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Starmer’s Britain – a spectral nightmare of racism, misogyny and transphobia

Europe 27 May 2025

By Paul Moorhouse PRMI in Scotland. 27 May 2025 11 months ago British voters decisively voted to reject the increasingly crisis ridden right-wing Tory party which had been in government since 2010. The incoming Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that with 411 out of 650 parliamentary seats he had a ‘clear mandate to rule for all four nations’. How does that stack up nearly a year on? Just who is Starmer ‘ruling for’? However, this impressive parliamentary majority never reflected more than lukewarm support in any part of the (increasingly dis-) United Kingdom. Labour contested none of the 18 constituencies in the north of Ireland. Those seats they fought were won mostly because Labour was not the Tories in England and Wales and neither the Tories nor the ruling Scottish Nationalist Party, north of the border. On 33.7% Labour only increased its share of the vote by 1.6% compared with its ‘worst ever’ result in 2019, whilst the Tory vote plummeted by almost 20%. The threat of right-populism Lack of enthusiasm for any establishment parties was demonstrated on the one hand by low turnonout and voter registration, barely half of those eligible too vote did so, and on the other by the election for the first time of the far-right racist Reform UK and a number of independent candidates, opposed to the genocide in Gaza (especially in constituencies with large Muslim populations). Thus Labour’s victory only superficially contradicted the world-wide eclipse of the political ‘centre’. Growing polarisation below the surface reflected popular frustration with the social and economic cost of the crisis of the profit system. Without organised resistance by the oppressed and exploited, this can only strengthen the far right, and fascistic, reaction. The reality of this was brought home barely three weeks after the election when racist riots broke out across England and the north of Ireland targeting asylum seekers threatening to break into and burn down their hotels and hostels. The potential for a mass fightback however was shown when hundreds of thousands joined anti-fascist demonstrations and vigils over the first weekend in August, and in Belfast 15,000 people turned out on 10th August (an equivalent mobilisation in London would be approaching a third of a million). Starmer’s Labour acts in interest of big business The lack of any enthusiasm for Labour stemmed from its anxiety to present itself as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to British and International capital. Before and after the election Starmer and his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, fawned on big business and financiers promising to stick to Tory austerity rules and became obsessively anxious to dampen down voter expectations by avoiding ‘unrealistic’ or ‘unaffordable’ pledges in their manifesto. This was bad enough, but the reality however proved far worse. Three weeks after being elected, Reeves told Parliament that Winter Fuel Payments made to 11.6 million disabled and older citizens were to be scrapped for all but the 1.8 million poorest pensioners. The payments, worth between £200 and £600 in the previous two years, were capped at £300 at a time when 6.1 million households were estimated to be in fuel poverty and energy prices were driving a cost of living crisis. A year on, whilst forced by widespread opposition into a promise to ‘review’ these cuts in 2026, Labour has announced swingeing cuts to health and disability benefits which, if implemented, will push 400,000 more people into poverty. 100,000 hospital posts are threatened in England alone in plans announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and yet more cuts are certain to be announced when Reeves delivers her spending review on 11th June. Many of these have already been implemented by freezing recruitment, leaving essential posts empty. The potential to resist these attacks is shown by the firm rejection of a derisory 4% pay increase by the doctors’ union the British Medical Association. However, effective action requires a strong united front based on rank and file organisation and accountability in all unions. It was frankly an insult to their members that the right-wing bureaucracy of the biggest health union, Unison, invited Streeting to address its health conference this year. The right-wing “Reform” party wins local elections In view of their shared record of pursuing vicious class war politics, forcing the poorest to bear the brunt of capitalist crisis, it is little surprise that Labour and the Tories both took a beating in council elections across England on May 1st. Both parties lost control of all the councils they had held prior to the elections. However they faced little resistance to their diet of austerity. The closest to an effective opposition came from the Green party, which is largely untested in power in Britain and managed to double the number of seats it holds. In the absence of any real alternative, the biggest gains were made by the racist far-right Reform UK party, which was able to present itself as ‘anti establishment’. In reality ,however, most of the councillors running the 10 local authorities Reform now control are well-heeled business people, many of them (including Sarah Pochin who won the Runcorn by-election, the same day, to become the party’s fifth MP) have defected from the right of the Tory Party. Reform adminstations have set about emulating the ‘slash and burn’ far-right policies of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, on occasion this has an air of farce, for instance their pledge to ‘abolish Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ – despite the fact that none of their councils have any! Resistance needs to be built Women, trans-people and above all people of colour living in many of the poorest communities have every reason to be very afraid in the face of the racist, misogynistic and LGBTQ+-phobic rhetoric and actions of these suburban mini-Hitlers. It is vital that in every area rank and file union activists, community organisations and user groups establish conferences of resistance and other organs of struggle to build a democratically organised intersectional fight-back against these council attacks and the cuts raining down

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Three thousand march to demand trans rights in Belfast

Head of trans-rights protest in Belfast with banner reading "No going back"

LGBTQIA+, Europe, PRMI 22 May 2025

By Ann-Katrin Orr, Socialist Party Ireland. 22 May 2025 On Saturday, 17 May, Belfast was filled with a 3,000–strong March for Trans Rights. It was initiated by ROSA, the Socialist Feminist movement and backed by various organisations across the LGBTQIA+ sector, trade unions and political organisations, including the Socialist Party. The march took place in response to the recent brutal attacks on trans rights. The mood was angry, determined and filled with deep solidarity. The main banner held at the beginning of the march was a Pride Progress Flag with the words “No Going Back!” – which summed up the sentiment that there is no acceptance of the attempts by the political establishment in Stormont and Westminster, by the courts or the far right across the UK or internationally to drag us back when it comes to our rights. “Go Piss Girl”, “Fight the real enemy” and “Support all sisters not just cis-ters” were some of the slogans on hand-drawn placards that accompanied colourful banners and pride flags as the march made its way from Writers’ Square to City Hall. Referencing the Stormont ban on puberty blockers as well as how some MLA’s including Executive Members have welcomed the UK Supreme Court Ruling, with Paul Given, the DUP’s Education Minister, for example stating he would be amending guidelines for schools in to be in line with the judgment the crowd chanted: “Stormont you’ve picked your side – We don’t want you at our Pride” and “We know you can – lift the ban”. Other chants were against homophobia, racism and misogyny. The slogan of no going back was a reference to the examples in the North of people standing united in the face of division as it was adopted by trade union and socialist activists in the past to stand against pressure and influence of paramilitaries and sectarian forces intent on dragging society back towards open sectarian conflict. At its core this slogan is about the ability of ordinary people to stand together in solidarity and struggle and Saturday’s demonstration was a clear example of that. A counter-protest also took place at City Hall with 150 – 200 people. The call for this came also from figures connected to the far-right, leading to United Against Racism mobilising also in a protest which was also supported by the Socialist Party, ROSA and many other organisations. That the far-right mobilised in opposition to trans rights, shows again the importance of a struggle now for trans rights and why all who seek to challenge the far-right and racism must take an active role in fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights also. Speakers included ROSA activists and spokespeople from Mermaids NI, Trans Pride NI, The Rainbow Project and a speaker from Unite the Union’s Irish Regional LGBT+ Committee who pointed out that the trade union movement is not a bystander but a vital line of defence and force for progress. ROSA organiser and Socialist Party Keighley spoke about the urgent need to organise a socialist feminist struggle and quoted the trailblazing socialist revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg words – “those who do not move do not notice their chains” before concluding with this powerful call to action: “Because when we move on the streets, when we move in our workplaces, when we move in our communities; when we move together, in solidarity with one another against our oppressors and against this system of profit and greed and violence then we will finally break free of our chains. The fight for trans liberation, and the fight for the liberation of all, is a Socialist Feminist fight! And this fight needs you! Because we are not going back!”

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How the Fourth International fought World War Two

Montage by Diego Rivera to commemorate founding of Fourth International

Theory, History, Imperialist conflict and war 6 May 2025

As the anniversary of the end of World War Two is celebrated, the world’s leaders are again recruiting soldiers and arming them with horrific new weapons in preparation for new conflicts, and possibly yet another, even more brutal world war.
This article examines how Trotskyists worldwide struggled, ‘despite all hazards’, to build the slender forces of the Fourth International (FI), intended to assist the working class to overthrow capitalism, and the bureaucratic, Stalinist elite in the USSR and replace them by genuinely democratic, international socialism to end poverty and war forever.

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Review: Severance created by Dan Erickson

Reviews 6 May 2025

By Sam Casey, Socialist Party, Ireland 6 May 2025 The popular Apple TV series Severance recently returned for its second season. One of the most watched shows across various streaming services, Severance is a psychological, sci-fi thriller that depicts the lives of a group of workers at the giant tech corporation, Lumon Industries. We follow four workers from Lumon’s ‘severed floor’, where all the workers have undergone a neurological procedure to split their consciousness and memories in two. This effectively means that, once they enter work, they are an entirely different person with no memories of their outside self. And once they clock out, they transform back from their “innie” into their “outie”, with no memory of the work-day. The “innies” live their entire lives within the walls of the ‘severed floor’, a maze of drab white walls resembling a mid-century corporate office. The second they enter the elevator to leave work, they reawaken the next day in the same elevator returning to the office. This allows Lumon to completely dominate their workforce, controlling every aspect of their lives. The workers’ split consciousness becomes the central pivot of the show’s ever-unfolding mystery – as both the “outies” and the “innies” struggle to find out what Lumon is up to, beginning to band together in a striking metaphor for workers unionising. Similar to Black Mirror, Severance uses dark-comedy to investigate aspects of modern capitalist society. It forces us to ask questions about corporate power, workplace alienation and where the billionaire tech-oligarchs of our own world may be leading us. It is a show about workers rebelling against corporate overlords. Its massive popularity reflects a growing disillusionment and unease with work under capitalism. While none of us are ‘severed’, most working-class people can relate to the feeling that the time they spend in work isn’t really their own. That time belongs to the boss, because under capitalism workers are forced to sell our labour-power to companies that exploit us for profit in order to survive. Even the term “work/life balance”, which is hardly a reality for most workers forced to work long hours for low wages, is itself an acknowledgement that somehow “life” must end where “work” begins. Lumon is not so dissimilar to the massive tech corporations that dominate our own world. Ironically, Severance is the flagship show of Apple TV – precisely the kind of company that the show is skewering. And the show’s concept doesn’t take too much suspended disbelief, given tech billionaires like Elon Musk are themselves developing dystopian-sounding products like the “neuralink” brain microchip. In addition to its strong writing, the show is being hailed for its incredible filmmaking. It is so meticulously detailed that the viewer can find meaning in everything from the creative cinematography, to the brilliant score by Theodore Shapiro, and the intricate differences in the actors’ performances as their “outies” and their “innies”. Season 2 contains what many have claimed to be one of the best directed episodes of TV ever. Severance brilliantly satirises the mind-numbing drudgery of office work. Throughout Season 1, it wasn’t clear exactly what Lumon Industries even does. The four central characters – Mark S (Adam Scott), Helly R (Britt Lower), Dylan G (Zach Cherry) and Irving B (John Turturro) – work in the ‘Macro Data Refinement’ department. They spend all day looking at a series of shifting numbers on a computer screen. Every so often some of these numbers begin to stir deep emotions in them; feelings of fear, dread, disgust etc. When this happens, they simply file the numbers away. What does it all mean? Many workers can relate to the feeling of doing a job that they have no control over and that seemingly holds no real value to society, part of what Marx described as the alienation of work under capitalism. In Season 2, the workers begin to uncover the mystery behind their own labour, and the full extent of their exploitation is revealed. Where Severance really hits its stride is in its cringe-inducing depiction of corporate culture. The managers, Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) and Mr. Milchik (Tramell Tillman), act as the face of the shadowy, unseen “Board”. Milchik in particular perfectly encapsulates the worst kind of corporate manager. Always with a grin on his face, he enforces Lumon’s oppressive, prison-like rules on the severed workers while constantly acting as though this is all one-big-happy-family. He goes between torturing workers for insubordination to giving them meaningless rewards, like the “5-minute music dance experience”. Tillman’s performance is hilarious and genuinely creepy at the same time. As they live their entire lives on Lumon’s terms, the company uses elaborate propaganda to influence the “innies”. Its internal culture is eerily anachronistic, with outdated language and visuals that are reminiscent of the Gilded Age of American capitalism. It all centres around Lumon’s “visionary founder” Kier Eagan, similar to how CEOs are venerated as supposed “geniuses” in our own world. Lumon’s “Compliance Handbook”, which contains “the word of Kier”, is drilled into the workers, who are told lies about times in the past when workers from other departments violently attacked their fellow workers – a classic example of the ‘divide and rule’, union-busting tactics used by capitalism to dominate workers. Despite this, a revolutionary spirit begins to break through, as the severed workers band together to take Lumon down. In this way, it is fitting that Season 2 was delayed due to the Writer’s Guild of America strike in 2023, which pitted the show’s writers against Apple TV and the other Hollywood studios that were attempting to use AI to make it impossible to make a living as a working writer. Just one example of many of how the world of Severance isn’t so far from life under capitalism in the 21st century.

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What is behind Trump’s tariffs?

Featured article, Global economy 6 May 2025

By Conor Murray, Socialist Party Ireland. 6 May 2025 What is a tariff? A tariff is a tax on importing goods from abroad. The tax is paid by the business which imports the goods, however, in order to maintain their profits they will typically pass this cost on to consumers by increasing prices. By making imported goods more expensive, tariffs can function as a type of subsidy to domestic corporations by insulating them from international competition. Why are Trump’s tariffs so significant? Many countries already have tariffs, including the US. However, Trump’s have a much bigger scope and scale. On 2 April, Trump announced tariffs of at least 10% against every country on earth, much higher in many cases. This threatened to seriously disrupt global trade and supply chains and sent stock and bond markets into crisis. The reaction of the capitalist markets seems to have forced Trump to make a limited retreat, reducing tariffs on all countries other than China to a still significant 10%, to be reviewed after 90 days. Meanwhile, tariffs on China were raised to a prohibitive 145%, with China reciprocating with its own tariffs. There is now a significant trade war between the US and China, with trade between the world’s two largest economies likely to virtually cease unless there is a climbdown or a deal. What is the background to these tariffs? Much of the coverage will focus on Trump’s personality, which is certainly erratic and bizarre. He also has a long record of advocating tariffs. In his first administration, Trump tended to be influenced or hemmed in by more traditional elements of the political establishment, but in his second term, Trump is surrounded by ideological co-thinkers, influenced by nationalist fantasies about returning to America’s past. They harbour hostility even towards US-allied countries, such as those in Europe, and seek to force them into an even more subservient relationship. However, these tariffs are also a reflection of the struggle for global influence, markets and resources between the US and China, the two main rival imperialist powers in the world today. Tariffs against China began in Trump’s first term but continued under Biden. The US capitalist establishment has been seeking to end its reliance on China, particularly for key strategic industries by moving manufacturing to the US or to ‘’friendly nations”. Trump’s tariffs are massively accelerating this broader process. What will this mean for working-class people? The tariffs are bad news for working-class people in the US and worldwide. They will mean even more inflation and possibly even shortages in goods. Workers will face layoffs, cuts in hours and in pay. While the ups and downs of the stock market may seem very removed from our lives, unfortunately, many workers’ pension funds are being gambled on those markets. In the Global South, tariffs could be even more devastating with many poorer countries reliant on exporting commodities or cheap manufactured goods to the US. In Ireland, the state’s reliance on US multinationals to drive growth could be in crisis as global trade contracts, already there are fears for jobs at Intel and other companies could follow. Can tariffs bring well-paid manufacturing jobs to the US? Whatever his real motivations, Trump has been publicly promising a return of well-paid manufacturing jobs to the US, where many areas have undoubtedly been devastated by deindustrialisation. It is an empty promise. Developing an industrial base will not just be achieved by tariffs but would require massive investment in infrastructure, skills and training, constructing new factories etc. There is no indication that either US big business or Trump’s administration is willing to do this – they are actually preparing massive austerity and US capitalism has been focused on increasing profits through speculation. Meanwhile, many existing US manufacturers are dependent on importing parts from China and other places. Nor is it guaranteed that manufacturing jobs would bring security or high wages for workers. While the manufacturing jobs of the post-war period often did, this was a result of strong trade unions, high taxes on the wealthy and other things which Trump vehemently opposes. When Trump talks about bringing manufacturing back to the US, he consistently refers to the 19th century when millions of US workers toiled in factories with low wages, unsafe conditions and virtually no labour rights. Is returning to ‘Free Trade’ the solution The era of ‘Free Trade’ (or neoliberal globalisation) from the 1970s onwards was marked by attacks on the working class around the world, including privatisation, deregulation, assaults on unions and public services and a huge growth in inequality. In the Global North, it eliminated the relative economic security that some workers had achieved and replaced it with precarious work, increased indebtedness and housing crises. This model was discredited by the 2008 economic crash and the resulting austerity. In the Global South, much has been made of the alleged benefits of globalisation; however, with the exception of China, industrial development has actually stagnated or gone into reverse and many countries have been simply exploited as sources of commodities for the rich countries. Free trade and protectionism are just different methods for capitalist governments to pursue the interests of their country’s corporate and big business interests at the expense of workers and the oppressed. While clearly opposing these tariffs, socialists should not be advocates for either model. How can working-class people respond? First, working-class people did not create this crisis and must not pay the price for Trump’s tariffs or for any disputes between the different capitalist powers. This means organising to resist pay and job cuts, price rises and austerity. The trade unions in Ireland and internationally should be preparing a serious campaign of resistance, including strikes and workplace occupations where necessary. Second, this poses the need for an alternative to the current economic model based on multinationals. We need a socialist industrial policy based on public investment and ownership geared to producing the things we need: housing, infrastructure, green energy etc. Finally, the tariffs are just

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Pahalgam Killings: As Kashmir bleeds again, India and Pakistan fan the flames of war

Imperialist conflict and war, Asia 30 April 2025

By Socialist Struggle India, 30 April 2025 The Indian subcontinent once again stands on the brink of catastrophe. With the Pakistani military alleging “credible intelligence” of imminent Indian airstrikes, the prospect of last week’s terror attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir becoming the spark of a new military conflict between the two nuclear-armed states is no longer distant — it is a live and looming threat. Below, we present our analysis and response to the events that have shaken the region over the past week. On April 22, twenty-six civilians were massacred in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, a hill-station resort in the Baisaran Valley, Indian-occupied Kashmir. All but one of the victims were Hindu, and according to eyewitness accounts, they were singled out and targeted for their religion. Twenty-four were Indian tourists and one a Nepalese national. One Kashmiri Muslim, a young local pony guide, was also killed while trying to protect tourists from being shot. The killings sent shockwaves through the region. In response, widespread protests and vigils broke out across Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh to denounce the massacre and express solidarity with the victims, and a complete bandh was observed on Wednesday — the first time Indian-occupied Kashmir came to a standstill in 35 years. The immediate casualties are not limited to the tragic loss of life and the many others injured. For the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris who depend on tourism for their livelihoods, the situation is dire. With tourists fleeing the region, once-bustling areas like Pahalgam have been left abandoned just as the peak season was about to begin, exacerbating the already heavy burden on local communities. Yet tourism in Kashmir is not merely an economic activity; for Narendra Modi’s regime, it is also a propaganda instrument used to obscure and normalise the occupation. The Indian government has systematically weaponised the flow of tourists to showcase an image of ‘integration’ under Indian rule, and to portray the region as a tranquil destination while brutal repression continues in the background. High-profile tourism campaigns and record visitor numbers have been used to bolster claims that the region had stabilised, even as it remains under military lockdown and Kashmiris themselves are denied the most basic democratic rights. As the recent attack tragically underscored, this attempt to use tourists as symbols of success is not only deceptive — it is also dangerous. Exploiting bloodshed for chauvinist gains The exact identity of the perpetrators remains unclear. Initial reports linked the gunmen to ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF), a shadow organisation and offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, after initially purportedly admitting responsibility for the attack, the group has since denied any involvement, issuing a statement claiming that “any attribution of this act to TRF is false, hasty, and part of an orchestrated campaign to malign the Kashmiri resistance.” Regardless of the truth, Modi’s Hindu supremacist regime wasted no time to politically exploit the attack, and to try and twist people’s understandable outrage at the brutal killings into something more sinister. Modi himself skipped an all-party meeting on Thursday discussing the Pahalgam attack, opting instead for posturing at an election rally in Bihar where he vowed to pursue the Pahalgam attackers “to the ends of the Earth”. The corporate media and government representatives have launched a festival of jingoism and hyper-nationalist chest-thumping. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal declared, “Until 140 crore Indians don’t make nationalism and patriotism their supreme duty, these types of incidents will continue to trouble the country”, making a parallel between the elimination of terrorism and the elimination of Naxalism —a term which, under the ruling BJP, has often been weaponised to brand not just armed insurgents but anyone critical of the state. Blaming the attack on the lack of patriotism of ordinary Indians is alo a cynical attempt to turn the heat away from the government’s own failures. The BJP’s abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 —unilaterally stripping Kashmir of its constitutional autonomy— had been sold by Modi’s government as a means to bring development, peace and stability to the region. For the past five years, the government peddled a ‘normalcy’ narrative, pretending that its policies were transforming Kashmir into a terror-free haven for tourists. Last Tuesday’s events —the deadliest attack on tourists in a quarter of a century— have exposed the complete hollowness of this narrative. Occupation and lack of alternative breed despair To truly understand the tragedy in Pahalgam, one must reckon with the unresolved national question in Kashmir —a region whose people have been denied their basic democratic right to self-determination for 78 years. In 1947, the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir was forcibly absorbed into India, after an armed tribal invasion backed by Pakistan prompted the Maharaja to sign the Instrument of Accession to India. This decision was made without any democratic consultation of the Kashmiri people — it was a deal between elites, struck in the midst of violent partition. The Indian government promised that a plebiscite would be held to allow the people of Kashmir to freely decide their future. That vote never took place. Instead, successive Indian governments have entrenched their rule through military control and repression. Over the last 35 years —since the outbreak of a mass insurgency in 1989— this has been characterised by an unrelenting regime of outright military occupation, emergency laws, and systemic state violence. Kashmiris have endured decades of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings and disappearances, sexual violence by security forces, rigged elections and broken promises. The abrogation of Article 370 further intensified the sense of subjugation, choking off even the limited space for political expression that once existed. Claims that thanks to the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the region was on a renewed path to economic prosperity are equally fraudulent. Whereas before 2019, its overall unemployment rate was below the national average, it has been consistently above the national average ever since. All other economic indicators (debt levels, growth rates, inflation etc) have also gotten worse. While the killing of unarmed civilians is

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As Trump runs amok, organise to smash toxic capitalism

Young people with red and purple flags saying May Day 2025

Workers' struggle and solidarity, Questions of oppression, PRMI 30 April 2025

By PRMI reporters 30 April 2025 May Day 2025 follows the completion of the first 100 days Trump 2.0. It has seen a relentless barrage of attacks unfurl on immigrants, women, disabled people, the LGBTQ+ – in particular transgender – community, students, pro-Palestinian activists, civil servants. Barely a section of the working class has remained unscathed. The genocide of Palestinians in Gaza has deepened with Trump’s full-throated support for ethnic cleansing of the Strip, and the effective normalisation of Israel’s deliberate starvation of two million Palestinians. Settler and state violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has escalated, a process which some have called “Gazafication”. A dramatic shift in US policy over Ukraine has made abundantly clear that its involvement in the war was never about defending the Ukrainian people or their right to self-determination, but about prestige, great-power rivalry and economic interests. The impending trade war, a likely Trump-induced recession and inflation promise to make life even harder for the working class across the world, as well as in the US. As China is already suffering from serious economic and financial crises, a further wave of factory shut-downs has resulted from Trump’s tariffs. This is as the situation facing many in the country is already unbearable. It goes without saying that the largest burden of this horrific situation is borne disproportionately by the population of the neo-colonial world, by women and oppressed layers, and by youth. Trump and his allies support the super-rich This is not accidental. The policies of Trump and his allies across the world – Netanyahu, Milei, Modi, Putin, Xi, Meloni, Erdoğan and many others – are consciously intended to deprive those layers of their already restricted rights and ability to defend themselves and fight back. They do so not just to protect the super-rich, but to enable them to grab an even larger share of the world’s diminishing resources irrespective of the costs to the climate, mental health, the rights of women and children. The sharp upturn in attacks reflects a desperate move by the global ruling elite to save their system after the disaster of four decades of neoliberalism. A period in which living standards of the working class and poor were driven down, public services destroyed by privatisation and austerity. This was, despite heroic attempts to resist by the working class, a period in which the level of workers’ organisation and political independence declined. Even so, the capitalist system sunk deeper into crisis, with profits and investment low, and huge speculative bubbles culminating in the 2008 global recession. This was exacerbated by the pandemic. Globalisation replaced by protectionism Rejecting globalisation and the “rule of law” – by which they mean trade liberalisation and deregulation – the elite are turning to protectionism and the defence of “national”, i.e. national capitalist interests. Having not so long ago kept their distance from right-populism and even fascist tendencies, large sections of the ruling elite are now at best compromising with and often adopting these poisonous ideas. There is no immediate comparison between the situation we currently face, and that which existed in pre-war Italy, Germany and elsewhere. Then elections were completely replaced by open dictatorial rule, stormtroopers ensured the immediate suppression of resistance, mass arrests, executions and extermination camps were the norm. It would, though, be reckless to ignore how far to the right the ruling elite are prepared to go to protect their profits and their system, and the extremely harmful effect these policies have on working class people, the vast, overwhelming majority of the world’s population. Trump’s victory has enthused and encouraged right-wing and authoritarian forces across the world and accelerated the general rightwing shift of the ruling class. Netanyahu on steroids Netanyahu pushed by the far-right within his government has, after a brief and precarious pause, resumed and escalated Zionist Israel’s brutal genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza. Trump has provided steroids to the most rabid factions of the Israeli ruling class through his uninhibited endorsement of ethnic cleansing of Gaza, and his direct coordination and by flooding the Israeli state with billions in new weapons. Trump has also been waging an unprecedented domestic crackdown on the Gaza solidarity movement, including by allowing for the arrest and deportation of visa holders protesting Israeli policies and by threatening billions in funding cuts to universities who don’t cooperate. All these moves are designed to create a chilling effect amongst those opposing the genocide, and provide Israel with a freer hand to “finish the job”, as Trump himself put it. Imperialist division of Ukraine The Ukrainian people, having suffered three years of brutal occupation and war after Putin’s imperialist invasion, are discovering that their right to self-determination has been used as a bargaining chip by Western imperialism all along — with Trump now openly seeking to appease Putin. National and human rights are cynically sacrificed as the two imperialists negotiate the division of Ukraine and attempt to grab its natural resources. Clearly Trump’s legitimisation of Russia’s seizure of parts of Ukraine aligns with his desire to annex Greenland. While the pro-Ukrainian rhetoric of the EU leaders continues, a section is increasingly succumbing to Trump’s demands, while another is maneuvering in the hope of protecting its own interests as the US and Russia carve up the Ukraine. EU turns back on democratic rights Authoritarian leaders feel strengthened in their moves to restrict democracy. In Turkey, Erdoğan has gained the confidence to remove his main opponent from the next election and is moving to change the constitution a la Putin, which would allow him to stay in power beyond 2028. Despite the claims of the European Union leaders that in opposition to Trump it is still defending “democracy”, it has barely muttered a word about Erdoğan’s move for fear of alienating him, and losing an ally in their conflict with the US and in policing Europe’s borders. In Romania, the EU openly supported the suspension of last year’s election, after the right wing populist party won the

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Trump’s trade wars and new global recession – oppose all cuts to jobs, pay and services

Trump and Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin

Global economy, Europe 28 April 2025

By Finghín Kelly, Socialist Party Ireland. 28 April 2025 Trump’s so-called “liberation day” announcement, massively jacking up tariffs on goods entering the United States, was met with a major sell-off of shares around the globe, with trillions wiped off the stock markets as capitalists put their money into cash and safer assets. Pointing to an undermining of confidence in the stability of US capitalism, there was also a fall in the value of the dollar, and more recently, pressure on the price of US debt. These developments could trigger profound knock-on complications for the world economy, which is likely to see a sharp decline in trade, growth, and further financial crises. In an about-turn, however, Trump announced a postponement of the tariffs for 90 days on most states, although an increased base 10% tariff will remain. Essentially, the bond markets forced him to blink. However, the massive 145% tariffs on Chinese goods remain. China in turn has responded with a 125% tariff on US goods. This represents a major escalation in the ongoing trade war and rivalry between the US and Chinese imperialism – a trend central to the crisis that global capitalism is currently facing. America first chauvinism The announcements of the tariffs were accompanied by chauvinist ‘America First’ rhetoric about the US being exploited in world trade, and how the tariffs were part of bringing industry and jobs back to the US. There was also a slew of bigoted racist slurs from Trump – highlighting how these economic policies go hand in hand with whipping up racism. It remains to be seen exactly how US tariffs on other capitalist blocs will pan out. There is due to be a period of negotiation between Trump’s regime and other capitalist states and trading blocs in the coming months. There has been much commentary in the media, especially in the run up to the announcement and in the immediate days afterwards, that Trump would back down, that he would be open to negotiation, and that this was an initial play or a negotiating tactic. This postponement may superficially be seen to be confirmation of that analysis. Trump had spoken about being open to talks. However, there was also push back from sections of big business in the US. A fear of domestic inflation and the pressure on US bonds were also factors in Trump’s backdown. However, it would be naïve to think that Trump will back down from this policy fundamentally. US capitalism in crisis Trump clearly has a particularly uncontrolled, maverick, dictatorial style which can put sections of US capitalism at unease. There are also indications of elements of chaos within Trump’s inner circle. Trump is a representative of a more populist and nakedly reactionary and ultra-nationalist wing of US capitalism. However, his policies on tariffs are not completely divorced from an underlying shift by US capitalism away from free trade and towards a more protectionist approach. This shift has been there since the 2008 crisis and has escalated in recent years, including under Biden’s regime and began before Trump first took power under Barack Obama. This shift away from free trade has its roots in the geopolitical situation and the emergence of China as a major economic and military competitor. Although more complicated for Trump to engage in an immediate brutal confrontation, there is also an increase in competition with European capitalists. Capitalism internationally has been in the doldrums since the 2008 financial crisis, experiencing sluggish growth and major political instability, which is increasing its competitive nature. In this geopolitical terrain there is a desire by significant sections of the US capitalist class to strategically shift production to the US. Trump may be trying to do this in a crude way, but it is very much linked to this wider strategic move by American capitalism of protecting its interests and undermining its competitors. No re-birth of “American dream” There seems to be an acceptance by Trump and his supporters that there will be a certain economic pain from this shift. This would not be the first time in the history of capitalism that there has been a conscious implementation of destructive economic policies to implement a historic shift. This was seen in the birth of neoliberalism, when US President Ronald Reagan implemented the so-called ‘Faulkner shock’, which saw massive interest rates and the destruction of manufacturing industry in the US. This strategic shift was seen by neoliberals as ‘creative destruction’; for the vast majority it brought about the real destruction of jobs and millions of livelihoods. Although it must be noted that Trump’s approach is decisively more erratic. His approach will mete out pain on working-class people. This can undermine significant support for him. It’s noteworthy that there were important protests taking place against Trump’s attacks on people’s rights ahead of the tariff announcement. Although this can put pressure on Trump, the regime seems prepared to implement its economic policy come what may. No support for capitalist policies It is a disgrace that many trade union leaders in the US have come out in support of Trump’s policies. These policies will not see benefits for working-class people. It will lead to inflation which will hit low- and middle-income workers the hardest. The whipping up of nationalist and racist rhetoric that go hand in hand with Trump’s economic policies will also see an impact. US capitalism will also not recreate the conditions of the past. Any relocation of industry will be based on less labour intensity, low pay, and poorer conditions. It will not transform the Rust Belt. These union leaders forget an important lesson from history, namely, that it was working-class struggle, not the existence of manufacturing itself, that resulted in workers in the US winning higher wages and decent conditions. In fact, capitalist magnate Henry Ford ran a brutal authoritarian regime on the floor of his factories. Trade unions in the US and internationally should not be backing their respective capitalist governments in trade wars – workers

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British Supreme Court decision is a bigoted, transphobic attack

Demonstrators hold placard reading "trans rights are human rights"

LGBTQIA+, Europe 28 April 2025

By Ollie Bell, Socialist Party Ireland 28 April 2025 Outside the steps of the UK Supreme Court, bottles of champagne were popped by For Women Scotland – an anti-trans campaign group, who sinisterly celebrated as another attack was leveraged against the trans community. The Supreme Court had just ruled that the definition of ‘woman’, as used in the Equality Act 2010, refers only to ‘biological women’, excluding trans women. The Court also stated that trans men are excluded from the definition of woman and excluded from women’s spaces, with notorious anti-trans activist Maya Forstater saying: “That may seem unfair, but these are life choices people make. If you make extreme efforts to look like a man don’t be surprised if you are denied entrance to ladies”. It also stated that the term ‘sex’ is defined as binary and a person is either a man or a woman. Shamefully, this decision has been supported by Keir Starmer and, unsurprisingly, by the DUP in the North. Prominent Sinn Féin TDs, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and David Cullinane, also issued statements in support of the decision. Despite Supreme Court Judge Lord Hodge saying this ruling is not about one group’s triumph over another, the celebrations of anti-trans bigots and the right wing tell a different story. The Supreme Court is another elitist tool of the capitalist state, and the implications of this ruling go beyond the court doors. Immediately afterwards, the British Transport Police amended its strip-search policies so that male police officers can strip-search trans women. This new policy gives the green light to officers to humiliate and abuse trans women, essentially legalising gender-based violence against them. Who are “For Women Scotland”? The case, brought forward by For Women Scotland (FWS), questioned the definition of woman under the Equality Act and whether this included someone with a female Gender Recognition Cert. FWS identifies as a ‘grassroots’ women’s group despite arch-transphobe JK Rowling herself donating £70,000 (€81,000) towards this case. A stark demonstration that it is in the billionaire class’s interest to uphold the gender binary. Far from being a feminist group, FWS co-founder, the late Magdalen Berns, compared trans women to ‘blackface actors’, while also spreading anti-Semitic, far-right conspiracy theories about the ‘transgender lobby’ being secretly funded by Jewish people like George Soros. FWS also shared a stage with the Scottish Family Party – an anti-choice, anti-LGBTQI+ far-right party, in 2022, against LGBTQI+ inclusive education. Repeatedly, anti-trans groups like FWS are willing to work with the far right and throw women’s rights under the bus if it means fewer rights and protections for trans people. This Supreme Court case isn’t a win for any woman, but a win for the far right and misogynistic and transphobic forces generally. Defining women solely by their biology is a Trojan horse to restricting access to abortion and contraception, with the end goal of chaining women to their ‘natural’ roles as mothers and child rearers. By working with the far right, FWS are enabling attacks on women’s bodily autonomy, Movement from below emerges The purpose of this latest attack is to shove trans people out of public spaces and force them back into the closet. Yet rather than hide away, trans people have been organising protests against this ruling. Multiple protests were organised across London, Bristol, Edinburgh and other UK cities. Twenty thousand marched in London, leading chants like “Trans rights are human rights” and “HRT over the counter and for free”, along with chants in solidarity with disabled people over the cuts to PIP as they marched past the Department for Work and Pensions. Two thousand people turned up in Edinburgh with signs saying, “Supreme Court – Our Blood is on Your Hands.” The mood across Britain was radical, militant and defiant, showing trans people aren’t going anywhere. Solidarity with Palestine was a factor in multiple protests – with Queers For Palestine joining London. In Sheffield, speakers also emphasised the importance of oppressed groups and workers uniting in solidarity, while also showing support for Palestine. With the attacks on trans rights not slowing down anytime soon, this is the action that’s needed to defend trans people and all oppressed people. All oppression is interlinked and exacerbated under capitalism. By standing together to dismantle this rotten system, we can fully achieve true freedom and liberation for all in a truly humane and socialist society!

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The reality of Modi’s India tested by Trump’s tariffs

Asia, Global economy 28 April 2025

By Socialist Struggle India, 28 April 2025 For all the talk of India’s “strategic autonomy”, Trump’s display of raw power on the global stage in recent weeks has brought Modi’s inflated global pretensions down to size. The latter’s bootlicking praise of Trump, far from countering that process, has only made it more obvious. Already when Modi visited Trump in Washington in February, no heavyweight official even showed up at the airport to greet him. As undocumented Indians —including children— were shackled in chains aboard a military deportation flight from the US, Modi’s response was, as an Al Jazeera commentator noted, “unusually meek and agreeable for the leader of a Hindu nationalist regime known for its muscular jingoism”. Only two weeks ago, Modi was extolling Trump’s patriotism, claiming that the “nation first” policy practised by both India and the US “aligned well” and “fostered a natural synergy”. That claim was always logically flawed: if both leaders truly prioritise their own nations, their interests, while overlapping on some issues, by definition cannot be “aligned”. Recent events have made this brutally clear —and much to the embarrassment of Modi’s regime. LAst week, Trump imposed a 27% tariff on Indian goods. For context, a recent study estimated that in the event of a blanket 25% US tariff on Indian imports, India’s GDP could take a $31 billion hit. Yet in contrast to the retaliatory responses from other traditional US allies such as the UE, Japan, or Canada, the response from the Indian government has been strikingly muted: no debate, no press conference, no official word on what the plans might be. In the run-up to Trump’s tariffs announcement, India had already reduced its tariffs on some US goods. Modi thought that by buttering Trump up, the US president would return the favor. Now, his government is grappling with the realization that this flattering strategy has only invited further aggression from Washington. And yet, talks for a bilateral trade deal continue—one likely to lead to even greater market access for American imports. Modi, in his capacity as the executive representative of Indian big business, has little other choice. Like many other Asian countries, India simply hasn’t the economic leverage to strike back due to its weaker position and structural dependence on the US market as a central export destination. At home, Modi poses as a muscular defender of national pride and roars about India’s growing “Vishwaguru” (global teacher) status under his leadership; yet when Trump delivers a blow, he turns the other cheek. This episode lays bare the gap between nationalist rhetoric and reality: notwithstanding all the BJP’s bombast about India’s cementing its place as the world’s fifth-largest economy and a would-be superpower claiming a seat a the high table, its actual clout remains limited, and ultimately subordinate to the major imperialist powers. Predictably, pro-Modi economists and commentators who spent months insisting that Trump’s trade policy would benefit India are trying to spin the new tariffs as a win —pointing out that they are lower than those imposed on Vietnam, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka. This is like calling a punch in the gut a handshake just because it isn’t a kick in the face, but the hit still leaves you in pain. And it is the poorest—workers, farmers, the unemployed— who will feel it the most. Because this trade war is not fought on equal terms —not at home, nor globally.

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Sudan is ravaged by two years of counter-revolutionary war

Africa, Imperialist conflict and war 16 April 2025

By Liv Shange Moyo PRMI in Sweden. 16 April 2025 Two years of civil war between the RSF and the SAF – two counter-revolutionary forces that together suppressed the revolutionary movement that was sparked in 2018 before falling out – has left Sudan’s people ravaged, brutalised, starved, but not defeated. What is behind the war in Sudan, and what may lie ahead? This article is crucially limited by the fact that it is written in solidarity from afar, without any direct connection to Sudan – but written nevertheless because paying attention to this war, considered by the United Nations (UN) as the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis, and studying the crucial last decade of revolution and counter-revolution in Sudan is essential for all hoping to contribute to the ending of war, genocide, neocolonial and imperialist looting, violence and oppression, not just in Sudan but worldwide. This week marks two years since mounting tensions between the coup generals in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tipped over into war – a continuation of the counter-revolution seeking to suppress the mighty revolution that had begun in 2018. The exchange of fire began on April 15, 2023, in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, and quickly spread across most of the vast country. On 26 March, 2025, the SAF captured a battered Khartoum, and were met with overflowing relief by residents who had been entrapped in the RSF’s reign of horror for nearly two years. The war is however far from over, and the prospects for possible endings to the bloodshed are ominous too. Amongst them is the possibility of the country splitting between the two warring counter-revolutionary factions, as each of them have proclaimed their own government and intensified fighting over key territories. Nightmare in al-Fashir While the brutal regular army, SAF, has made real gains in recent months, the even more notorious paramilitary RSF controls significant parts of the country. In recent days it has brutally advanced towards al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur which is the one remaining SAF-aligned major urban centre in the region, where battles are ongoing at the time of writing. Over 10-13 April, the RSF took first the Abu Shouk and then the huge Zamzam refugee camp, with a population of 750 000, outside al-Fashir. This supposed “liberation” involved the killing of at least 300 civilians including the execution of the entire medical team of Relief International which had been the last remaining healthcare provider in the camp. Community kitchen volunteers were specifically targeted and killed – one of many horrifying reports. Those able to have, again, been forced to flee carrying nothing or very little, even leaving the wounded behind to die. An estimated 400 000 have fled, many towards al-Fashir which had already swelled to 900 000 people. The UNICEF estimates that there are 825 000 children in al-Fashir and Zamzam, trapped in a nightmare with catastrophic shortages of food, water and other necessities for life. Like the war in Sudan in general, this major and desperate situation has received little if any attention in Western media. Massive death toll How many have been killed over these two years of war is not fully clear. Systems for registering the dead have largely collapsed along with the health care system. Estimates vary massively, from 20 000 to 150 000. Even the highest-end of these estimates are likely undercounts, however. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have brought together and compared several sources and found that in Khartoum State alone, at least 26 000 were “intentionally killed” between April 2023 and June 2024. With disease, starvation and other causes of death included, the death toll for this period in this state alone stood at 61 000 – 50 percent higher than the pre-war death rate. What is clear is that most who die are killed not by guns or bombs but by starvation and disease. Malaria and dengue fever are surging, and cholera outbreaks have been reported. Untreated illnesses like cancer and diabetes cost further lives. Starvation and malnutrition, in combination with infectious diseases like respiratory infections or diarrhoea, kill children in particular. According to the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, 45 000 children have died from malnutrition in two years. 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Most are displaced within Sudan. The Trump administration’s recent freeze on aid is having direct and dire consequences for many refugees. Both warring parties have been found by various actors to have carried out an “appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes”, to quote a UN fact-finding mission in September 2024. These include the systematic rape of women and children, torture, mass targeting of civilians, forced displacement, blocking food, aid and medical supplies and imposing starvation as a weapon of war, the destruction of vital infrastructure like hospital, schools, electricity and water supply etc etc. Genocide in Darfur, again Both armies and their allied forces have also carried out killings on grounds of tribal/ethnic grounds. SAF and allied militias have for example been reported to target and summarily execute young men considered to belong to the tribes associated with RSF, for example carrying out such massacres after conquering Khartoum. The RSF has carried out massacres, ethnic cleansing and other ethnically targeted atrocities against people considered non-Arab, in particular the Masalit in West Darfur. That this constitutes another genocide (as even the US State Department, dripping with hypocrisy, pointed out late last year) became clear early in the war, for example in its November 2023 assault on al-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, when the RSF killed an estimated 1300 civilians, raped countless women and girls, drove away thousands, and destroyed homes and essential infrastructure. The pattern leading up to the al-Geneina massacre is ominously similar to the currently ongoing assault on al-Fashir further north, with the RSF’s scramble to take full control of Darfur clearly fueling the genocidal elements of its warfare. The violent, racist targeting of

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Trump’s new tariff policy hits Sri Lankan economy

Trump demonstrates chart showing 44% tariff on Sri Lanka

Asia, Global economy, Uncategorized 15 April 2025

By Upul Siriwardene, PRMI in Sri Lanka. 15 April 2025. US President Donald Trump raised the tariff on Sri Lankan exports to the US to 44 percent on 2 April. After the news, the Sri Lankan stock market’s overall price index fell by 349.84 units on 3 April, by 254.25 units on the 4th, and by 712.90 units on the 7th. The total decrease in those three days is 1,316.99 units. The impact of this American decision on the country’s economy is considerable. The total value of goods exported by Sri Lanka to the United States in January 2025 was $346 million. The value of goods purchased by Sri Lanka from the United States in that month was $26 million. Accordingly, Sri Lanka exported $321 million more goods to the United States than it purchased from the United States during that month. This is the trade deficit that the United States experienced in the trade transactions between the two countries in one month. Sri Lanka exported goods worth $3 billion to the United States in 2024. Targeting countries with trade surpluses Trump has argued that the large trade deficit with some countries in import and export trade has contributed to the economic downturn and economic crisis in his country. Therefore, he argues these countries should create a system in which they buy more American goods. Trump’s focus on trade imbalances as a primary cause of economic crisis is flawed; not only it won’t address the underlying structural issues in the US economy, like the massive income inequality or long-term industrial decline —it will also unleash a storm of economic devastation on millions of poor and working class people the world over. The new import tariffs introduced by Trump recently are intended to send a shock message to countries that are trading in a way that leaves the United States facing a large trade deficit. Accordingly, he has taken steps to impose very high tariffs on goods exported to the United States from countries with a trade surplus. As mentioned above, Sri Lanka has taken a leading position among the countries that export a large amount of goods to the United States and buy very few goods from it – not in absolute terms, but relative to the size of its economy. With a trade deficit of 2.5 billion dollars annually, it has become a big problem even for a small country like Sri Lanka. This is because although the United States is Sri Lanka’s main export market, there has been no significant change in the amount of goods bought from that country in the past period. Sri Lanka has entered into various agreements with many countries to promote bilateral trade relations. However, such agreements or discussions regarding the promotion of bilateral trade with the United States have not taken place at a productive level. Similarly, although the quantity of goods imported by Sri Lanka from the United States is small, there is no evidence that the United States has exerted any special influence on Sri Lanka to increase them. In the past, US imperialism had most often worked to ensure that international trade was free from restrictions. Therefore, the government promoted policies that favored the so-called ‘free markets’ and minimal barriers to trade. Many of the leaders of the World Trade Organization, which oversees international trade, have stressed the importance of allowing international trade to be determined by market forces such as supply and demand, with minimal intervention from the state. Other measures have been taken when there is a large trade deficit with countries such as Japan, the European Union and China. However, Trump argues that some countries are acting unfairly in this process, and that as a result, the US economy is in crisis. Sri Lanka among hardest-hit According to Trump’s new tariff plan, Sri Lanka has been ranked fifth among the countries that have imposed the highest tax burden (yet this classification has been arrived at by a completely misleading and discredited calculation). The United States is the main buyer of Sri Lanka’s exports. The second buyer is the European Union. Although countries like India, China, and Japan are the main suppliers of goods to Sri Lanka, those countries do not buy a significant amount of Sri Lankan products in return. The United States and the European Union are key buyers of Sri Lankan clothing. In such a situation, it should be clear that having to pay a 44 percent tax on Sri Lankan exports to the US would lead to a major economic collapse for the country. Although Trump’s administration has imposed high tariffs on many other countries, those countries have not recently faced an economic crisis of the scale that Sri Lanka went through. Sri Lanka has barely started to recover from the economic crisis; while it formally exited sovereign default status last December, its debt remains a huge burden on its resources – which Trump’s increased tariffs will make even more difficult to service. After the establishment of export zones under the ‘free economic policy’ introduced in 1977, the textile and apparel industry became our main export sector. The garment manufacturing industry grew significantly under the garment factory program introduced by President R. Premadasa in 1991. At the time of the establishment of the garment industry, unemployment in Sri Lanka was high and wages were low. Sri Lanka was able to make its products competitive in the world market, which was largely a labor-intensive industry. However, while wages in Sri Lanka rose over time, countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos – with access to cheaper labor – have since become more competitive in that market. Sri Lanka has still managed to survive in the garment industry and has become a major export sector, notably due the high-quality of its garments. However, it is questionable whether Sri Lanka, which is facing intense competition in international trade, could compete under a high tariff of 44 percent. It is telling that the government did not pay even a little attention

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