Your dad's bike

I see that New Labour’s Shaun Woodward, the ex-Tory parachuted into the ‘safe’ seat of St Helens South, where he was opposed by Neil Thompson for the Socialist Alliance, isn’t short of a bob or two. He himself is a multi-millionaire and his wife, Camilla Sainsbury, is heir to the billion-pound supermarket fortune. She loyally canvassed for Shaun in the town centre, accompanied by her butler!

I know that most Weekly Worker readers would be doing well to inherit their dad’s bike, so I am pleased to report that June’s fighting fund has got off to a good start. Thanks to the late arrival of several cheques and postal orders delayed by the recent postal workers’ action, I am very much encouraged after last month’s big shortfall.

HL sent us £30 as a “late celebration of May Day”. Very late, actually, comrade, but most welcome nonetheless. Also in my mailbag were donations from LP, AN and DF (£20 each), GT (£10) and PM (£5), which, together with a number of standing orders paid straight into our account, take the total for our first week to £155. A bit of an improvement compared to May.

Robbie Rix

Ask for a bankers order form, or send cheques, payable to Weekly Worker, BCM Box 928, London WC1N 3XX

Number 387

Thursday June 7 2001

Build on election campaign success
Marcus Larsen calls for the Socialist Alliance and Scottish Socialist Party to forge a single all-Britain party

Letters
Oldham mistake; Relate to Labour; End for Gates?; Canvassing; SP mark I; SP mark II; Reformist SA

Opportunity for advance
Sarah McDonald interviews Socialist Worker Platform member Neil Davidson on life inside the Scottish Socialist Party

Opening up to the left
Stan Keable speaks to Ivan Beavis, circulation manager for the Morning Star and CPB candidate for Hackney South and Shoreditch

The choice is clear
There no reason why activists moving towards the Socialist Alliance cannot be won to revolutionary politics, argues Martin Blum

Russian Federation: Putin - one year on
Michael Malkin assesses the first twelve months of Russia's new tsar

And
Winning hearts

Himalayan crisis
Jim Gilbert looks at the repercussions of Nepal's palace massacre

Our history
Principle or tactic

Socialist Alliance reports

• A candidate's diary
• Leicester: Twilight zone
  Rob Martin gives a sketch of Arthur Scargill's election rally in Leicester
• Hartlepool: Desire for left unity
  Bill Jeannes looks at the SLP campaign
• Greater Manchester: Seizing leadership
• Greenwich and Woolwich: new beginning
• Nottingham: Real work starts now

Hackney Socialist Alliance: Abbott backs SA priority pledges
Challenging Labour lefts could have paid off, argues Anne Mc Shane