"Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however is to change it." - Karl Marx - Issue 368 | 13th May 2022 ...
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Issue 368 | 13th May 2022 “Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however is to change it.” - Karl Marx
What We Stand For socialist.net
2 Issue 368
WHO ARE WE? and WHAT
ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?
S
ocialist Appeal seeks to organ- wages, we say: open up the books! business and the billionaires.
ise the most class-conscious Let the working class and the labour ■ No to austerity! Reverse the cuts!
workers and youth around a movement see the accounts! If The working class must not pay for
Marxist programme to change society. firms plead bankruptcy, they should this crisis!
not be bailed out, but nationalised ■ For a mass campaign to bring down
We have no truck with the Tories or under workers’ control. this criminal Tory government and
their hangers on, whose worship of ■ To fight job cuts and unemployment, do away with this rotten system.
the market has brought the country to work should be shared out without
its knees. They are the enemies of the any loss of pay, in order to lower the It is clear that the market has failed
working class. hours of the working week. and capitalism is in a deep crisis. The
■ Repeal the anti-trade union laws. anarchy of capitalism prevents the
We have no trust also in the Starmer No to class compromise. All union planning of society’s resources, in
leadership of the Labour Party, whose officials to be regularly elected with Britain and internationally.
actions are destroying the party. the right of immediate recall by the
membership. Officials to receive no ■ We therefore stand for the na-
The bosses and their craven political tionalisation of the 100 biggest
more than the average wage of a
representatives have shown that they monopolies, banks, and insurance
skilled worker.
will always prioritise profits over lives. ■ Fight for the real emancipation of companies – under workers’ con-
women. Remove all barriers to trol and management – without
We demand bold socialist policies to
women working: provide free nurs- compensation. They have stolen
defend workers and fight the crisis of
eries, after-school childcare, and enough from us already. On this
capitalism.
care for the elderly. End all forms of basis, the economy can be demo-
■ For a fully publicly-owned and free discrimination. Equal pay for work of cratically planned in the interests of
health service, under workers’ equal value. the majority, and not for the super
control and management. Reverse ■ Abolish the relics of privilege and profits of a few billionaires.
all privatisation and outsourcing. feudalism: the monarchy and the ■ A Socialist Federation of Britain
All private health and care services House of Lords. The assets of the should be linked to a Socialist Unit-
must be nationalised without com- parasitic landlord class and aristoc- ed States of Europe and a World
pensation, and integrated into the racy should be expropriated for the Socialist Federation, in order to
NHS. public good. plan resources internationally for
■ Nationalise the pharmaceutical ■ Scrap tuition fees and student rents. the benefit of all. This would put an
companies – without compensation Free education and full maintenance end to the barbarism of capitalism
– in order to ensure that vaccines grants for all. End marketisation – and allow humanity to begin solving
are produced rapidly and made kick the profiteers out of education. the urgent issues of climate change,
freely available to all worldwide. Put staff in control in schools and disease, and poverty that face soci-
■ Fight the climate catastrophe and universities. ety and our planet.
inflation with expropriation and ■ Many small businesses are faced
socialist planning. Nationalise the with bankruptcy – squeezed not There is, however, a crisis of leader-
energy monopolies, big supermar- only by the banks, but by the big ship in the labour movement. Those
ket chains, and distributors, without monopolies. By nationalising the who have attempted to patch-up
compensation. banks we can supply these small capitalism have been found wanting.
■ Ban evictions and cancel housing businesses with the lifeline of guar- It is therefore time to energetically
debts. Give local authorities the anteed low-interest credit. build the forces of Marxism, which
power to cap rents at affordable ■ The financial resources required to alone offer a real way out of this
levels. And bring empty properties fight the crisis must not come from crisis. ■
and the assets of the big landlords increased taxes or more austerity,
and management companies under but through the nationalisation of Like what you read?
public control.
■ For a crash programme to build
the banks and finance houses.
Rather than a ‘wealth tax’, we call JOIN US TODAY!
a million council houses a year. for the expropriation of the monop-
Nationalise the land, construction olies. contact@socialist.net
companies, and banks to provide ■ Instead of building up the national
the resources to accomplish this. debt through government borrow- socialist-appeal
■ For a real living wage of at least ing, the money needed should be
£15 per hour. If the bosses say obtained entirely from expropriating socialist.net
they can’t afford to pay for workers’ the accumulated profits of big
SOCIALIST APPEAL Editor: Rob Sewell Content/Layout:
Left Publications LTD editor@socialist.net Khaled Malachi and Nye Shaw
newsdesk@socialist.net Next issue date: Queries:
Issue 368, May 2022 27th May 2022 subscribe@socialist.net
CONTENTS
Editorial and Britain
4 Marxists and May Day
5 Editorial: Local elections
7 Stormont elections
9 Tower Hamlets elections
11 Establishment scandals
12 Capitalism and football
13 Right to buy
14 Women’s life expectancy
Youth and Theory
15 Student debt
16 Holland Park School & academisation
17 Ukraine and the national question
International, Review, and Philosophy
21 Hands off our bodies!
22 US abortion rights
24 Sri Lanka
26 Shanghai lockdown
29 Cartoon
30 Letters
31 Review - Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story
32 History of Philosophy - Descartes
Trade Unions
33 Fawley refinery strike
34 CHEP strike victory
35 CWU conference
36 PCS conference
Join us today!
MAY DAY 2022
marxist.com
4 13th May 2022
MARXISTS JOIN CELEBRATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD!
Socialist Appeal workers in the garment industry, which is
a huge part of the city’s economy.
T
his 1 May, for May Day 2022, Our comrades put forward radical
comrades from the International demands for the garment industry,
Marxist Tendency participated in including workers’ control and nation-
demonstrations, protests, and other ac- alisation. As a result, we stood out as
tivities in dozens of locations across the the largest, youngest, and most vibrant
globe, raising the revolutionary banner of group present.
socialism as the only road forward for the
working class.
London
Newcastle
Around 150-200 people attended the
London Tyne and Wear May Day march and rally
Thousands of trade unionists and social- in Newcastle on Saturday 30 April.
ists gathered at the Marx Memorial Li- A sizeable bloc of Socialist Appeal
brary at Clerkenwell Green for London’s activists attended – by far the largest
May Day celebrations. and most dynamic contingent on the
This year’s event highlighted the day. The energy and youthfulness of the
renewed sense of militancy that is comrades, in particular, stood out.
spreading across the labour movement,
as workers and youth move into action Leeds Office appeal
against the bosses’ attacks. The energy and dynamism of Socialist
Union membership is on the rise Appeal activists on display on May Day
across Britain, with new layers of workers is testament to the growth of our organi-
being drawn into the struggle to defend sation over the past few years.
their lives and livelihoods. We have grown so rapidly that we
Unfortunately, however, the largest have almost outgrown our current office.
trade unions did not mobilise their mem- We cannot afford to stay still and remain
bers for this commemoration of workers’ where we are.
struggles throughout history. For that reason, we are campaigning
Socialist Appeal activists formed the Newcastle this year to purchase our own office
most dynamic, energetic, and revolu- space, with room in which to continue to
tionary bloc, with chants including: “The expand.
system is broken. Time to fight. Workers We are therefore issuing this appeal
of the world, unite!”; “No cuts. No job – to all our readers and supporters; to
losses. Expropriate the bosses!”; and all of our comrades and friends – to help
“One solution: Revolution!” us meet our bold target of £200,000, for
this special office collection!
Leeds Having our own office space will
Leeds Marxists were out in force on Sat- bring priceless benefits to the building of
urday 30 April to celebrate International the tendency. All of the generous dona-
Leicester
Workers’ Day. tions that our friends and
The city’s May Day supporters make require
celebrations, organised sacrifice and com-
by Leeds TUC, saw a mitment.
coming together of trade As things stand,
unions, campaigns, and much of that sacrifice ends up
left-wing organisations for an in the pocket of a landlord. But if this
afternoon of music, marching, campaign is successful, then all future
and speeches. donations will contribute to strengthen-
Led by a jubilant brass band, ing the financial resources of the Marxist
and with banners held high, the tendency.
march through Leeds city centre Please help us by digging deep and
was met by the public with equal donating what you can. Forward to a
parts appreciation and intrigue, permanent office! And forward to the so-
with the majority of people respond- cialist revolution, when we can abolish
ing kindly to flyers and slogans. these profiteering landlords for good! ■
CLICK HERE TO
Leicester
Socialist Appeal comrades from across
DONATE NOW!
Leicestershire attended the recent May
Day event in Leicester, celebrating 150
years of the local district TUC. The
event itself aimed to build solidarity with
Back to Contents
socialist.net
5 Editorial Issue 368
WHAT WE SAY
local elections: no enthusiasm
for main parties as crisis deepens
Editorial Keir Starmer nevertheless declared
Labour stalls and falls the results to be a “turning point”. “We’re
T
here is never much enthusiasm for In London, where Boris was once the changed Labour and we’re seeing the
local elections. This is particularly mayor, the Tories did especially badly. results of that,” he asserted. But few
the case now. With a growing The party’s loss of councils to Labour in really believed him.
anger towards the establishment, the Westminster, Wandsworth, and Barnet
low turnout at the recent local elections was rather more than “mixed”. It was a Starmer's failure
reflects an increasing disdain amongst massive blow. The Conservatives had After 12 years of Tory governments,
voters for all the political parties. held Westminster since 1964 and Wand- and given the Conservatives’ disastrous
As the dust settles, it is clear that sworth since 1978. Labour won Barnet record, the Labour Party should be miles
support for the Tory government is fall- for the first time. ahead. The Tories are mired in sleaze
ing like a stone. But the election results were just and scandal. Johnson has been clearly
Boris Johnson – regarded as a liar as much a verdict on Starmer’s Labour revealed as a crook and a cheat. He has
by most people – insisted that the poor Party. broken the law, whilst two Tory MPs have
showing for the Tories represented a Considering the mess that Johnson been forced to resign – one convicted of
“mixed” result. The Prime Minister insist- and the Tories are in, Labour didn’t do sexual assault on a minor.
ed that his party had made “remarkable particularly well. Outside of London, At the same time, workers are facing
gains” in some places. Labour’s share of the vote actually went a dire cost-of-living catastrophe, with
This was a futile attempt to put a down. energy prices going through the roof.
shine on failure; to defect away from In Wales, Labour improved by distanc- And yet there was no ‘breakthrough’.
the unpopularity of his corrupt, criminal ing themselves from the national party. In fact, Labour’s vote share in some
government. Above all, the Tory leader In Scotland, the collapse of the Tories places was below that achieved by
wants to derail any potential leadership pushed Labour into second place, but still Corbyn in 2018, despite (or because of)
challenge. way behind the SNP. Elsewhere, rather Tony Blair’s endorsement of Starmer.
“One thing about this government,” than barnstorming victories, Labour’s ad- Clearly this wasn’t enough to spark a
stated Johnson, is that “it does big, vance was rather anaemic. surge to the polling booths.
difficult things”. Instead, many looked to the Lib
But most ordinary people will strug- Dems and the Greens as an alternative.
gle to think of any real achievements In Hull, for example, the Lib Dems even
from Johnson and his government. gained the city council from Labour. Of
More likely, voters will have had course, these are ‘protest’ votes, but
partygate and the cost-of-living they reveal a lot about Labour’s failings.
crisis on their minds when they
entered the polling booth. Establishment's man
Under his stewardship, Starmer has
dramatically shifted Labour to the right,
purging the left from the party and
(continues on next page)
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marxist.com
6 Editorial 13th May 2022
"
(continues from previous page)
attempting to bury Corbynism. But this
has reduced the Labour Party’s cam-
paigning force to a rump. Grassroots
activists have largely deserted the party. With the UK – and world – economy heading for a
The only people doing any work in
these elections – leafleting, canvassing, slump, inflation set to rise to over ten percent, and
and knocking on doors – were the candi-
dates and their hangers on. There is no an ever-growing mountain of sleaze surrounding
enthusiasm for Starmer or his Blairite party.
On this performance, while the Tories Westminster, the Tory government faces a deep
are likely to lose their majority, Labour
will not win a majority in the next general (and ever-deepening) crisis.
election.
But it is clear that ‘Sir’ Keir Starmer
would love to jump into bed with the Lib think that Starmer should resign if – like he has turned a bad situation into a
Dems to form a coalition government. Johnson – he ends up being fined by the disaster.
That is why the Labour leader is trying police. His threat to do away with the North-
his best to ingratiate himself with the rul- The Blairites may attempt to use this ern Ireland Protocol will once again
ing class: fawning after big business and opportunity to move against Starmer, throw Britain into a head-on collision with
praising NATO, the western imperialist and put an even more ‘reliable’ figure in the European Union, possibly leading to
alliance. He can be relied upon to do his place. After all, they are well versed a trade war. But Johnson doesn’t seem
their dirty work in defending capitalism. in backstabbing. to care, as long as this appeases the
Starmer, the former director of public Unionists and patches over problems in
prosecutions, however, comes across Bluff and bluster the North of Ireland.
as a grey blob, lacking any charisma or It is clear that Boris Johnson will attempt
feeling. His lawyer’s brief is as inspiring to hold on like grim death, despite his Kick them out!
as a brick wall. growing unpopularity. The Tories would As with Tory MPs, the ruling class too
Without socialist policies, he is inca- like to get rid of him, but they have lit- would like to see Boris Johnson go. But
pable of connecting with working-class tle to choose from when it comes to a they face the same problem regarding
people. In power, given the deep crisis replacement. That is their real dilemma. the lack of any alternative. City of Lon-
and his commitment to capitalism, he They may be stuck with him. don golden boy Rishi Sunak has also
will act little differently to the Tories. Undeterred by the local election become tainted with accusations of cor-
results, Boris told journalists that he ruption. And other candidates are either
Beergate wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, the untested, unreliable, or both.
Now this ‘reliable pair of hands’ has maverick Tory leader brushed aside In reality, the whole party is rotten
been hoisted by his own petard, with concerns and criticisms, and simply – from the head down. And with MPs
the Labour leader tripped up over alle- declared: “Onward!” on both sides of the aisle embroiled in
gations about ‘beergate’. Our knight of Others began to fall into line. Oliver scandals, the entire political establish-
the realm is being investigated by the Dowden, the co-chair of the Tory Party, ment is being brought into disrepute,
Durham police over an event he was in- stated: “I believe that Boris Johnson eroding ordinary people’s trust in bour-
volved in that may have broken COVID does have the leadership skills, geois democracy even further.
restrictions. in particular the energy Whether the Tories manage to ditch
Starmer denies everything. But and dynamism, that we Johnson or not, they are on the path to ruin.
Boris is over the moon. He hopes that need during this difficult With the UK – and world – economy
Starmer’s slip up will deflect attention period of time.” heading for a slump, inflation set to rise
away from his own misdemeanours. Johnson’s skills are to over ten percent, and an ever-growing
If Starmer is fined, this will put bluff and bluster. He mountain of sleaze surrounding West-
him in a very difficult position. Under certainly has animal minster, the Tory government faces a
pressure, whilst cynically calling for cunning. But with this deep (and ever-deepening) crisis.
‘integrity’ in politics, the Labour leader cavalier approach, All of this will serve to intensify
has now promised that he will do the anger and bitterness within soci-
the ‘honourable’ thing and ety – and, in turn, the hatred towards
step down if found Johnson.
guilty by the police. He and the Tories are running out of
After all, he road; “tobogganing towards catastrophe
has called on his with their eyes closed,” in the words of
opposite number Leon Trotsky. Workers and youth must
to resign over organise and mobilise to kick them all
partygate – so out.
shouldn’t he do the The capitalist system is at an im-
same? passe, whilst reformism is a blind alley.
According to a The only way forward is to build the
YouGov poll, al- forces of Marxism, as embodied in
most half of those Socialist Appeal and the International
polled (48%) Marxist Tendency. ■
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socialist.net
7 Stormont elections Issue 368
NORTH OF IRELAND: SINN FÉIN VICTORY
A HISTORIC BLOW TO THE UNION
Ben Curry of those sectarian camps nominates the
First Minister, and the biggest party in
the IRSP and People Before Profit (PBP)
might have been squeezed, as were the
S
inn Féin has emerged as the the other camp nominates the Deputy nationalist SDLP, but PBP’s Gerry Carroll
first party in the Northern Ireland First Minister. still retained his seat in West Belfast – a
Assembly elections. With a remark- Failure of either to nominate means seat won in Sinn Féin’s heartland on the
able 29% of the first preference votes to the Executive collapses. Oh, and de- back of mounting anger towards austerity
the DUP’s 21.3%, the gap was even wider spite the names, both positions have back in 2016.
than predicted. exactly the same powers. Although masked by polarisation on
Within hours of the polls closing, #Uni- Such a setup favours the status quo. the national question, there is real anger
tedIreland was trending on Twitter. This is It gives unionism the power of veto over towards Stormont in general for having
another devastating blow to the prestige legislation. The Good Friday Agreement done nothing to solve the desperate
of British imperialism, and another tear in always left the keys to the house in the crisis of the NHS or the crisis of living
the fraying fabric of the so-called ‘United hands of the unionists. standards.
Kingdom’. So what is the problem for the un-
Commentators talked about a ‘political ionists? Northern Ireland Protocol
earthquake’ in 2017, when the unionist With some persuasion, the unionists Over the past five years, the DUP has
parties lost their collective majority at could agree to allow Sinn Féin a seat at massively overplayed its hand. Having
Stormont, and Sinn Féin stood only 1,200 the foot of the table as ‘deputy’ to the helped prop up Theresa May’s Tory gov-
first preference votes behind the biggest unionist First Minister. But a unionist ernment after 2017, they rejected her
party, the DUP (Democratic Unionist Par- ‘deputy’ while a nationalist Sinn Féin soft Brexit that would have prevented a
ty). Now Sinn Féin has taken over 66,000 First Minister sits at the head of the land or sea border between the UK and
more first preference votes than the DUP. table? Such a suggestion is an abom- any part of Ireland. They then feted Bo-
The imperialists designed Northern ination! It is offensive to the dignity of ris Johnson, who then proceeded to give
Ireland as ‘a Protestant state for a Protes- unionism! them a Brexit with…the Northern Ireland
tant people’. And 36 consecutive elections None of the unionist parties would Protocol and an Irish sea border!
in the last 101 years have returned a un- agree to such a thing. Jim Allister of the Johnson couldn’t have cared less
ionist party as the largest party. Election TUV (Traditional Unionist Voice) put the about what the border situation in Ireland
37 has upended all that. unionist attitude more plainly than the looked like, as long as he could elevate
rest: “I can tell you this party will never himself to power. The NI Protocol al-
Bridesmaid to Sinn Féin? be bridesmaid for Sinn lowed him to ‘Get Brexit Done’ in a flash.
Formally speaking (but only formally Féin.” Now the Conservative and Un-
speaking!) this election changes little. That is not to say ionist Party are being paid back
Whoever wins, all the parties are that everything is with interest for the games
forced into a mandatory coalition. An rosy in Sinn Féin’s they’ve played with Northern
executive is then formed by cooperation garden. Left-wing Ireland.
between nationalist and unionist candidates from They have left unionists
parties. The biggest party in either bruising with a sense of be-
trayal, and have accelerated
a process of polarisation and
fragmentation in their camp.
(continues on next page)
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marxist.com
8 Stormont elections 13th May 2022
(continues from previous page)
Over to you, Mr Johnson
The Northern Ireland Assembly is now at
an impasse. The DUP have made them-
selves clear: they will not stoop to the in-
dignity of serving as Deputy First Minister
until Westminster scraps the NI Protocol.
At least if they get that, they can enter
Stormont smug in the assurance that
unionist supremacy reigns, whether or
not the biggest party in the province is a
unionist party.
Hostage to the hardening unionist base
upon which they rest, they will certainly
find it difficult to enter power at Stormont
without first seeing the NI Protocol dead and
buried in the grave. To do otherwise would
be political suicide.
"
Does this mean the end of the Good
Friday Agreement and power-sharing? Pos-
sibly so. The ball is now in Boris Johnson’s
court.
In the coming period, Johnson is going
For decades, British imperialism tried to crush the
to be forced to either overturn the NI Proto-
col or overhaul the Good Friday Agreement.
As we have explained before, it is
impossible for the EU to compromise on
the question of the border. The integrity IRA into the dust, and with it the whole Catholic
of the Common Market depends upon
controlling what commodities are allowed population... Now, just 28 years after the IRA
declared a ceasefire, British imperialism and the
in and out.
Overturning the NI Protocol may well
Union have been humiliated by Sinn Féin.
cause the EU to respond with a full-on
trade war, perhaps collapsing the Brexit
agreement, leading to the replacement of
a sea border in the Irish Sea with a land
border on the island of Ireland. taoiseach in the South in a few years has national question than the class question.
Would Boris Johnson risk a trade war raised expectations that Irish unification It has been based on left-wing rhetoric
with Europe and catastrophic damage to could now be tantalisingly close. Michelle around housing, healthcare, and making
the interests of British capitalism? The O’Neill has spoken about reunification on the rich pay (albeit through moderate tax-
answer to that question may well depend the timescale of 5-10 years. es on the corporations and banks).
upon the momentary fortunes of the ca- It is time to lay the groundwork and Such a programme could have an
reer of Boris Johnson. prepare the fight for Irish unification. impact in the North. But Sinn Féin can
He’s certainly shown himself capable But it would be foolish to assume that hardly put forward even such a meek
of doing so in the past. And now he’s in the British ruling class will allow Irish unity left programme in the North with much
a sticky political situation, he may well be to go into the history books as having tri- credibility. After all, the party has been
ready to light another stick of dynamite umphed through a legal and peaceful vote. in government for a decade, carrying out
in the foundations of British capitalism to Johnson and the Tories may yet block a austerity.
keep his career going just a little longer. peaceful road to unification for their own What is needed is precisely a class
shallow and short-term interests alone, as programme. Class unity can only be
For a Socialist United Ireland! the above-cited quotes demonstrate. forged through class struggle. In the fight
The victory of Sinn Féin has come as a And loyalist sectarianism – a product against the cost-of-living crisis, for higher
shocking blow to British imperialism and of the legacy of British colonialism that wages and better conditions, Catholic
its Union. leeches off the alienation in Protestant and Protestant workers will begin to see
For decades, British imperialism tried communities – will not stand idly by whilst who their true allies are – and their real
to crush the IRA into the dust, and with Irish unification peacefully triumphs either. enemies: the capitalist class.
it the whole Catholic population. It em- Its representatives would sooner set the Through class struggle, the workers
ployed the most brutal means and it failed. whole region on fire. of all communities can break down the
Now, just 28 years after the IRA declared To undercut the sectarian bigots, and suspicion that separates them and really
a ceasefire, British imperialism and the to build a front for Irish unification that goes open the road to unification.
Union have been humiliated by Sinn Féin. beyond one community, a programme That road runs through the socialist
This defeat has ignited tremendous must be found to appeal to workers from revolution, and ends with the formation
hopes. The thought of a Sinn Féin First both communities. In the South, the rise of a Socialist United Ireland as part of the
Minister in the North greeting a Sinn Féin of Sinn Féin has had less to do with the world socialist revolution. ■
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socialist.net
9 Britain Issue 368
LUTFUR RAHMAN’S RETURN
AS MAYOR OF TOWER HAMLETS
Tower Hamlets themselves with an arrogance that Fittingly, perhaps, the recent vote
grated immensely on residents. The count was hosted by the Canary Wharf
Socialist Appeal supporters first thing Mayor Biggs did in 2018 was Group, the original developer of Canary
to grant himself and his cabinet a big Wharf, and one of the biggest develop-
T
ower Hamlets residents decided pay increase. The leading unelected ers in the borough.
to give Labour a bloody nose in council bureaucrats are paid far more: The figures about how many council
the recent local elections, as they back in 2019, 19 earned over £100,000, homes have been built are disputed, but
returned Lutfur Rahman to office. This with chief executive Will Tuckley paid campaigners put the number at around
is a decisive rejection of the Labour £237,900. 200 – compared to the 2,000 that Biggs
council’s shameful policies over the past Then followed a string of cuts: to promised back in his 2018 campaign.
seven years. child care provision; to community These homes are often expensive,
Gaining 39,533 first preferences language services (teaching of mother as house prices in Tower Hamlets have
against incumbent Labour mayor John tongues); to social care, and so on. skyrocketed in recent decades; and they
Biggs’ 27,894, Rahman almost managed are overwhelmingly one- or two-bed-
to get an absolute majority of the vote. Cosy relationship room houses, suitable for young couples
Labour lost 10,000 votes since 2018, Developers – particularly those building without families, but not really anyone
whilst Rahman gained 3,000 votes com- around Canary Wharf – forged a close else.
pared to his 2014 results. Rahman was relationship with the council, with the
disbarred from standing in the 2015 and Mayor and his cabinet approving one Fire and rehire
2018 mayoral elections. His party had massive scheme after another. At the start of the pandemic, the council
split by the time of the 2018 election, Tower Hamlets has had more con- launched a brutal attack on its work-
where the candidates of the two factions struction than any other borough in Lon- force. They fired council employees
only got 24,000 votes between them. don: 30,000 homes in 10 years – around en masse, and rehired them on worse
Alongside Rahman’s mayoral victory, 50% more than the runner-up. But very terms and conditions. In particular, they
his party, Aspire, also won a majority little of that has benefited the people attacked severance pay, in order to
of three on the council. Labour got an who live in Tower Hamlets. make it cheaper to make further cuts.
absolute hammering by the electorate, What followed was a bitter dispute
losing around 20% of its votes and more with Unison, which still hasn’t been
than half of its councillors. resolved. This exposed the hypocrisy of
These results cannot be consid- the Labour right wing, who try to court
ered as anything but a disaster for the support of the unions, but then use
the local Labour Party, which has the most draconian anti-union measures
managed to alienate a huge when it suits them.
section of its core voters. Many Labour-affiliated union mem-
bers will undoubtedly have cast their
Council cuts votes for Rahman to give the Labour
It is not hard to see why council a good kick.
this has happened. The These policies were opposed by
council has dutifully carried grassroots members in the local Labour
out cuts on behalf of the Tory Party, with resolutions passed in both
government. Lutfur Rahman CLPs against Tower Rewards (the
also carried out some cuts in attacks on the conditions of council
his term, but they were tiny in workers), and against the cuts in child-
comparison. care provision, community language
Many residents will have com- provision, etc.
pared the two administrations, and But the Labour councillors and the
found the Labour administration want- Mayor paid no attention whatsoever
ing. Of course, the Labour council did to members’ feelings. The truth is that
have to contend with bigger cuts in their these ladies and gentlemen thought
funding from central government – but they were unassailable, with their
they passed them on without so much crushing majority in the council, and
as a squeak of resistance. in the Labour group.
In fact, Labour councillors
in Tower Hamlets conducted (continues on next page)
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marxist.com
10 Migrant crisis
Britain 13th May 2022
(continues from previous page)
They held the local Labour Party
hostage, packing the Labour group with
careerists who have refused to listen to
the membership. Now they have paid the
price.
Attack on Apsana
Last year was dominated by the council’s
attempt to take one of the local Labour
MPs, Apsana Begum, to court over her
social housing, which she acquired after
leaving an abusive relationship.
This was a thinly veiled attempt to get
rid of a popular, Bangladeshi left-wing MP.
The fact that the council lost the case
caused no small amount of celebration.
Parallels were immediately drawn with the
"
case of Lutfur Rahman. Except here was
a case where the establishment tried to
remove an elected politician – and failed.
To this day, we don't know who was re-
sponsible for that prosecution. The Mayor
Socialist Appeal will support any attempt to resist
refused to hold an inquiry, in spite of both
constituency Labour parties passing a
motion demanding it.
Discrimination the cuts, defend services, and fight for more – better
To top it all off, they ran roughshod over
residents regarding low-traffic neighbour- – affordable housing. But only a determined struggle
hoods (‘liveable streets’). And then they
approved a new development in the vicin- that mobilises the whole working class in the borough
and beyond will yield the desired results.
ity of Brick Lane, adding further pressure
on existing Bangladeshi businesses in the
area, including the famous curry houses.
The borough has seen an influx of people from Bangladesh and what could
young professionals with different tastes be expected of them. Rahman himself ran Struggles ahead
and wallets than the people who have out of money and couldn’t appeal. Rahman and his party will now have a
lived there for longer. The trial followed a concerted cam- tough time implementing their programme.
Along with rising rents of housing and paign of slander by the Evening Standard, They will face fierce resistance from the
commercial property, many working-class the local Labour Party, and the Tory gov- tops of the council, who have done very
residents – particularly those of Bangla- ernment. well out of the past seven years.
deshi background – feel that they are being Whatever the truth regarding the spe- They will also face further cuts to their
pushed out. cific allegations, it is abundantly clear that budget from central government. And they
In the 70s and 80s, Bangladeshis were the Tories (who frequently break electoral will face the hostility of the developers
faced with racist attacks from the National laws themselves) were after Rahman, and who are investing billions in various con-
Front. were just looking for a way of removing struction schemes in the area.
But they also faced discrimination from him, after they had failed to do so at the The truth is that Rahman will not be
the Labour Party, which refused to accept ballot box. able to deliver on his promises without a
them as members, and the council, which The election of Lutfur Rahman has serious struggle with the Tory government
introduced policies that discriminated caused uproar in the establishment. There and local developers.
against them. have already been racist accusations of In these battles, the labour movement
All these memories are being stirred up fraud, just like before. Apparently, the fact and Labour Party members must side
by the actions of the council over the past that Lutfur Rahman got elected is suffi- with the working-class residents of the
seven years: from abolishing community cient evidence for these people that fraud borough, and against the Tories and the
language services; to their cosy relations has been committed. developers. At the same time, a battle
with developers; and the prosecution of But, as defeated Tory mayoral can- must be waged against the majority in the
Apsana Begum MP. didate Andrew Wood (running as an Labour Group, which is determined to
No wonder they have deserted Labour independent) pointed out, it’s very hard side with the rich and powerful.
for an alternative. to commit fraud on such a scale, with so From our point of view, Socialist Ap-
many people watching the process. peal will support any attempt to resist the
Campaign of slander If the Tory government or the courts cuts, defend services, and fight for more
Lutfur Rahman was disbarred seven years move against Rahman, it will merely be – better – affordable housing. But only
ago for electoral fraud, after a trial that was another attempt to remove an elected a determined struggle that mobilises the
marred with controversy. The judge made leader from a position because the elec- whole working class in the borough and
a number of irregular statements about torate voted for the ‘wrong’ candidate. beyond will yield the desired results. ■
Back to Contentssocialist.net
11 Britain Issue 368
SCANDALS ERODE TRUST IN THE ESTABLISHMENT
DITCH THEIR ROTTEN SYSTEM!
Charles Patrick At the same time, we now have an times as many (25%) believe that major
almost-farcical situation in which the party donors are able to shape policy.
B
y hook or by crook, it seems like leaders of both main political parties – This is followed by business groups
the Tories are doing everything one, the Prime Minister; the other, the and corporations (16%), newspapers
they can to erode what little trust former Director of Public Prosecutions and the media (13%), and lobbyists and
the public may have previously held in – are under investigation by the police pressure groups (12%).
Parliament and the institutions of bour- for potentially breaking the law during
geois democracy in Britain. the pandemic. Polarisation and volatility
From fines over partygate, to su- But the stench is not just limited to It is not just recent events that have
per-rich Rishi the tax-dodging chancel- Parliament. Each-and-every pillar of the chipped away at the public’s faith in
lor; and from horny Tories caught red- British establishment is being shaken by ‘democracy’. This is a process that has
faced in the Commons, to convictions of scandals and corruption. been in motion for some time, especially
paedophilia; not to mention numerous The Metropolitan police, for exam- amongst younger generations.
revelations of sexual misconduct and ple, has been proven to be institution- Confidence in the British establish-
misogyny by MPs – all of this within the ally racist and sexist. The Royal Family, ment has been in steady decline since
space of a month or so! meanwhile, have been rocked by the the 1950s. Voter turnout in the UK has
To top it all off, we have the sick- allegations against Prince Andrew, been consistently below the average
ening sight of Boris Johnson, the King amongst others. across advanced capitalist countries in
of Corruption, hypocritically taking the All the while, workers in Britain are every general election since 1951.
moral high ground, as he attempts to facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in And not only do we see low voter
deflect from his own crimes by handing decades. turnouts, but according to the IPPR re-
out pious criticisms of these fellow de- port: “The 2010, 2015, and 2017 general
generates. Them and us elections had the highest ever levels of
All the sleaze and gross misconduct This sharp contrast between the lives of voter switching.”
in the Tories comes straight from the ordinary people, and those who claim This is a reflection of the deep polit-
top. The whole party is rotten from the to represent them, is certainly not going ical polarisation and volatility in society
head down. unnoticed. – itself a symptom of the deep crisis of
The actions and behaviour of this The scandalous behaviour of those British capitalism. It is, says the IPPR,
unaccountable cabal in Westminster at the top of society is contributing to a “evidence of a ‘protest’ against the dem-
has become so out-of-hand in recent massive rejection of the establishment, ocratic status quo”; another sign of the
times, it almost beggars belief. We sowing seeds of deep distrust in Brit- stormy period that we have entered.
shouldn’t be surprised, however. These ain’s political representatives, and in
scoundrels are only as corrupt and the entire ‘democratic’ system. Class divide
putrid as the system they uphold and A recent report from the Insti- The IPPR goes on to warn that a failure
represent. tute for Public Policy Research to tackle the root causes of this dis-
(IPPR), in association with content will result in the foundations of
Stench and sleaze the Observer, has revealed liberal democracy being jeopardised.
To be fair, such outrages are not just a dramatic loss of trust This is true. As the capitalist system
limited to the Tory Party. amongst young adults continues its decay and decline, with
According to recent reports, as many towards bourgeois its representatives continuing to follow
as 56 MPs are said to be under inves- democracy in the UK, this same downward trajectory, the
tigation for sexual misconduct – almost with as many as “four consciousness of workers and youth
1-in-10. in five people in will become increasingly radicalised. At
Britain [saying that] a certain point, this will express itself in
politicians poorly revolutionary explosions.
understand their As with the rest of the world, British
lives”. And who can society is on increasingly choppy waters.
blame them? Inflation, cuts, attacks on living stand-
Just 6% of UK ards are exposing evermore the growing
voters believe their class divide between them and us.
views have any real And this, in turn, is stripping back
influence over the the establishment’s mask, revealing the
decisions taken by ugly face of capitalism and its defenders
government minis- for all to see. Let us do away with these
ters. By contrast, monsters – and fight to ditch their rotten
more than four system! ■
Back to Contentsmarxist.com
12 Football 13th May 2022
CAPITALISM AND FOOTBALL
SPORT MIRRORS SOCIETY
Lewis Griffiths a reflection of the inequality embedded
within capitalist society in general.
large. As John Barnes, the former Eng-
land player, correctly stated: “The only
O
n Sunday 1 May, having been It was only a year ago, for example, way to destroy racism is to destroy cap-
expelled from the English Football that the ‘Big Six’ attempted to break away italism.”
League three years prior, Bury FC and form the European Super League
were brought out of administration by a (ESL), lured by the prospect of even Logic
fan-led buyout. greater profits. The formation of the Premier League in
This will no doubt come as a huge re- Their fat-cat owners didn’t care about 1992 was itself an attempt to guarantee
lief to local fans, who were the real losers those left behind – a callous, ruthless the profits and position of those teams
when the club was driven into liquidation, attitude found amongst all big business already at the apex of the footballing pyra-
with rumoured debts of over £15 million. bosses. In fact, in many cases, it is largely mid. As a consequence, the top division of
But Bury is no isolated case. In 2020, the same billionaires involved. English football went from receiving 50%
citing similar debt woes, Macclesfield For the super-rich investors and klep- of TV revenues to nearly 98%.
Town were expelled from the National tocrats who own football clubs, sport is In the 30 seasons since, with the FA
League just four days before the start of just another business venture. Corruption Cup this weekend set to be contested
the season. and dodgy deals, therefore, will remain between Chelsea and Liverpool, just five
Clubs such as Bolton Wanderers and in football so long as the same class of teams have won 75 out of the 90 domestic
Oldham Athletic have also faced chronic parasites hold the reins. trophies available. Similarly, only 15 dif-
financial difficulties, with the former facing ferent clubs have won at least one of the
liquidation, and the latter recently becom- Racism three domestic competitions contested
ing the first founding Premier League side It is not just capitalist inequality that we each season.
to drop into the 5th tier of the country’s see replicated in football. Racism too The ESL was not an aberration, in
footballing ladder. has remained a central issue in the sport this respect – some harebrained scheme
In response, during their recent match over recent decades, maintaining an ugly concocted by a cabal of exceptionally evil
against Salford City, Oldham fans stormed presence – on and off the pitch – despite businessmen. It was the logical conclu-
onto the pitch, unfurling a huge banner countless campaigns aimed at giving sion of a sport gripped by the dog-eat-dog
demanding that the owners “get out of our bigotry the boot. laws of the capitalist system.
club”. The ruling class relies on racism and As Karl Marx noted: under capitalism,
Such pervasive crises are a symptom other forms of oppression in order to accumulation of wealth at one end is at
of capitalism’s insidious influence over divide and distract the working class; to the same time an accumulation of ruin and
the sport. Only by putting club ownership dissipate and deflect anger that would degradation at the other.
and control in the hands of fans, staff, and otherwise be aimed at the establishment.
working-class communities can we kick The world of football is not immune Socialism
out the rampant corruption, inequality, from this, as was seen with the Tories’ Grassroots buyouts of local clubs can
and obscene concentration of wealth and attempts to whip up a culture war during therefore only provide a temporary re-
power that plagues the ‘beautiful game’. last year’s Euros tournament. prieve for fans and workers. After all, most
The truth is that we can’t talk about supporter bases cannot afford to
Inequality ending racism in sport, without ending take such action.
Captivated by the racism in society at Clubs that have been bought
extravagant wealth by supporters, meanwhile, will
promised at the top still be beholden to the same
level of English foot- competitive laws and logic
ball, lower league that govern other teams. In
clubs regularly practice, this means: cuts to
spend more than staff wages and conditions;
their annual in- hikes in matchday prices;
come on players’ and inflated pay offers to
wages alone, ac- primadonna players.
quiring huge debts To end the inequality,
in the process. corruption, and racism
The extraor- that blights football,
dinary riches therefore, we need to drive
accumulated by profit off the pitch, and bring
the biggest clubs, the game under the control of
compared with fans and workers, as part of
the bankruptcy a mass movement to trans-
facing those in the form society along socialist
lower leagues, is lines. ■
Back to Contentssocialist.net
13 Housing crisis Issue 368
TORY PLANS TO EXTEND RIGHT TO BUY
A DESPERATE BID FOR VOTES
Joe Coker ‘level-up’ their ‘Red Wall’ seats, it will
end in tears for them at the next general
building; and expropriate the empty
properties of the super-rich and the
Canterbury Marxists election. speculators to house the homeless.
But with capitalism in crisis, the To- Solving the housing crisis is not a
T
he Tories are planning to revive ries are well aware that further austerity technical question. Plenty of land and re-
Thatcher’s flagship ‘Right to Buy’ is necessary. With no money to invest sources exist in order to house everyone
scheme, by extending it to two mil- in healthcare, education, or housing, all at a good standard. But under capitalism
lion housing association tenants. This has they can offer to a thin layer of workers this isn’t done, as it's not profitable to do
nothing to do with attempting to solve the is the sell-off of semi-publicly-owned so.
housing crisis. Instead, it is a desperate assets – at the housing associations’ The wealth to end the housing cri-
attempt by the Tories to reverse their tum- expense. sis already exists. It is sitting unused
bling popularity. Ultimately no amount of gimmicks in the accounts of the banks and big
The original Right to Buy in 1980 can save the fortunes of this govern- businesses, where it will remain until the
was marketed as a means of helping ment, which will be battered from pillar capitalists can find something profitable
working-class families onto the property to post as it attempts to manage the to invest in.
ladder. Council homes were sold off with crisis of capitalism. To solve the housing crisis, the
massive discounts of up to 70% off their only option is to nationalise the banks,
market price. For some, this proved very Socialist solution land, big construction companies and
popular. The experience of the last four decades developers, and to bring them under a
In reality, however, the scheme was has demonstrated what a disaster the socialist plan of production.
simply a means of opening up social Right to Buy ultimately was. The capitalist system is unable to
housing to the market – to become an- One million families are currently meet the most basic of human needs,
other source of profits for the rich. waiting for social housing. 282,000 even when there is the wealth to do so.
Before Thatcher, public sector hous- single people, couples, and families are The best that its representatives can
ing was primarily funded by the central homeless, despite over 600,000 homes do is offer a few people the right to buy
government. Not only did the Tories put being empty. Rents continue to drasti- their own property, the flip-side of which
a stop to this, they also forbade local cally increase as wages stagnate or fall. is the ‘right’ of the banks to profit from
authorities from using the money they The solution to the housing crisis their mortgages, or for landlords
made from sales to build replacements. is simple: abolish the Right to Buy to later acquire these homes.
Today, an estimated 4-in-10 for- in England (as has already Instead of the right to buy,
mer council homes sold off under the been done in Wales and workers must demand the right
scheme are now owned by private Scotland); embark on for all to live in a decent and
landlords – charging two or three times a mass programme affordable home.■
the level of council rents. And of the 2.6 of council house
million homes sold, only 5% have been
replaced.
It is clear from this that the real
goals of Right to Buy were austerity and
electoral gains in the short term, and ex-
panding the portfolios of landlords and
mortgage lenders in the long term.
Desperate
The idea of extending the Right to Buy
to housing association tenants has
been floated by Tory governments
since 2015. But it was consistently
kicked into the long grass due to
a backlash from housing associa-
tions, whose profitability would be
hit hard.
The Tories are resurrecting the
policy now in a desperate bid to win over
working-class voters, whose support
they are haemorrhaging due to the cost-
of-living crisis and endless government
scandals.
No doubt many Tories are nerv-
ous that unless something is done to
Back to Contentsmarxist.com
14 Analysis 13th May 2022
WOMEN'S DECLINING LIFE EXPECTANCY REVEALS
STARK CLASS DIVIDE
Juliet Atkinson working-class women bore the brunt of the Burdensome caring responsibilities, do-
impact. mestic violence, and higher levels of poverty
Leeds Marxists When schools and childcare services faced by women are not new phenomena,
shut, women were forced to take on even but rather symptoms of women’s position
A
recent report from The Health Foun- more caring responsibilities at home. During under capitalism and class society. Under
dation has revealed shocking insights the lockdown period, over 70% of mothers capitalism women workers are doubly
into the life expectancies of women in reported being mostly or solely responsible oppressed: expected to perform domestic
the poorest areas in England. In the 10% for homeschooling. labour at home, and exploited by capitalists
most deprived local areas in England the Given the undue burden placed on at work for profit.
average female life expectancy now stands mothers to provide care for children, it is un- Full women’s liberation therefore cannot
at 78.7 years – lower than in every OECD surprising that they were 47% more likely to be gained solely through reforms – although
country in the world other than Mexico. have permanently lost their job or quit than we of course fight for these – but ultimately
The contrast with the richest areas in other workers during the lockdown period. only through socialist revolution.
England is particularly stark. On average, It was not only women with children who
women in the top 10% of wealthiest areas suffered the effects of the pandemic. For a socialist solution!
live almost eight years longer than those in Working-class women as a whole faced Only under a democratically-planned social-
the poorest. But how has this happened? higher levels of unemployment than men. ist economy can we lay the material basis
Over a decade of Tory austerity has led Women, forced back into the home and for the end of women’s oppression.
to skyrocketing levels of poverty, with over often facing a loss of financial independ- Caring responsibilities and domestic
14 million people in the UK now living in ence, faced a horrific increase in levels of labour would be dramatically reduced by
poverty. The UK now has the largest gap domestic violence and abuse. the provision of universal childcare and
between healthcare outcomes for men and Between April and June 2020, there communal services that reduce the burden
women in the G20, and the 12th largest was a 65% increase in reports of domestic of domestic tasks such as cleaning and
globally. abuse compared with the start of that year. cooking.
In fact, 25% of single women now live Most shockingly, at the start of the pandem- Instead of facing endless cuts to
in poverty, as well as 45% of single parents ic the numbers of femicidal domestic abuse women’s refuges under Tory austerity, we
(90% of whom are women). But it’s not killings more than doubled in a matter of could tackle domestic abuse and violence
merely Tory austerity that has led to an weeks. by ensuring that women are financially
increase in poverty, but also the global crisis independent, and by providing victims of
of capitalism. A class question abuse with accommodation elsewhere and
Although austerity and the pandemic have sufficient support.
Women bear the brunt undoubtedly worsened women’s position Women’s healthcare would be dra-
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed even in society, the roots of women’s oppression matically improved by reversing decades
more women further into poverty. When are far deeper. Austerity and the of privatisation and providing fully-funded
schools and businesses shut in 2020, pandemic have merely exacer- healthcare services, including women’s and
bated conditions inherent to reproductive healthcare.
class society. Capitalism is in crisis and has nothing
to offer working-class women but violence,
abuse and exploitation. To end women’s
oppression we must fight for socialist
revolution. ■
Back to Contents15
STUDENT LOANS socialist.net
Issue 368
GRADUATES FACE A LIFETIME OF DEBT UNDER CAPITALISM
Ezra Ellis
Saddled with debt Where’s our money?
Sheffield Marxists For students entering university next The backdrop to all of this has been a
year, interest rates will be capped at a barrage of cuts and privatisation in high-
A
s inflation soars, interest rates on lower level. But this does not mean that er education. Government funding for
student loans are set to rise to they will be any better off. universities has fallen from £16 billion in
12% in England this year. Instead of ludicrous levels of inter- 2010 to £4.9 billion in 2021. Students and
This comes on top of an increase est, the repayment threshold for these graduates are expected to make up this
in National Insurance, council tax, and students will be reduced from £27,000 huge shortfall.
energy bills, and without any equivalent to £25,000. At the same time, the repay- At the same time, university staff
increase in wages or benefits. ment period will be increased from 30 to continue to see their pensions, pay, and
Yet again, we see how workers and 40 years. conditions eroded by education bosses,
youth are being made to shoulder the Analysis from The Times has demon- leading to waves of industrial action on
burden for the crisis of capitalism. strated that these changes will mean campuses around the country in recent
that an average university graduate will months and years.
Footing the bill have to pay back £101,000 in total over Russell Group universities, mean-
According to a report by the Institute for their lifetime: more than double what they while, have racked up a £2.2 billion cash
Fiscal Studies, interest rates for gradu- would under the current system. surplus in the last academic year alone.
ates earning above £49,130 will almost These future graduates, in other So students may reasonably ask:
triple, from 4.5% to 12%. This is the high- words, will be paying back student debts Where is their money going? And why do
est level of student loan interest since well into their 60s – that is, essentially for rates continue to increase, if university
2012, when tuition fees were increased. their entire working lives. budgets are in surplus?
Lower-income graduates will be hit Martin Lewis, founder of Mon-
even harder, with interest on their student eySavingExpert.com, has stated that Fight for free education
debts skyrocketing from 1.5% to 9%. these changes “effectively complete the Right-wingers moan about university
This huge surge in interest will only transformation of student ‘loans’ for most, students being a privileged minority. But
affect graduates who took out loans since into a working-life-long graduate tax”. this is blatantly untrue.
2012, when the Tory-Liberal coalition Eye-watering interest rates and new In the UK, 40% of those aged 15-64
pushed up university fees from £3,000 to changes to repayment terms, meanwhile, have a university degree. And this propor-
£9,000 per year. are likely to put off young people from the tion is even higher amongst younger gen-
This generation is once again being poorest households from going to univer- erations, for whom higher education has
taken for a ride. Having already been sity, for fear of being saddled with debts become a prerequisite of employment.
made to pay for the 2008 crash, they are for the rest of their lives; debts that the What these latest changes amount to,
now expected to foot the bill for capital- government has demonstrated they can in reality, is a further tax on the working
ism’s latest crisis as well. inflate at will. class, in order to bail out the capitalists
and their system.
Interest and inflation Due to the marketisation of education
For students from the 2012 cohort on- over the last decade, students have been
wards, student loan interest is linked treated as cash cows by university boss-
to the Retail Prices Index (RPI), a es, government ministers, and parasitic
measure of inflation. This has landlords. And this latest interest rate
risen to 9% today, up from hike shows that, under capitalism, there
1.5% last year – explaining the will be no change to this trajectory.
six times increase in interest The fight for free education – funded by
rates. expropriation – has therefore never been
At the same time, this more important: a fight that must be linked
highlights the enormous up with that of organised workers, against
squeeze in living standards marketisation and austerity, and for the
that students and gradu- socialist transformation of society. ■
ates are already grappling
with.
These sky-high in-
terest rates on student
loans, meanwhile, are
vastly higher than av-
erage mortgage rates
or unsecured credit.
Students, in other
words, are being
charged even
more by the gov-
ernment than
they would
be by private
lenders.
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