Last night over 150,000 people turned out in Madrid to receive the coal miners who have marched for 18 days to cover the 400 km separating their home regions from the Spanish capital. A huge crowd of tens of thousands (the Madrid secretary of CCOO union put the figure at half a million) showed their solidarity with raised fists, revolutionary slogans and songs, and accompanied them from Ciudad Universitaria all the way to the Puerta del Sol square which the indignados have filled often in the last one year of struggles.

The crisis of the euro resembles a long drawn-out death agony. There is one “decisive” summit after another, each proclaiming a definitive end to the euro crisis. The markets rally for a few hours or days and then fall once more. The index of the European stock markets resembles a thermometer that tracks the process of a terminally sick patient.

Ken Capstick, former Vice-President, Yorkshire National Union of Miners and Rob Sewell, author of 'In the Cause of Labour' and editor of Socialist Appeal talk about the struggles that lead up to 1972 and up to the miners strike of 1984/5. The speeches were given at the ULU Marxist Summer School which was recently organized in in London.

We are publishing this very interesting and detailed study of the Greek electorate. It provides extremely interesting data, which shows how the different classes and age groups voted. Syriza’s vote is overwhelmingly working class and young, which confirms once again the extreme radicalisation to the left of these layers in society.

The Dublin lockout which took place from the 26^th August 1913 to 18^th January the following year stands as one of the most marked episodes of entrenched class conflict in Irish history.

In March Slovakia experienced an early parliamentary election after the right-wing coalition failed to function after just 16 months in power. The outgoing coalition was headed by Prime Minister Iveta Radičova, who took office in July 2010. Robert Fico's Social-Democratic party, Smer [Direction], won a massive 45% of the vote, taking 83 seats in the 150-member assembly.

One of the most critical elements highlighted by the recent Greek elections is the explosive class polarisation taking place.

The need for socialist policies and for the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy dominated much of the agenda of the UNITE policy conference this year, and following a very radical conference the union has committed to supporting the nationalisation of the private banks, utilities and railways. The mood of the conference shows a sharp shift to the left amongst the UNITE rank and file recently and its reflection in the leadership. Not one speaker from the union’s executive or from the conference delegates openly opposed the principles of nationalisation or of the need to adopt socialist policies.

We are publishing an extended version of a speech delivered by Gerry Ruddy at the recent Marxist Summer School in London (June 2012) attended by nearly 100 comrades, in which he outlines how Ireland came to be dominated by international capital after “independence”, confirming what James Connolly had predicted long ago, and explains how genuine national independence can only be achieved through socialism.

Friday, 22nd June witnessed something unprecedented in British industrial relations. For the first time, London bus drivers, engineers and supervisors struck together in solidarity.

We are publishing the final part of the programmatic proposals of the Marxists of Syriza. Written prior to the elections (together with Parts One, Two and Three), the analysis and the programme developed here provided a clear insight into the working of Greek and international capital. It also indicates a way out of the crisis, based on the fundamental premise that control over the economy must be taken out of the hands of the major monopolies and placed under workers’ control

Over the Weekend of 15th-17th June the second ever Marxist Summer School, hosted by the University of London Union Marxist Society, took place. The event was a resounding success, building on the experience of the previous year, with up to 100 in attendance. Because we managed to pack in so many discussions, we were able to cover a lot of ground and go into detail in a way that is not normally possible.

British doctors have gone on strike today for the first time since 1975 over the government cuts to pensions. Unsurprisingly, this has been met with a chorus of indignation by the Tories who have accused the doctors of “penalising patients” by taking industrial action.

In this final part of their analysis of the Greek elections, the comrades of Marxistiki Foni look at the reasons for the dramatic decline in support for the KKE (Communist Party) and what the ranks of the party should do to reverse this. They also look at what lies ahead for the new government and the tasks now posed for the Syriza leadership and the party as a whole.

The conclusions we can draw from our analysis is that SYRIZA could have won the elections if the leadership had been equipped with the appropriate programme of action in the election campaign and, above all, if it had had the right political agenda. However, it is also true that what we have accomplished so far is by no means negligible!