May Day

On May 1, 1890, demonstrations took place around the world at the behest of the Socialist International of left-wing parties.

The main demand was for limiting the working day to eight hours.

Frederick Engels noted that in all of continental Europe "it was Vienna that celebrated the holiday of the proletariat in the most brilliant and dignified manner."

But, he added, even this dramatic revival of the Austrian trade union and socialist movement was "thrown into the shade" by the "most important and magnificent" London May Day march and rally three days later.

What had, in Engels's words, roused the English workers from almost 40 years of slumber to join the great international army?

He pointed his German readers to the previous year's dockers' strike and the founding of the Gas Workers' and General Labourers' Union, which had grown to embrace 100,000 members.

He proclaimed the unionisation of huge numbers of unskilled workers and the fact that they wanted their unions to be led by socialists.

This rise of militant, left-led "new unionism" could be contrasted with the aloofness and conservatism, both industrial and political, of the craft-based unions led by the aristocrats of labour.

No to an Elected Mayor in Bristol

In May Bristol residents will be asked to choose in a referendum whether or not they want an elected mayor. The Communist Party opposes elected mayors and in the article below Peter Latham, a member of the party's Economic Committee, outlines why.

The Tory-led coalition Government plus previous Conservative and New Labour governments - despite their rhetoric emphasising "community empowerment" and "localism" - in practice have all intervened on behalf of monopoly capitalism to restore the conditions in which profitable investment and capital accumulation can take place.

Hence the main aim of the Localism Act 2011 - which gives Eric Pickles (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) at least 142 powers to lay down regulations and issue guidance and should be called the Centralism Act - is to complete the privatisation of local government services started under previous Tory governments and intensified under New Labour.

There are 13 English councils (Bedford, Doncaster, Hackney, Hartlepool, Leicester, Lewisham, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Newham, North Tyneside, Torbay, Tower Hamlets and Watford) with US-style executive mayors following New Labour's Local Government Act 2000. Moreover, the mayoral system:

• with power in the hands of one person leads to cronyism, patronage and corruption;
• is the optimal internal management arrangement for privatised local government services;
• removes the working class from this layer of local democracy;
• creates an arena focused on personalities not politics;
• has not increased turnout;
• lacks voter support;
• has an undemocratic voting system;
• gives voters no right of recall.

Read the full article: http://www.southwestcommunists.org.uk/press-releases/125-no-to-elected-mayors

Tolpuddle 2012 Tickets on Sale

The annual Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival is a unique event and hard to describe. There has been a celebaration of the Tolpuddle story every year since the 1930s and the Festival is a key date for the Labour Movement. But it is a lot more than a rally for trade unionists.

Over the weekend there will be lots of debates and discussions on a wide range of topics. Controversial subjects will be tackled. Leading speakers will inform, captivate, inspire, argue with, rant at and challenge us. Between or even instead of the politics there will be a diverse mixture of some cracking music. Many performers will reflect the exciting burst of radical new talent that is emerging. Some old favourites will be there too.

The Saturday will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great radical US singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie and we will remember him and mark the legacy of his music.

The enclosed Kids' Area will host a new menu of fun for children of all ages and we plan to develop ideas for teenagers.

The Sunday welcomes lots more people who come for the day and the grand procession of banners through the village. Wreaths are laid on the grave of Martyr' James Hammett.

For those fascinated by Britain's radical history please see the Radical History School to book your place. Radical History School The theme will be to discuss the changing nature of protest including the Swing Rebellion, early unions, the General Strike, grass roots power and direct action.

Festival tickets go on sale from 1st April (the Sunday Rally is free apart from parking)

http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/

The Case for Communism

A great video from the other end of the country:

Strathclyde University & Glasgow University Communist Societies presents - The Case For Communism. Marc Livingstone, Chairperson of the Communist Party in Scotland and also Communist Candidate in the General and Scottish elections, sets out the case against Capitalism first, and then goes on to speak to the benefits of Communism. Finally, the floor was open for anyone to ask questions, so a session of discussion on the points raised finishes the video.