Number 272

Thursday January 21 1999

Scargill's new purge - The SLP's Simon Harvey calls for defence of the Appeal Four - Brian Heron, Carolyn Sikorski, Terry Dunn and Helen Drummond

Party notes - Mark Fischer attacks the Socialist Party's minimalist demands

Letters - Iraq, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Basque country, European Union

Corruption or democracy - Scandals at the heart of Europe raise the demand for a constituent assembly, writes Mary Godwin

Republicans debate way forward - Dave Craig reports on the January 9 meeting in Edinburgh

Historical idealism ... - Socialist News writer Don Hoskins breaks Arthur Scargill's "Nazi", "bookburning" ban and outlines his Economic and Philosophic Science Review views on homesexuality, etc

... or Marxist analysis - Phil Sharpe argues that the Economic and Philosophic Science Review defends utopian socialism and opposes revolutionary Marxism

Political problems, political solutions - Royston Bull's election as SLP vice president demands a principled response, writes Jack Conrad

Vote United Socialists? - Don Preston reports on developments on the left

Hurricane of persecutions - Stan Keable reports of the founding of the British branch of the International Collective of Communist Esperantists

Paul Smith - John Pearson marks the passing of a life-long socialist and class fighter

Constructive talks - Anne Murphy welcomes the adoption of a inclusive, democratic structure for the Network of Socialist Alliances

Socialist Unity in action - The North Defoe by-election marked a significant turning-point for left unity, writes Michael Malkin