IN MEMORIAM: Carol Brickley
26 October 1947-16 September 2019

It is four years since the death of our comrade Carol Brickley, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Group, who played a crucial role in the creation of our newspaper Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! and the development of its politics. She made a major contribution to a Marxist analysis of the dual nature of women’s oppression under capitalism. For many years she led the RCG’s anti-apartheid work, as convenor of City of London Anti-Apartheid Group. Carol was throughout her life a staunch communist whose lucid insights, uncompromising class politics and unerring instincts for political strategy and tactics remain much missed by our organisation today. Our struggle in defence of the working class, against increasing state repression, against imperialism and against all those opportunist forces who attempt to derail any emerging resistance, is the poorer without her. She remains an inspiration to all her comrades.

For a fuller account of Carol’s political contribution see FRFI 272, October/November 2019, ‘Carol Brickley: a revolutionary life’.

UCU: opportunist leadership against striking workers

Over spring and summer, workers from the University and College Union (UCU) took part in the Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB). This form of strike action prevented students from obtaining their evaluations and degrees, causing enormous disruption to British university employers. While workers participated in the strike at the cost of draconian pay cuts (normally a third of their salary was docked while they had to continue all their extra marking work), their union leadership betrayed them in all possible ways.

In May, Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary, did not enact an approved motion for a summer re-ballot of the MAB, allowing employers to simply wait out the industrial action without having to negotiate with the union. More recently, she used an ‘e-ballot’ in which 27% of the membership voted for interrupting the MAB to call off the action even before its legal mandate. Finally, she undermined collective bargaining by allowing individual branches to decide independently on their participation in the week of strike action called to coincide with the end of the MAB, during the first week of teaching in September. As a result many branches either cancelled the strike action or undertook it only for a few days.

The MAB ended in defeat, with no significant achievements for UCU workers after a costly campaign. Jo Grady and her faction, UCU Commons, bear primary responsibility for this failure, continuously opposing escalation against the employers even when most of the union membership called for it. Nothing can be expected from them, and from the other factions fighting for the control of UCU. If they want to win, UCU striking workers should radicalise their fight not only against their employers but also against the opportunist leadership of their union.

ALEXANDER TROME
South London

Struggle for housing in Spain

In 2014, activists in the southwest of Madrid took over a building that had never been occupied. The building company had gone bankrupt and the property was passed on to a state-owned bank which had been created to absorb toxic assets. The building was named ‘La Dignidad’ (‘Dignity’) and for nine years it has hosted vulnerable families that were evicted from their homes. During this time, the Miami-based hedge fund Midtown Capital Partners bought the building and started exerting legal pressure to evict the residents.

On 27 July 2023, 25 vans full of riot police seized the property and expelled 18 families (48 people) without economic resources, many of them elderly, some with disabilities, one receiving cancer treatment, another suffering from Parkinsons. Despite negotiations, they have not been given alternative housing and none of the local and regional administrations have made any commitment to help them. In August, they decided to camp in front of the courts to protest and demand a solution, so far resulting in two people arrested, six people fined and constant police harassment.

There are approximately 115 evictions a day in Spain, and this case shows how the interests of capital are protected at the expense of the well-being of the poor. Families continue to struggle and ‘La Dignidad’ resists within them.

Justice for Chris Kaba!

Just over a year after Chris Kaba, an unarmed black man, was executed by the Metropolitan police, an officer has been charged with murder. Kaba’s death sparked protests across Britain, forcing anti-racists to the streets in opposition to British state racism.

For years the police have been able to murder without any repercussions: since 1990, 80 people have died as a result of police shootings and there have been 1,873 deaths in police custody or following contact with the police in the same period. There has only been one successful prosecution of an officer, a manslaughter prosecution in the case of former footballer Dalian Atkinson, but there has never been a successful prosecution for murder.

Following the officer’s murder charge over 100 firearm officers handed in their firearm permits for two days. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman piled in to support the officer being prosecuted, interfering in the process, with Braverman tweeting: ‘We depend on our brave firearms officers to protect us from the most dangerous and violent in society’, in response to an article with a ‘Justice for Chris Kaba’ banner.

To repeat: Chris Kaba was unarmed. Mark Duggan, Sheku Bayoh, Anthony Grainger, Ian Tomlinson, Sean Rigg, Jean Charles de Menezes and countless others were unarmed when killed at the hands of police across Britain. The British state is rotten to its core; its police forces are known to be institutionally racist and sexist. Fight state racism! Justice for Chris Kaba!

Letter from Joe Outlaw

As an IPP prisoner who has spent almost 13 years trapped in this system, I have seen a range of violence, neglect, racism and abuse on a daily basis. This becomes the norm to us, and sadly, we begin to expect nothing less. But the levels of which the prison system has attempted to suppress and silence me has reached an all-time low since protesting on the roofs of HMP Manchester and HMP Frankland against the illegal IPP sentences and my treatment.

I have been totally isolated from all other prisoners. I have not seen another non-prison staff human in person for three months now. The restriction on my exercise is so intensely excessive that I cannot bring myself to go through it every day. I am made to walk around in handcuffs in a small circle, wearing flip flops and supervised by four staff standing in silence at each corner of the yard.

In just under 12 weeks I have been subject to over 140 full body strip searches – sometimes up to four a day. I am stripped every time I leave or re-enter the cell, even if I walk 10 feet to the phone, supervised by four staff and handcuffed. This has nothing to do with risk; it is employing degrading tactics as form of abuse.

However, I have had great comfort from all the people who have sent me their solidarity. I send my love and thanks to FRFI for their support. I am grateful for you all, who restore my faith in humanity to bring change.

JOE OUTLAW A1236AY
HMP Belmarsh,
Western Way, Thamesmead,
London SE28 0EB

An absolute right to acquit

In September the solicitor general, Michael Tomlinson KC, ordered the prosecution of environmental activist Trudi Walker for contempt of court. Her alleged crime was the display of a placard outside a court reading: ‘JURORS: you have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience’. Prior to this, in March, Insulate Britain activists were also found in contempt of court for explaining their protest to a jury.

The right for juries to acquit based on their conscience, especially when a defendant violates an unjust law, has been established in English common law since Bushel’s Case in 1670. This case found that juries cannot be punished for finding a verdict that disagrees with the presiding judge. In that case specifically, a jury was found to be within its rights in refusing to convict a pair of Quakers for holding a then-illegal religious meeting outside the auspices of the Church of England.

Three and a half centuries later, jurors still have a right to acquit activists or others who may violate the letter of the law. Following Walker’s prosecution, hundreds of people performed copycat actions in solidarity, displaying similar placards outside courts.
Know your rights!

MATT GLASS
West London

Woking bankruptcy

Woking Borough Council recently filed for bankruptcy following a series of risky investments taken on by the former Conservative leadership of the council. These included millions of pounds being squandered on the partial building of skyscrapers. Woking is thought to be the most indebted local authority in history and debts are predicted to reach £2.6bn. This has caused the council to cease all spending on ‘non-essential’ services, with the scheme for more affordable homes being the first to go.

Woking is also going to cut funding for the arts, public playgrounds and community care schemes and shut down its public restrooms and sport pavilions. Residents are also going to be expected to pay an increased council tax, to what degree is yet to be seen, and a 20% increase in parking fees.
These policies are going to disproportionately affect the working class and most vulnerable. I have lived in Woking my whole life. The only reason we can afford to live here is because of council housing, but ‘affordable housing’ schemes are being thrown out in major part because the council prioritised the extravagance of a skyscraper over the needs of residents.

MAYA VAT SOBODA
Woking