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Briefings
quit. If they are as bad as polls suggest (as low as 19% of the vote) and there is a big rise in votes for Meltdown prospect
the far right and fascists the pressure may become unbearable. however, there are other factors stalks Labour Party
that need to be considered. Chief amongst these are whether there is 1 In the summer of 2008 John parliamentary crisis, looked like a an alternative and, secondly, what Labour look even worse. even before notwithstanding his posturing at Some, including Milburn, Byers and of trade union backing. he came talk of a “damage limitation” leadership challenge, not to win the general election, but to prevent a All those on the frontline of sackings,
wipe out of Labour MPs. Sometimes mentioned in this context is Jack cutbacks and home repossessions must
(poll tax cheat) Straw. no chance. More serious as a contender is Alan not be mesmerised by media focus on the
Johnson – billed as the acceptable face of new Labour. he does have decomposition of Labour’s rule
support in the Parliamentary party and elsewhere, as his campaign for deputy leader demonstrated, and can’t see where their next £8,000 tV doesn’t mean things can’t change if susceptible to the idea that Brown is water”.
begins to look increasingly unlikely. Joanna Lumley was only the most the revival scenario is based largely spectacular example. And all of the in their usual role of staying “in the page  / permanentrevolution
Andy Smith
orphan, postman, union man, not rich – and he has not been shown to have fiddled his expenses (at the education
Lewisham Bridge School
think he would have to come out and clearly oppose Mandelson’s proposals for the part privatisation fighting privatisation
of Royal Mail, something he hasn’t done; but in the present extreme crisis in the party this can’t be excluded. In summary, Johnson only represents a superficial 1 On 23 April parents took the heritage gave the school Grade-II the Labour left? It’s very weak and it challenge in present circumstances. objections in the form of petitions Leader of the LRC, John McDonnell, faces defeat in his hayes and harlington constituency, not least Lewisham Council are attempting to wash
due to the government’s decision to site heathrow’s third runway there. their hands of their responsibility for
Others have also decided to concentrate their efforts locally, education by handing the buildings, land
whether trying to protect their votes or campaigning against the and governance to private companies
Labour. now that the latest research miles away to a temporary site in grown since 1997, there seems little site was abandoned in preparation Summer 2009 / page 
Briefings
Labour Lewisham – centre control of this situation.
of privatisation
Since then there has been a great and governance to private accept the “inevitable”. For all their a message to Lewisham that we will glove with the privateers.
Alliance were also present. We need national heritage, our local interview
“Their actions have restored my faith in people”
1 SeAn MCCAFFRey from the the Visteon occupation in Belfast. incredible gesture to have six
of Swansea convenor Rob Williams. action had inspired them to do the tuesday morning and after visiting to save the school for their an occupation of a school there and without sleep so we were about to page  / permanentrevolution
vandalism and have advised us that Lewisham’s plans to privatise Eleanor Davies
Messages of support to:
Eleanor 07946 541331
Facebook Hands Off Lewisham Bridge
Website defendeducationlewisham.
We demand that the children are Email handsofflewishambridge@
returned to Lewisham Bridge by the yahoo.co.uk million people, including about 8,000 people in the UK. of 2009 h1n1 is uncertain. At this time of year flu doesn’t tend to cause epidemics in the northern Capitalism and
hemisphere; it usually peaks between December and March in the UK, for example. It is quite pandemic influenza
possible that it will reappear in the autumn. And while the mortality is hernandez, a five-year-old boy living in La Gloria, Mexico hospitals and public bodies, massive people under 60 which is a and fever. Little did his family know were dusted down ready for action, There is no doubt that the World Health
cases were confirmed in a couple who had returned from Mexico. Organisation’s “war on flu” approach
these honeymooners recovered quickly with a short course of has enthusiastic support from the
treatment by publicist Max Clifford, who helped them turn a pig virus manufacturers of the drugs
raised the influenza pandemic alert restrictions, intensive follow-up and immunity. the mortality of the new level to 5, signalling an “imminent Summer 2009 / page 
Briefings
“Spanish flu” of 1918 is estimated to through air travel. there was compare that with hIV which killed this appears relatively short – once and other potential pandemics, was there is no guarantee that it would designed to suit the pharmaceutical like illness is very common. Given Profiting from
pandemic panic
Plans to recognise and respond to spread in the UK, for example, with on avian flu – originating in Asia – Americas. the US leftist Mike Davis, while more anti-virals and a vaccine the “war on flu” approach of the author of the Monster at Our Door: the Global threat of Avian Flu, argues the WhO strategy is wrong because it focuses on identification We cannot avoid the emergence of new
of an outbreak, isolation of the cases and a pharmaceutical infectious diseases, but it is clear that
disinfection of the local area through giving everyone antiviral globalisation has made them more
frequent and more widespread
insurgency style approach is doomed, and that it has been pursued at the expense of government announced more plans may be associated with virulence, Planning for pandemics
by around 4% on the same day. Sales impact of the disease later in the of face masks and disinfecting hand year. But as it stands the strategy page  / permanentrevolution
bulk ordered them even before they strike. After the IMPACt result for example in distribution of drugs party in the Dáil (parliament), who are worst affected because they and vaccines, together with Clare Heath
workers at Waterford Crystal was also called off. the eight-week sit in was ended on 22 March after the Unite union reached an agreement with its new owners, the private equity company KPS. the deal did not safeguard workers’ pensions Trade unions retreat,
and promised to maintain only 176 jobs out of 480. government attacks
Bosses offensive
government, a coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Green budget, the second in six months. It Crystal workers had occupied their levy and institute a wage freeze, led off the strike and had accepted the Summer 2009 / page 9
Briefings
of those of ordinary workers, double embrace the unemployed, agency workers will lose even more, having or treble jobbing through coalition made no moves to increase board of the Central Bank. enough to have jobs who were made Irish bank, the government is now of it worthless, that the government must be introduced alongside for by more tax increases and public higher income taxes for the rich. Banks and bureaucrats
this is the price the Irish workers the crisis in capitalism easing – with redundancy or closure, workers must use strike action and Workers must organise a fight against
occupations to demand nationalisation without the austerity budget and to drag their
compensation under workers’ control.
leaders out of talks with the government
and back onto the streets
bring forward and turn one-day strikes into all-out indefinite strikes to stop the cuts, the sackings, the Workers must act for themselves, wedge between public sector and wealth. As public sector workers are greatest defeat in twenty years. two grassroots, reaching out to the rank blow at the heart of this crisis- Maureen Gallagher
page 10 / permanentrevolution
Alliance coaltion
poll in the middle of May showed that the government’s handling of the crisis had support even among tightens the screws
the opposition’s sympathisers. Over half of the Social Democratic sympathisers thought the government “did a good or relatively good job in handling the person under 25 is unemployed and economic crisis”. no wonder then half of those registered unemployed that confidence in the Social the crisis largely due to its export-oriented economy. GnP confrontational stance they decided support amongst young workers on a “killing you softly” strategy.
(Worker’s Initiative), inspired by the watched their support ebb away to a fights for “a democratic and Anders Ångström
Summer 2009 / page 11

Source: http://www.permanentrevolution.net/files/04-11%20Briefings(1).pdf