MARY DAVIS says the centrality of the Jewish community and the Communist Party to anti-fascism in the 1930s is too often overlooked on the left
McGurk’s Bar bombing of 1971
The explosion that killed 15 civilians including two children and seriously injured many others was immediately blamed on the IRA by the British Army without evidence — instead, strong evidence would emerge that the massacre was the work of pro-British paramilitaries, reveals RICHARD RUDKIN
A 1936 confrontation with Mosley’s BUF became part of a wider international struggle, with local activists later joining the fight against fascism in the Spanish civil war. TONY FOX tells the story ahead of a 90th anniversary commemoration event
GEORGE WHITE explains why Unite’s Lancashire area activists committee believes co-ordinated recruitment in an area defined by particular kinds of employment and linked by a major transport artery could provide a model for organising the unorganised
Voters have delivered a stay of execution for Labour and exposed limits to Reform’s advance. But will Burnham offer a political alternative rather than just a different face at the top, asks ANDREW MURRAY
Calls for a Universal Basic Income are a red herring, argues the Full Marx editorial team — socialists should fight for Universal Basic Services
SEVIM DAGDELEN warns that Germany’s military resurgence and revival of old hostilities towards Russia have dangerous implications for Europe and beyond
ON DECEMBER 23 1971, British soldiers were tasked to deliver a letter to all residents in a small community of North Belfast, written by the Commanding Officer of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The letter was written following the bombing of McGurk’s Bar on December 4.
The following is an extract:
“My immediate aim and first priority is to remove the presence of B Coy (company) 1st Official IRA and C Coy 3rd Battalion Provisional IRA as active terrorist organisations. When this has been done we can look forward jointly to the banishment of fear and terror and to a peace in which civil and political development can take place. To a period in which you will not lose your friends in a repetition of the ‘Provos’ accident at McGurk’s Bar.”
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