The 2019 General Election and Scotland

by David Green

Where now for the Left?

The 2019 UK general election result was a shock for the left. An 80-seat Conservative majority in the House of Commons — an unfamiliar sight after nearly ten years of coalition and minority rule — has already led to Boris Johnson moving quick to capitalise on his new mandate to ensure Brexit will go ahead. In Scotland, the left needs now to move beyond rhetorical opposition to the Tories and create a new vision of what kind of country Scotland should be.

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The far right in Ireland

Narratives, strategies and left responses (Part 2)

by Mark Malone

In advance of a mass anti-fascist mobilisation in Dublin tomorrow (14 December), we bring you the second instalment of Mark Malone’s assessment of the threat posed by the Irish far right and what can be done to counter it.

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The far right in Ireland

Narratives, strategies and left responses (Part 1)

by Mark Malone

Following the recent piece we carried on the role of trade unions in combating racist and far right narratives across Britain, we asked Mark Malone to assess the threat of the far right in Ireland. In Part 1, he introduces the main narratives and organisational strategies employed by extreme right actors in Ireland, their links to international far right networks and how they have sought to exploit the uncertainty and tensions surrounding Brexit.

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Spain’s coalition government and Europe: An interview with Miguel…

by Eoghan Gilmartin

In advance of the upcoming UK general election, which is set to define British politics for a generation, the recent Spanish election has produced a long-anticipated coalition between the Socialist Party (PSOE) and its left-wing rival Podemos. To discuss the challenges facing the Spanish left as it attempts to govern within confines of the EU’s fiscal compact, as well as the significance of Vox’s surge, journalist Eoghan Gilmartin sat down with Podemos co-founder and MEP Miguel Urbán.

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Unite the Union’s ‘Unity over Division’ campaign

by Barry Faulkner

Over the past few years we have seen the growth of racist and extreme right narratives across Europe, with workers, communities and even trade unionists drawn in by a discourse which offers false promises for better pay, job security and enhanced public services. But, writes Barry Faulkner, trade unions such as Unite have been at the forefront of efforts to counter these narratives and combat the attempts of far-right groups to organise.

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Brexit: A view from the border

by Tommy McKearney and Mel Corry

It is now one month till the UK goes to the polls in what will be the biggest general election in a generation. Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal sits in cold storage, with the Prime Minister searching for that elusive majority. Talk of a return to violence in Northern Ireland meanwhile continues to fill newspaper columns. Here Tommy McKearney, a lifelong socialist republican activist, and Trademark’s Mel Corry offer a considered view of Brexit and the Irish question from the border.

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Made in Germany or Made for Germany?

The once “strong tiger” of the German economy might be crumbling. For decades, the Made in Germany strategy pursued by successive governments suggested high quality goods worth paying for. Systemic faultlines, structural conservatism and policies of privatisation have created new lines of conflict domestically. Why this is bad also for the rest of Europe and the world explains Professor Peter Herrmann.

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Borders have history

by Seán Byers & Stiofán Ó Nuallaín

Borders are scratched across the hearts of men
By strangers with a calm, judicial pen
And when the borders bleed we watch with dread
The lines of ink across the map turn red.

Marya Mannes, Subverse: Rhymes for Our Times, 1959

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Building alliances to transform Europe: an international dialogue

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Labour’s big challenge

by Seán Byers & Stiofán Ó Nualláin

Boris Johnson’s recent no-show at a press briefing with the Luxemburg premier Xavier Bettel is the latest in a series of public humiliations for the new British Prime Minister. It follows a string of public appearances where his incoherent mutterings have been drowned out by loud and angry protest. It also follows the resignation of several Cabinet ministers and a ‘purge’ of 21 Tory MPs for rebelling against the government during a crucial vote in Parliament, which has resulted in Johnson sacrificing his majority.

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