Product Sections

Main Pages

Home

Our details

About Us

Socialist Renewal

Socialist Renewal 8th Series

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Global Auction of Public Assets:</span>

Global Auction of Public Assets:
Public sector alternatives to the infrastructure market and Public Private Partnerships
By Dexter Whitfield

Public infrastructure in the 21st century is confronted with new challenges - adapting to climate change, meeting the economic, energy, water, transportation and social infrastructure needs of megacities in Asia, megaregions in North America and European city regions.

Public infrastructure provides basic human needs - homes, water, energy for light, heat and cooking; the transport of people, raw materials and goods by road, rail, sea and air; hospitals, schools, sports and cultural facilities; communications networks; facilities for the criminal justice system; and civic and governmental buildings for democratic governance, social and political activity.

Public infrastructure supports economic growth, increases productivity, generates employment, creates opportunities for the production and supply chains in construction and services, and improves community well-being.

Wider adoption of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and growth of the global infrastructure market, financed by investment funds and pension funds, could fuel a new era of public asset sales. Already, the refinancing and the sale of equity in PPP projects has led to the buying and selling of public hospitals, schools, prisons and roads, furthering exploitation and profiteering.

PPPs are promoted by the World Bank, IMF, development banks and via bilateral agreements in developing countries and the industrialised north. This is the first critical analysis which explores PPP programmes in the UK, France, Ireland, Germany, the US, Canada, Russia, Australia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

Yet over US$500bn of PPP projects have failed, have little democratic control or transparency, are costly, lack innovation and are approved on narrow value for money or fraudulent public sector comparators. PPPs are ultimately publicly financed, either directly by government or indirectly through user charges, fares and tolls.

Profiteering from public private partnerships
Dexter Whitfield, Guardian, 10 December 2009

Reviews:
New book challenges privatization claims - in CUPE, March 31st 2010

Selling off the family silver - Duncan Bowie, Chartist, March/April 2010

Public cost and private benefit - Michael Barratt Brown in Red Pepper, Feb 2010

Socialist Review - Nick Grant, January 2010

Truthout - Friday 15 January 2010, Op-Ed

Price: £18.00

380 pages | Paperback

ISBN: 978 0 85124 7731

Quantity:

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>The Miracle of Fleet Street</span>

The Miracle of Fleet Street
The Story of the Daily Herald
By George Lansbury

'The Daily Herald is now dimly remembered as a forerunner to the disgraceful Sun. But it is not widely known that it began life as a daily strike bulletin when the London print unions struck for a forty-eight hour working week. This blossomed out to cover general news items and even sport, and spread its reach from London to some provincial cities. It died after the strike, but had already whetted the appetite of trade union activists for a move to relaunch it. It set off on an eventful life with a capital of £300 as a co-operative Labour daily, staunchly "unofficial" and rebellious, a veritable hell raiser ...

The demise of the Herald, and the rise of the Sun, are sad stories of the afterlife. But this book contains the account of George Lansbury, the Herald's consistent sponsor and campaigner. It was published in 1925 and has a racy account of the early struggles which established the paper ... It should reappear on the bookshelves in its own right because its author was not only a notable contender for all the good causes that distinguished the Labour Movement in the early days of the Twentieth Century, but also a most generous and decent man, well worth remembering in his own words for what were, in large measures, his own deeds.'

Ken Coates from his Foreword to the new edition

Cover 'Fantasy (Labour Leaders at their Devotions)'
by Will Dyson, Daily Herald, 3 December 1913.

A further 19 illustrations by Will Dyson can be found in
The Miracle of Fleet Street.

Reviews
Bill Hagerty - British Journalism Review
Geoffrey Goodman in Tribune
Nathaniel Mehr in the Morning Star

Price: £15.00

168 pages | Paperback

ISBN: 978 0 85124 7663

Socialist Classic

Quantity:

Socialist Renewal 7th Series

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Labour's Forgotten Statement</span>

Labour's Forgotten Statement
on Banking and Finance
Introduced by J. E. Mortimer

"In the discussion within the labour movement and the press about the current failings of the financial system, the 'credit crunch' and the consequential rise in unemployment little, if any, attention has been given to a statement entitled 'Banking and Finance', prepared by the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party and then presented to and accepted by the 1976 annual conference of the Party.

The report saw the operation of Britain's financial system within the wider context of the problems of the economy. How right they were! At the heart of these problems was the need to increase industrial investment. This need, said the Labour Party report, was 'too important to be left to businessmen and financiers alone'. The report called for a doubling of the rate of manufacturing investment over the next decade. Manufacturing, it said, had 'grown anaemic and needed a major transformation' ... Unfortunately, the Labour Party's 1976 statement on 'Banking and Finance' was not adopted as a guide by New Labour when it was elected with an overwhelming majority in 1997. There is a lesson in this experience."

Jim Mortimer from his Introduction

Price: £3.00

28 pages | ISBN: 978 0 85124 7700

7th Series Number 4

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Left Parties Everywhere</span>

Left Parties Everywhere
By Oskar Lafontaine

2009 will be a year of slump and war. Large parts of the population of Europe feels themselves to be unrepresented as these dire developments unfold. There is clearly a vacuum in official politics, which has proved itself incapable of defending peace, jobs and democracy. But alternatives are beginning to emerge.

From its exciting beginnings in Germany, the movement to create Left Parties … has been steadily advancing. Die Linke, the German Left Party, is led by Oskar Lafontaine, the SDP's candidate for Federal Chancellor in 1990, and Lothar Bisky, former Chairman of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).

Left Parties are now appearing all over the place. These developments will give especial importance to the European Elections which are to be held in June 2009.
Ken Coates from his Introduction

For the full text of this pamphlet click here.

Price: £2.00

28 pages | ISBN: 978 0 85124 7549

7th Series Number 3

Quantity:

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>The Shape of Things to Come</span>

The Shape of Things to Come
The EU Future Group
By Tony Bunyan of Statewatch

The Shape of Things to Come examines the European Union's plans for justice and home affairs, and warns that the Union is embarked on several highly controversial paths. These include: using the 'digital tsunami' to create a surveillance society for law enforcement purposes by gathering personal details on the everyday lives of everyone living in the European Union; allowing law enforcement and security agencies, in collaboration with multinational companies, to determine new technologies to be introduced - including recording details of all phone and mobile phone calls and internet usage; removing 'obstacles' (judicial authorisation) to the exchange of intelligence between all European Union agencies; and the outrageous idea that a Euro-Atlantic area of co-operation with the United States should be set up to decide on policies fundamentally affecting the rights and liberties of the people of Europe.

Also questioned is the undemocratic decision-making procedure under which 27 EU governments will agree the 'Stockholm Programme' that will set in stone the measures to be introduced. The book ends with a warning that, unless we have an open and meaningful debate now, we never will, because it will already be too late.

Price: £5.99

80 pages | Paperback

ISBN: 978 085124 7601

Quantity:

Socialist Renewal 6th Series

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Studies in Socialism</span>

Studies in Socialism
By Jean Jaurès
Introduced by J. E. Mortimer, Leon Trotsky
& R. Ramsay MacDonald

'Studies in Socialism was first published by the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1906. It consists of a number of essays, most of them centred on the method of transition from capitalism to socialism in the economically advance countries.

The special point of these essays is that they reaffirm very vigorously the essential features of the analysis of capitalism made by Marx and Engels. They also illustrate the influence on Jaurès of the traditions of the French Revolution. Nevertheless, the essays challenge the interpretation sometimes made by Marxists about the method of transition from capitalism to socialism. The essays affirm strongly the case for democratic endeavour by socialists seeking to change society.'

Jim Mortimer, Foreword to 2007 Edition

Price: £15.00

210 pages | Paperback

ISBN: 978 0 85124 7496

Quantity:

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>The War on Freedom and Democracy</span>

The War on Freedom and Democracy
Essays on Civil Liberties in Europe
Edited by Tony Bunyan

The 'war on terror' has continued with no end in sight in the years since the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. It permeates the institutions of the body politic in Europe, sacrificing liberty and freedoms in the name of a constructed 'politics of fear' and demands for security.

We have learnt that the greatest threat to 'our way of life' and democracy comes not from terrorism but from our governments' reactions to it. The emergency measures that at first were presented as 'expectional' are now the norm.

These essays were prepared for the launch of the European Civil Liberties Network

Contributors: Tony Bunyan, Heiner Busch, Deirdre Curtin, Liz Fekete, Balthasar Glatti, Ben Hayes, Paddy Hillyard, Gus Hosein, Gergana Jouleva, Alexander Kashumov, Virginia Mantouvalou, Thomas Mathiesen, Steve Peers, Max Rowlands, Phil Scraton, A. Sivanandan, Lorenzo Trucco and Aidan White.

Price: £10.99

176 pages | Paperback

ISBN: 978 0 85124 723 6

Quantity:

Socialist Renewal 5th Series

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>New Labour's Attack on Public Services</span>

New Labour's Attack on Public Services
Modernisation by Marketisation? How the commissioning, choice, competition and
contestability agenda threatens public services
and the welfare state.
By Dexter Whitfield

New Labour is creating markets in public services on an unprecedented scale. Privatisation inevitably follows marketisation, eroding democratic accountability and embedding business interests. Alternative policies and strategies must build on the support for democratic governance, social justice and the welfare state. As this timely book makes clear, action by alliances of trade unions, community organisations and civil society organisations is urgently required.

Read reviews by:
Mike Tolochko
Patrick Ainley
Labour Research
Keith Popple
Paul Walker

Price: £11.99

176 pages | ISBN: 978 0 85124 7151

5th Series Number 3

Quantity:

Socialist Renewal 4th Series

Socialist Renewal 3rd Series

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Workers' Control</span>

Workers' Control
by Ken Coates

Trade Unionists in Britain pursued their hope of a more fulfilling life in the secure knowledge that if they joined together, a better world was indeed possible. Now, a new generation of trade unionists, internationally, may in turn draw inspiration from the ideas and experiences of those who came together in pursuit of industrial democracy and workers' control.

'This book is a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion around issues of workers' control...'

Jeremy Dear National Union of Journalists, Andy Gilchrist Fire Brigades Union, Billy Hayes Communication Workers Union, Joe Marino Bakers, Food & Allied Workers' union, Mick Rix ASLEF, Mark Serwotka Public & Commercial Services Union, Tony Woodley Transport & General Workers' Union.

Read a review by Jim Mortimer

Price: £7.99

190 pages | Paperback

ISBN: 978 0 85124 6826

Socialist Renewal 3:7

Quantity:

Socialist Renewal 2nd Series

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Third Way or Feeding the Fat Cats</span>

Third Way or Feeding the Fat Cats
By Michael Barratt Brown

In this pamphlet Michael Barratt Brown critically examines Prof. Anthony Giddens's Fabian Pamphlet 'Where Now for New Labour?' Giddens's stated aim is to defend New Labour, and the Third Way, against its critics, with a wholesale onslaught on 'old Labour'. Barratt Brown looks in detail at what Giddens means by 'old Labour', and exposes these 'myths of the left'. He then assesses New Labour's embrace of the private sector in providing public services and the role of business in government. "In regard to the major aim of reducing inequalities in Britain, Giddens is entirely complacent about New Labour ... " writes Barratt Brown, who cites the relevant statistics on widening income gaps between rich and poor.

Price: £2.00

16 pages | ISBN: 978 085124 6642

2nd Series Number 10

Quantity:

<span style='font-size: 14px;'>Third Way ... To Where?</span>

Third Way ... To Where?
By Michael Barratt Brown

When the third way was invented, not the least of its attractions to its promoters was that if offered a convenient bridge to enable President Clinton to take a position on the same platform as European Socialist Prime Ministers, without undergoing an inconvenient 'conversion' to some form of social democracy. The Third Way was a perfect foil for such an impostor. It afforded a media-friendly cover for the extension of neo-liberal politics of deregulation, the untrammelling of market forces, privatisation and the roll-back of welfare.

'The ideas associated with the Third Way are still the wave of the future for progressive politics' says Tony Blair. Ken Coates and Michael Barratt Brown examine what this 'wave of the future' has brought us, and where it may yet wash us up.

Price: £2.00

20 pages | ISBN: 978 085124 6505

2nd Series Number 4

Quantity:

Socialist Renewal 1st Series

Socialist Renewal

Spokesman Books | Socialist Renewal