Category Archives: education

My Review of The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich

Posted on July 21, 2017 by lipstick socialist

  It is only recently that women in the UK have been able to take up frontline roles in the armed forces but in liberation struggles across the world from Northern Ireland to present day Northern Iraq there are plenty … Continue reading →

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

Political Women: Sandy Rose, Socialist, Feminist, Trade Unionist

Posted on July 2, 2017 by lipstick socialist

  In this occasional series I ask the question; why do some women become political activists?  Sandy Rose was part of the post war generation that lived at a time of great hope, this is her story……….. “I was born … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, biography, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, NHS, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Remembering Eddie Frow: Communist, Trade Union Activist, Historian…

Posted on May 14, 2017 by lipstick socialist

Today it is twenty years since Eddie Frow died.  In his long life Eddie embodied the way in which Communism shaped the life of a man who was an activist in his trade union, a historian, a writer, a rambler, … Continue reading →

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

Political Women; Lisa Turnbull: Single Mum, Durham Teaching Assistant, campaigner

Posted on April 26, 2017 by lipstick socialist

Lisa Turnbull did not want to be a political campaigner but in 2015  her employer Labour-controlled Durham County Council told her and  2,700 of her fellow  Teaching Assistants  that their highly skilled work  would be downgraded  and  their  pay  cut … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Book review; Bob Crow Socialist, Leader, Fighter by Gregor Gall

Posted on March 12, 2017 by lipstick socialist

Bob Crow grew up on a council estate in the East End of London: his father was a docker and his mother was  a cleaner. He left school at 16 without any qualifications with dreams of becoming a professional footballer, … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, biography, book review, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Socialism, trade unions, Uncategorized, working class history | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Minutes of Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades Union Council 1903-1905

Posted on January 15, 2017 by lipstick socialist

This is my fourth post about the Manchester and Salford Women’s Trade Union Council, and covers the years 1903-1905. By 1903 the Council was an established organisation which  individuals and organisations contacted,  not just for help with organising women into … Continue reading →

Posted in education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, Salford, Socialism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“We cannot go on as usual”: my review of “Freedom is a Constant Struggle” by Angela Y Davis.

Posted on January 1, 2017 by lipstick socialist

“Pessimism of the Intellect and Optimism of the Will”. This phrase sums up how I feel about 2016. I came across this  quote in a brilliant book  Freedom is a Constant Struggle; Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Palestine, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Minutes of Manchester and Salford Womens TUC 1900-1902

Posted on December 1, 2016 by lipstick socialist

This is the third post about my work on the MSWTUC Transcription Project. From 1900 onwards  the MSWTUC changed in many ways. Up to this point it had been involved in organising women in laundries, bookbinding, shirtmaking, fancy box making, … Continue reading →

Posted in education, feminism, labour history, Manchester, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The chains of history connecting 1910 to 2016 : from Mary MacArthur and Mary Quaile to the Durham Teaching Assistants.

Posted on November 17, 2016 by lipstick socialist

Last week,  when  speaking at a West Midlands Unison meeting for women about the life of Mary Quaile,  I was vividly reminded  of the power of women and the power of women in trade unions.  While the problems women face … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Book review; All in a Day’s Work: Working Lives and Trade Unions in West London 1945-1995, edited by David Welsh.

Posted on November 11, 2016 by lipstick socialist

Reading this book reminds me of Brecht’s poem, “Questions From a Worker Who Reads” (1935).  It reminds us of our trade union history – the lives of women and men who, over the years in this country, have contributed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blacklisting campaign, book review, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, labour history, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, TV drama, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , | Leave a comment