Fighting New Labour.....and all its' works.

We are in a curous political phase where numerous campaigns and struggles are springing up or upping their game and the political establishment has pre-election fever.

The Faslane 365 campaign came to a close yesterday, with a flurry of action and arrests at the Big Blockade. 365 may be over, but the campaign against New Labour's ridiculously expensive and ludicrously useless Trident Missile replacement continues. Pictures of the last day from Indymedia here. Well done to all those taking action - the struggle continues!

Meanwhile, the repression of protest in London continues with the banning of the Stop The War Action on 8th October. To their credit, the anti-war campaigners are refusing to give in to bullying and Tony Benn is taking a stand - see his Guardian blog here. According to the STWC site "Tony Benn, Brian Eno, Mark Thomas, Walter Wolfgang, George Galloway and Ben Griffin (ex SAS trooper) will head the march to Parliament in defiance of the ban"

This, as Brown grandstands from Iraq about troop withdrawals - some of which have already happened, others of which were planned previously, and none of which addresses the crucial issues around the future involvement of UK forces in the aggressive interventionist wars of the US imperial bloc. The Tories are outraged, as his news manipulation takes over from their attempts to help the poor, poverty stricken people who have £500,000 to £999,999.99 to leave to their kids.

Meanwhile the industrial situation simmers as the fresh postal strikes loom from Thursday and Post Office management made itself even less popular than it was already by announcing the first 180 Post Offices chosen for closure from a potential 2500. Another vital public service to be sacrificed on the altar of the great neo-liberal demiurge.

Brown may be tempted to go for an early election by among other things the looming prospect of a winter of discontent with industrial action across the public sector on pay and strings - organised workers are aware that there is a comprehensive spending review in the offing - and Gordon may be looking at what looks very much like a public sector pay freeze.

With massive demonstrations on the NHS and Climate Change planned for November and December respectively, a growing campaign across the political spectrum for a referendum on the European Const...sorry, Reform Treaty, it looks like a real sea change in British politics is a possibility. The time is coming for more and more of us to get off our knees and fight if we are to really build a movement to resist neo-liberalism, environmental destruction and war - if we are to have any hope of a better future.