Category Archives: Communism

My review of “A Massacre in Mexico” Anabel Hernandez

Posted on October 22, 2018 by lipstick socialist

On  26 September 2014 43 male students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College went missing in Igula, Guerrero, Mexico. The cries of their parents and supporters reached  out across the world   – even to urban Manchester- as local students protested … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, human rights, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

My review of “Nightmarch Among India’s Revolutionary Guerrillas” Alpa Shah

Posted on October 15, 2018 by lipstick socialist

    Alpa Shah is from an East African Gujerati background. Her family moved to England when she was 15 years and she followed the usual  liberal middle class journey to Cambridge,  and  on to jobs ranging from international development … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, feminism, human rights, political women, Uncategorized, women, young people | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

My review of “Ants Among Elephants An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India” Sujatha Gidla

Posted on August 17, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  Sujatha Gidla’s new book is not about the modern India of bollywood, nuclear weapons and a thriving economy. It is her family’s story set at the end of British colonial rule,  a family of “untouchables” – part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, book review, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, political women, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

My review of “Tory Heaven” or “Thunder on the Right” Marghanita Laski

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  Marghanita Laski (24 October 1915 – 6 February 1988) was a writer and novelist who wrote fiction,  biography and plays. Born in Manchester,  she was part of an extended Labour supporting family,  her uncle was Harold Laski, for instance. … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, labour history, novels, political women, Socialism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Women in Poland; Putting them back into the story of the Solidarity Movement.

Posted on June 30, 2018 by lipstick socialist

    In 1981 riots broke out in Moss Side where I lived. It reflected the oppression experienced by the Afro-Caribbean  people in that area; that they were discriminated against in housing, education and employment. After the riots, people like … Continue reading →

Posted in Communism, education, feminism, films, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

My review of “Revolting Women”a new play about Sylvia Pankhurst.

Posted on June 2, 2018 by lipstick socialist

    Mikron Theatre’s new show “Revolting Women” is a  contribution to the commemorations of the extension of the vote to all men and a small group of middle-class women in 1918.  Centre stage is the radical Pankhurst Sylvia who … Continue reading →

Posted in Communism, drama, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

My review of ‘Kill all the Gentlemen’ Class struggle and change in the English countryside by Martin Empson

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  In this new book Martin Empson reminds us that class conflict did not start with the Industrial Revolution and urban struggles. In this well researched history he begins with  the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and then  take us up … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, education, human rights, labour history, Socialism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

My review of “Poster Workshop 1968-1971” by Sam Lord with Peter Dukes, Jo Robinson and Sarah Wilson.

Posted on April 29, 2018 by lipstick socialist

It is the May elections this week and the title of this book will resonate with many people: they are that disillusioned with the political process and politicians.  But this book is not about politicians; it is about how people … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Catholicism, Communism, drama, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, labour history, North of Ireland, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Irish Collection at the WCML: a new chapter- the role of the Irish in Britain Representation Group. Part One.

Posted on March 23, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  Over the centuries the Irish  have played a key role in the labour and trade union movement in this country. The Working Class Movement Library has some of the most important archives which  document this activity and show the … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholicism, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Working Class Life: written by working class activists. Read “A Bolton Childhood” by Alice Foley

Posted on March 15, 2018 by lipstick socialist

In this occasional series I want to rediscover the autobiographies of working class people that have been forgotten or marginalised. They are important in understanding how and why people become activists. They are important in asking questions as to why … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, book review, Catholicism, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments