With both the UK economy and Conservative Party in meltdown, Liz Truss has been ousted from office – part of an establishment coup to regain control of the Tories. But further explosions lie ahead, as the crisis of British capitalism deepens.

After a month of market mayhem, the capitalist class has killed off Liz Truss’ reckless economic agenda and installed a new ‘responsible’ regime. But they and their system can only offer further attacks. We must fight for socialist revolution.

The Marxist Student Federation (MSF) in Britain has now hit all the fresher's fairs at universities where we have established a Marxist Society, spoken to thousands of people about the ideas of Marxism and shown them how to fight against capitalism. This has been a highly inspiring period for us. We have seen the thirst for communist ideas which exists amongst students.

On 11 October, the French government decided to use state powers to “requisition” several oil depots where workers had been on strike since 27 September. This has led to a call for a day of national strike action on Tuesday (18 October). Coming off the back of a large demonstration against the cost of living yesterday (16 October), the class struggle in France is roaring back onto the scene.

The Bank of France has once more revised down its projections for the growth of the French economy: in 2023, GDP is predicted to experience somewhere between a 0.5 percent fall and a meagre 0.8 percent growth. Analysts from Deutsche Bank, meanwhile, estimate that French GDP could slump by over 1 percent. This would, fatally, translate into a sharp rise in unemployment and poverty.

For almost half a year, the chairman of the Kurier trade union (representing food delivery couriers), Kirill Ukraintsev, has been in custody. He is charged with repeated violations of the law for holding public events. But in fact, he is being persecuted for legitimate trade union activities, and for defending the rights of one of the most disadvantaged and disenfranchised groups of the working class.

The recent market turmoil in Britain has revealed the immense level of speculation that takes place in every corner of capitalism. The bankers and billionaires are gambling with our futures. It is time to overthrow their bankrupt system.

After the chaos of Boris’ premiership, the Tories have gone from the frying pan into the fire, with Liz Truss leading the party towards electoral disaster. We are seeing a crisis of the regime – a reflection of the crisis of British capitalism.

If you were to believe Western media and the statements of officials on both sides of the Atlantic, you would get the impression that Ukraine is winning the war against Russia and that it is only a matter of time before Putin is overthrown by his own people. In order to understand what is really happening, first we must tear through the fog of propaganda which surrounds this war. 

The cost of energy has been soaring. There are very real worries amongst the representatives of the European ruling class that this could lead to deindustrialisation, unemployment and an almighty response from the working class. There is talk of a new winter of discontent.

The UK economy is crashing – the latest disaster in the long-running decline of British capitalism. At the same time, the class divide is widening, and industrial militancy is on the rise. We must prepare for revolutionary explosions.

Panic has set in following last Friday’s mini-Budget announcement by the Tory chancellor, as the pound collapses and borrowing costs soar. But the UK’s economic problems run deep. British capitalism is in a state of terminal decline.

In the midst of the ruination of millions Ukrainians’ lives as a consequence of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian parliament has been pushing forward the harshest cuts to workers’ rights in the country’s history. On 1 July the parliament passed law #5371, which – among other things – increases the working week to 60 hours, and permits bosses with less than 250 employees to fire workers in the event of property damage caused by military actions or the absence from the workplace for a period of more than 4 months. This came on the heels of several other laws, which curbed trade union rights, legalised zero-hour contracts, and removed the obligation to pay the salaries of workers

In this satirical ‘fairytale’ (originally published on Friday 30 September), marxist.com editor Alan Woods paints a picture of the ruthless right-wing takeover of the Labour Party in Britain. And if you think Alan was too harsh in his depiction of the vicious behaviour of Sir Keir Starmer and the Blairites, we encourage readers to watch the three-part documentary by Al Jazeera, ‘The Labour Files’, which details their skulduggery in great detail. If anything, you may come away feeling that Alan has pulled his punches!

There is a common saying that people get the government they deserve. This saying is actually incorrect, as Trotsky points out in his masterly article, The Class, the Party and the Leadership. The same people can, and do, get very different governments in a very short space of time.