the major turning point that forced the hand of the DUP to end their boycott? This was an important factor in doing so, but whilst the backdrop reason to the action taken fully laid the blame at the Secretary of State for NI’s feet due to the “punishment budget” he had set, public sector workers were acutely aware that they were being used as a political football to bring about a restoration of the NI Executive.
‘Melted Parents’ march against high childcare costs
On Saturday 20 April, 1500 parents marched through Belfast demanding urgent action on childcare. The march was organised by Melted Parents NI, which began as an online platform sharing parents' experiences of the childcare crisis. With Stormont’s lack of action and bills higher than ever before, they decided it was time to take to the streets.
In the face of repression Palestine solidarity protests erupt on US college campuses
On Thursday, 18 April, 108 students at Columbia University in New York City were arrested for setting up an encampment on campus in solidarity with Palestine, calling both for a permanent ceasefire and for the university to divest from any Israeli funding. Columbia and Barnard students set up the encampment on Columbia’s main campus on Wednesday, 17 April, in the early morning hours, with students saying they would occupy the main lawn on the upper campus until their demand for divestment was met. Many of the students who were arrested have also been suspended, and the University announced on Monday, 22 April, that classes for the rest of the semester would meet online rather than in person.
Capitalism and the care crisis
In 2022, Social Justice Ireland reported that the “working poor” had increased by 40% to 134,000, and that half of those households included a person with disabilities. Disabled people are twice as likely to be homeless. Despite these realities the government’s ‘Green Paper on Disability Reform’ proposes a tiering of people with disabilities. The purpose is to force disabled people off state payments and into unsuitable work.
Spain’s #ibelieveher protests
The scandalous verdict given by Pamplona court in the case against the ‘Manada’ (the wolf-pack) rapist gang, has enraged millions of women, young people and a majority of men, as was seen in the massive demonstrations which took place around the country only hours after the sentence was pronounced on 26 April.
Misogyny, sexism & capitalism in the dock
The trial has brought to the fore the prevalence of sexist and misogynistic attitudes that exist in the legal system and society in general. In Northern Ireland, over 94% of all rape trials have resulted in no conviction for the accused. The conviction rates for sexual violence are far lower than for any other crime. In the South only 19% result in convictions and 7% when the case is contested. As Suzanne Breen, one of the few journalists who have covered this trial in a fair manner, put it: “This was a case where it wasn’t always clear who exactly was on trial. Each defendant is rightly allowed their own legal representation. But a 21-year-old woman being cross-examined by four defence barristers over eight days pulls at your heart-strings…The young woman failed to secure the verdict she desired. She did not win, yet she has certainly not lost.”