International Socialists (CWI Scotland)

Two weeks ago, fierce rioting took place around the Catholic Short Strand enclave in predominantly Protestant east Belfast, in Northern Ireland. Petrol bombs and other missiles were thrown and shots were fired in some of the worst rioting in the area for a decade. The PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) used water cannon and fired plastic bullets.

The general election in Ireland was historic but not for the reasons being stressed by the would-be new government partners of Fine Gael and Labour. It is that true both parties achieved unprecedented successes at the polls but these are pyrrhic and temporary victories. The election results are also extremely significant because it marked the emergence of the United Left Alliance, which won five seats.

The imminemt general election in the Irish Republic was called because the dominant coalition party - Fianna Fáil - collapsed out of office in utter disarray. 14 years of its rule in the interests of major developers and bankers has bankrupted Ireland, causing mass unemployment, drastic reductions in take home pay, and forcing tens of thousands of young people to emigrate.

Joe Higgins, Socialist Party Ireland MEP, condemns the bondholders and financial speculators at a press conference in the European parliament following the €90 billion "bailout" of Ireland which will mean huge cuts in living standards for the working class in Ireland. 

 http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4684

Sunday 21 November, the day the Irish government formally applied for a bailout to the EU and IMF, should be marked as the day that the Irish capitalist class were exposed as a rotten, despicable failure, bankrupt in every sense and incapable of offering any way forward. The significance of these developments cannot be overstated; they are a turning point in Irish history and will impact on other countries in Europe and the EU itself.

“This was MURDER”

Re-publication of article from the Militant newspaper (CWI in Britain – predecessor of the Socialist)

More analysis on the outcome of the Saville report investigation into the massacre of 13 civilians by British paratroopers on on Sunday, 30th January 1972 will follow soon on socialistworld.net. Below we publish an article carried in Militant, newspaper of the Militant tendency (CWI – predecessor of the Socialist Party) on that tragic day’s events.

Withdraw troops - Replace with Armed Trade Union force Militant 4th February 1972

Working class people need their own alternative

On the 5th February the DUP and Sinn Fein agreed a deal on policing, justice and parades. The deal was announced in triumph as a "historic breakthrough" by First Minister Peter Robinson of the DUP and his deputy Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein, sitting alongside Gordon Brown and the Irish Taoiseach (PM) Brian Cowen.

Ciaran Mulholland, Socialist Party, Belfast 

Capitalist establishment conduct a campaign of fear to secure a yes vote in second referendum

Socialist Party reporters (CWI in Ireland)

There are only a few days left before the second referendum vote on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland. The big business and political elite in Europe on the one hand, but also many workers and activists on the other, will be watching the result closely but hoping for different results.

The Socialist Party (CWI in Ireland) and our MEP, Joe Higgins, have been key elements in the campaign for a no vote. Joe Higgins is the only MEP who is fighting for a no vote. Even more so than last year, Joe has clearly been the most consistent, clear and effective leader on the no side in the media, able to deal with the general points but also bringing out the very dangerous attacks hidden in the depths of the treaty. Joe and the party have made a real impact.

Why the Lisbon treaty is bad for workers' rights?

Socialist Party reporters (CWI in Ireland)

Today at a press conference in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin, prominent Socialist Party spokespeople, accompanied by strike leaders from Coca Cola and MTL Dockworkers, laid out their opposition to the Lisbon Treaty, and explained how the treaty would undermine workers' rights.

Councillor Clare Daly pointed out, "If the government was truly concerned with the rights of workers there was nothing stopping them introducing legislation in the Dáil (Irish parliament). Not one specific claim has been made by the government or any of the ‘yes’ side as to how ratifying Lisbon is going to enhance the position of workers.