Unite members at bus manufacturer Optare, in Sherburn-in-Elmet, on the outskirts of Leeds, took the first strike in a series of discontinous 48 hour strikes starting on 15th October, alongsideside a continuous overtime ban. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist Party During pay negotiations in 2019, workers had been given a promise of a decent pay rise,…
“Claps don’t pay our bills” and “Nurses are for life, not just for pandemics” were amongst some of the slogans on homemade placards at the 250 strong demonstration of NHS & care workers fighting for a pay rise. This turnout would have been even bigger if it weren’t for the local lockdowns imposed on some…
This weekend marked the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the NHS. Leeds had several events organised by Keep Out NHS Public. First were some limited number protest front of the the main hospitals on Saturday. Sunday there was a car cavalcade in South Leeds. Tanis Belsham-Wray, Leeds Socialist Party Socialist Party members took part…
The Covid-19 crisis has pushed councils up and down the country into a new financial crisis. The Centre for Progressive Policy thinktank expects eight out of ten tier-one local authorities to face the threat of bankruptcy. Labour-led Leeds City Council is the biggest of the councils to publicly raise this possibility. Iain Dalton, Leeds Socialist…
Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park, Leeds – photo Iain Dalton For the second weekend in a row Leeds saw a huge BLM demo which again was peaceful and problem free. 5000 people gathered in Hyde Park for a well-managed socially distanced protest. James Ellis, Leeds Socialist Party The organisers took great care to…
Supporters of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) in Leeds held a protest outside Debenhams in Leeds, alongside others organised in London, Plymouth and Southampton against the companies savage cuts to jobs and stores, as part of a day of action called by members of the retail workers union, Usdaw, in the NSSN. Iain Dalton,…
There was a palpable sense of anger and optimism at the around seven thousand strong Black Voices Matter protest in Leeds on Sunday. James Ellis, Leeds Socialist Party The largely young, diverse and working-class protest went off peacefully, with social distancing being observed and a hunger for ideas on how to take this movement forward….
Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people had turned out to demonstrate against the brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and the wider issues of police violence and racism in society. These protests have been vibrant, multi-racial affairs, with young people in particular striving for answers on how to end racism…
Half a dozen cars and one cyclist took part in a car cavalcade co-sponsored by Leeds TUC this Thursday to highlight the reckless plans by the government for wider re-opening of schools. Leeds Socialist Party members joined the car cavalcade with our own posters and those of Leeds TUC which states ‘put workplace safety under…
Despite what the particularly vicious sections of the press would have you believe, teachers want schools open as soon as possible – providing it is safe. As educators we are deeply worried about the impact of the lockdown on the mental health and learning of our students, especially the most disadvantaged. Unlike the Tories we…
