This Wednesday, PM Starmer made an unscheduled speech. He stood in front of the flag to tell us how he was rising to the occasion of the new stage of the war against Iran. And, he repeated, "it's not 'our' war"...

    So, after Trump told European leaders to "go get their own oil", out of the blocked Strait of Hormuz, Starmer announced the launch of a new "coalition of the willing". Not to blow people up, as in Ukraine, but to pursue "political and diplomatic channels" to re-open the Strait!

    Of course, this might be difficult, since such diplomacy will surely involve talking to the Iranians... and Starmer explicitly blamed them {and Russia) for the crisis brought about by this war. When we all know who started it.

    And by the way, the Iranians would have heard Starmer agree to assist Trump/Netanyahu in their attack. Starmer sent a destroyer and even offered an aircraft carrier - which Trump happened to refuse...

    Actually, it was hard to figure out what Starmer was hoping to achieve by his little speech... Was this meant to boost his ratings in the electoral "war" to come in 4 weeks' time?

    If so, that "£100 off energy bills" which he "offered" will hardly cut it. It was already planned before the oil crisis, as he admitted. And unlike some other countries' leaders, he's not even capping petrol prices, but merely asking profiteers to restrain themselves (hahaha)!

    And what about the US-British Special Relationship? In fact this was never really in question, just as Trump's use of British military bases was never in question. Starmer might declare "independence" from Trump's war. But behind the scenes nothing has changed. And to prove it, the King and his wife are off to visit the real "King" and "Queen" in Washington this April, to pay their respects!

    Let's remember that when Starmer belatedly distanced himself from the horrific slaughter on Gaza perpetrated by Netanyahu and his self-confessed fascist cabinet members (ultra-right Zionists, Smotrich and Ben Gvir) it was only because it was affecting Labour's vote.

    It was these same barbarians who drank champagne this week in the Knesset after winning the vote for a law mandating the death penalty for "terrorist" Palestinians who kill "Israelis"! This, in the midst of an escalating terror campaign by Zionist settlers who are killing more and more Palestinians on the West Bank every day!

    In fact, this war against Iran is indeed Starmer's war. He stands full square in the imperialist camp - i.e. NATO, whether with, or without, the US!

    As for the working class, it can only oppose the killing of our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters. We are on their side. Furthermore, a blow struck against the imperialists - whether terrorist Trump or his terrorist proxy Netanyahu, is a blow struck for our class and for the poor and the oppressed everywhere.

Hundreds of thousands - half-a-million according to the organisers - joined a national demonstration against the far-right and Farage's so-called "Reform" in London last weekend. Trade unions, anti-racist campaigns, left-wing organisations, along with the Greens, Labour party groups, and many, many, others turned out to show their opposition to racist anti-immigrant politics.

    However it was also clear that the objective of the mainstream parties in this march was to launch their own electoral campaigns for the 7 May local, mayoral, and Scottish and Welsh assembly elections.

    They see Farage's Reform as the main threat to their vote. So the Greens' leader, Zack Polanski exhorted everyone to 'go back to your communities, and organise" adding that "Jocal elections are coming, we will defeat hate!". On the other hand, loyal TUC leader, Paul Nowak called on the Labour government to "deliver the change" people voted for in 2024.

    Indeed, across the board, what was on offer was the same old electoral road which leads to the dead end of the voting booth. By focusing on the "fight" against Reform UK at the ballot box, they abandon the real fight against division, which has to be fought in the workplaces and on the streeis against the profit system which is squeezing everyone more than ever...

    Union leaders who fell over each other to show their support for "Love, Hope, Unity", on Saturday, have, in "unity" with the bosses, colluded in the brutal deterioration of Ts&Cs and the cutting of jobs. The CWU's Dave Ward, agreed to Royal Mail new starters' 2" tier status; UNITE's Sharon Graham presides over members in BMW's MINI plant, stuck on agency contracts, who do all the main assembly work, but are sacked at will and don't even have the right to vote in union ballots!

    When writing about the degeneration of the trade unions in rich countries almost 100 years ago, Leon Trotsky described the unions' bureaucratic leadership as "lieutenants of capital" who act as a "transmission belt" to enforce the interests of the bosses on the working class. All the more so today!

    So, against the sectional divisions imposed by the bosses and against the racist divisions peddled by Farage, the working class needs to build its own united revolutionary force in order to fight for social change. Because there's no parliamentary road to socialism!