Issues and campaigns: History
Pages from (or about) the past. Those who do not learn from its mistakes are doomed to repeat them.
Llanelli 1911 Railway Strike Commemoration Rally
On facebook live introduced and hosted by Tim Evans Cor Cochion music video Steve Hedley, Assistant General Secretary RMT Tosh McDonald, former President ASLEF Shavanah Taj, General Secretary Wales TUC Mark Serwotka, General Secretary PCS Hussein Said, Stand Up To … Read more
Plundering London Underground – speaking with the German left
An online discussion on experiences from the resistance against the partial privatisation of the London Tube with: Janine Booth (author “Plundering London Underground: New Labour, Private Capital and Public Service”) Phil Rowan (RMT Finsbury Park International officer) The event takes … Read more
On the Level
Transport and democratic ownership (and Covid-19)
Janine speaks as part of a panel on Covid-19, democratic ownership and the future of the economy in May 2020. – organised by Another Europe Is Possible. Video plus text of speech below. Thank you for inviting me and … Read more
Online talk: Minnie Lansbury – a different sort of Labour councillor
Remembering 1945
I spoke with my dad (pictured) about his memories of the 1945 general election … 75 years ago when I was seven, I experienced the first of 22 general elections in my life. My father, Albert Booth, was born in … Read more
The first Remembrance Day
Also published in Solidarity newspaper. One hundred years ago, on the very first Remembrance Day, 11 November 1919, the Daily Herald, a socialist newspaper, published this article on its front page. It was one year after the Armistice, and Prime … Read more
The 1919 rail strike – a reply
The last issue of RMT News contained a useful pull-out on the historic 1919 railway strike. It captured some of the excitement of the action and its success in beating back pay cuts. The strikers and their supporters are heroes … Read more
The Story of Sarah and Gertie
Inspired by the story of Sarah Lawton and Gertrude Bigwood This is the dad working five months away from his family, keeping starvation at bay This is the mum taking work when it comes boiling laundry and toiling for pitiful … Read more
Speaking about Minnie Lansbury
Talking about my political hero and subject of my biography, Minnie Lansbury: suffragette, socialist, rebel councillor. To invite Janine to speak about Minnie, email [email protected].
Talking about Minnie Lansbury in Tower Hamlets
Speaking about Minnie Lansbury at Brockley ward Labour Party
Wyre Forest Labour Women: speaking about Minnie Lansbury
Venue: Wyre Room, St Georges Hall, Load Street, Bewdley, DY12 2EQ Janine will give an illustrated talk about the life of Minnie Lansbury. Copies of her biography of Minnie will be available to buy at the reduced price of £10 … Read more
Was workers’ revolution possible in 1919? Was it desirable?
Stonewall Was a Riot
Stonewall Was a Riot It wasn’t the Stonewall focus group or the Stonewall business case It wasn’t the Stonewall let’s-present- our-most-acceptable-face Long years of asking nicely had not got us anywhere Our rulers did not hear us when we whispered: … Read more
Stonewall Was A Riot
From the pamphlet, Radical Chains: sexuality and class politics, 1999: “The rallying point of the gay liberation movement … the bar riot that ushered in the gay rights movement” … “Stonewall is the emblematic event in lesbian and gay history … Read more
East London History Society reviews Minnie Lansbury biography
In the latest East London History Society newsletter, Rosemary Tayor has written a very postive review of ‘Minnie Lansbury: suffragette, socialist, rebel councillor’. She writes: This book is a long overdue acknowledgement of the crucial role played by a woman, once revered in … Read more
Rootless Cosmopolitan
Edward lived in Hoxton boxed in Stitching boots digging roots Labouring his load on the neighbouring road to new arrivals migrated for survival from Poland, from Russia to the holy crush of London Under the same sky came together, made … Read more
1919 – Ready for Rebellion
Also posted on the Workers’ Liberty website here. As 1919 began, working-class people in Britain and many other countries looked forward to leaving the Great War behind them and rebuilding their lives. They expected and demanded a better society than … Read more