Focus
Powell the unilateralist
• Brazil •
Privatisation •
Irish elections
Features
Harold Wolpe
Apartheid's Deepening Crisis
The last decade has seen big changes in South Africa: economic crisis,
widening black resistance and significant changes in Afrikaner strategy.
What will be the outcome?
Eric Hobsbawm
Falkland's Fallout
The Falklands war was not really about the Falklands at all, it was about
domestic politics. And it gave a new and ominous portent of what might
happen after Thatcher.
Lynne Segal
A Question of Choice
The accepted wisdom is that Thatcherism is forcing womenback
into home. But it's not quite like that.
Michael Rustin
Power to the Provinces!
Labour has traditionally been antagonistic, or at best lukewarm, towards
decentralisation —be it devolution or regional government. Now the
SDP is making the running on regionalism, and the Left can't afford to
be left behind.
Jon Halliday
Mr Weathervane takes over in Japan
Nakesone has just been elected as the new premier, marking a significant
shift to the right in Japanese politics.
Channel Five
Sierra Design —
Interview with Dan Connor
Songs Of Resistance
— Mary Ellison
Discussion
Bill Warman
The Unions: Caught on the
Ebb Tide
The last contribution to our discussion.
Reviews
Chris Pond — Images
of Welfare — The Politics of Poverty — Poverty and
Politics
Sarah Lefanu — A
Chain of Voices
Jenny Warren — Threat
from the East?
Letters
Notes
covers
& adverts
Death in Jeddah • South Korea's miracle stumbles • Changes at the top • French pragmatism
Features
A New Force in the Land
A roundtable discussion with Sally Davison, Helen John and Joan Ruddock
The Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp has captured the imagination of the country. It represents a new kind of politics. But what can — and can't — it do?
Chris Pond
Taxation: a political liability
In 1979, a major reason for the Tory victory was the promise to cut income tax. It hasn't happened. But taxation remains a key problem which the Left has neglected.
Dave Cook and Peter Hain
Proportional representation: threat or opportunity?
The emergence of the Alliance has put proportional representation much higher on the political agenda. The Left remains very divided on its own attitude. Here we present two conflicting views.
Harold Immanuel
Sizewell Syndrome
The Tory government is committed to a massive programme of nuclear power stations. Sizewell 'B' would be the first of many. But all the signs are that this is going to become — for the first time — a major political issue.
Doug Cook
Lessons of the NHS Dispute
The author looks at the recent health workers struggle.
Channel Five
Black footballers — Peter Ball
News on Channel 4 — Brian McNair
A Question of Silence — Sarah Lefanu
The Rise of the Slopes — Maria Loftus
Review
Hilary Land — The Anti-Social Family
Martin Weegman — Feminine Sexuality — Feminism and Psychoanalysis
Grahame Thompson — The Lucas Plan — The Unequal Struggle?
Letters
Notes
covers & adverts
Fleet Street shuffle • The sinking pound • The family way
Features
Karl Marx: 100 Not Out
A roundtable discussion with Eric Hobsbawm, Ralph Miliband, Bob Rowthorn and Anne Sassoon.
This month is the centenary of Marx's death. His influence has been enormous. How do his ideas look today and what are the prospects for the future?
Simon Frith
Post Punk Blues
The late 70s saw the heyday of political pop. Since then it has waned, but pop continues to express the concerns and pleasures of the youth generation.
John Kelly
Tebbit Changes Tack
The assault on the unions remains central to Tory strategy. But the latest Green Paper marks a shift in the nature of that offensive.
What Does Marx Mean to You?
Marx's impact on Britain and the world is extraordinary. We asked people from a wide variety of different spheres and views what he means to them.
Christopher Husbands
Unemployment and Politics
A big majority of the British people regard unemployment as the biggest issue facing the nation. But it hasn't — as yet — produced a shift against the Tories.
Channel Five
Interview with Alan Ayckbourn
Rediffusing television — Gillian Skirrow
Celebrating the Centenary — Richard Dyer
Discussion
Gerry Pocock
Falklands Fallout
The honourable record of the Left
Reviews
Anne Sassoon — Marx: A Hundred Years On
Anthony Dorrell — Shostakovich: the man and his music
Letters
Notes
covers & adverts
cover
contents
ads & classified
Focus
The Nigerian exodus
• Local councils
and decentralisation • Fagan
and Trespass
Features
Jon Bloomfield Year of
Decision The peace movement is now more powerful than ever.
But the Governmenthas embarked on a major counter-offensive. Can we
stop Cruise?
Interview with Uri Avneri Israel
lurches to the Right With the invasion of the Lebanon, the Begin
regime has shifted further to the right. And future prospects look far
from hopeful.
Doreen Massey The Shape
of Things to Come The composition of the workforce has changed
profoundly. And so have
the regions that make up Britain. The Left has some thinking to do:
because the implications are enormous.
Hugo Levie Britain Goes
to the Sales
The Tories meant what they said. They are determined to dismember
the public sector.
Hannah Kanter and Jennifer Peck
Rape: the Burden of Proof
Rape law remains overwhelmingly biased against women.
Channel Five
Woman's Hour —
interview with Wyn Knowles and Sue MacGregor
Joan Armatrading —
Mary Harron
Sanitising the War
— Anthony Arblaster
Reviews
Roy Lockett — Gramsci's
Political Thought
Bob Jessop — Capitalist
Democracy in Britain
Letters
Notes
Focus
Zimbabwe in Turmoil
• Media and New Technology
• Austerity in France
• The Police Bill
Features
David Currie
Opec Over a Barrel
The oil price has been cut. And Opec is now on the defensive and vulnerable.
Chris Pond
Rediscovering Poverty
Poverty has become the forgotten issue of British politics. That is now
beginning
to change. But the labour movement still doesn't take it seriously.
John Gordon
North-South: the axis shifts
There is no sign of a New International Economic order. So the South is
now
pressing for more pragmatic measures.
Phil Lee
Welfare State: The Second
Front Opens
So far it's been mainly words and not much action. But the recent leaks
suggest the Tories, given another chance, will go for bust.
Pat Hudson
The Right and the Green
West German politics has shifted right, with implications for the rest
of Europe.
Channel Five
Interview with Buchi Emecheta
Video and Pop —
Paul Morley
Sir William Walton —
Malcolm Barry
Reviews
John Fisher— Farewell
to the Working Class: Socialism and Survival
Jitendra Mohan — Dynamics
of Global Crisis: Crisis in the Third World: The Third
World in Global Development
Letters
& Notes
covers &
adverts
cover
contents
ads & classified
Focus
Chinese Foreign Policy
• The Trident
Factor • Drought
in Africa
Features
Interview with Neil Kinnock
Over the last four years, Labour has been trying to come to terms
with both Thatcherism and its own longer-term decline. In this interview,
Neil Kinnock, one of the major figures on the Labour Left, explores these
issues and post-election prospects.
Dave Triesman - They're
Off . . .
The flat racing season is well underway, the Derby is about to happen.
Horse racing exercises an enormous influence on rich and poor alike.
John Grahl - The Liberal
Revolutionary
Keynes has had a greater impact on British politics this century than
any other thinker. For many years, he was almost sacrosanct. Now he is
derided by the radical Right. The Left still can't make up its mind.
Dave Morris - Unemployment Blues
The trade union movement is in difficulties — and, at root,
the problem is unemployment.
David Arnold - The Man behind
the Film
Gandhi remains one of the great figures of the twentieth century.
But his long run legacy for India is an ambiguous one.
Channel Five
Interview with Alexei Sayle
James Bond in the 80s
— Tony Bennett
Mass Market Feminism —
Margaret Tarratt
Reviews
Andrew Gamble — Thatcher's
Britain: Britain Can Work: After the New
Right: The Salisbury Review
Veronica Beechey — Brothers
Letters
Notes
cover
contents
ads & classified
Focus
Nicaragua • Shipbuilding
on the rocks • Indonesia
Features
Andrew Gamble Thatcher: The Second Coming
The Thatcherite revolution has consolidated its hold on British society,
leaving
the left in apparent disarray.
Doreen Massey The Contours
of Victory
The Tory victory reveals new patterns of political allegiances and
challenges
accepted wisdom about party loyalty.
Vicky Seddon Keeping Women in their Place
Sexual harassment is an added and unpleasant burden facing working
women. But recent research suggests that it plays a significant role in
emphasising sexual divisions at work.
Brian Wood Impasse
in Namibia
A flurry of recent diplomatic activity has failed to dislodge apartheid's
grip on Namibia. What are the prospects now for liberation?
Channel 4: The First Nine
Months
Interview with Jeremy Isaacs
Stuart Hood talks to the chief executive of the controversial experiment
in broadcasting
Channel Five
Tycoon by Design —
Adrian Forty
Young British Novelists
— Anita Phillips
Italian Summers —
Iain Chambers and Lidia Curti
Reviews
Malcolm Rutherford — The
Politics of Thatcherism
Esmee Barnsby — Feminism,
Culture and Politics
Letters
Notes
cover
contents
ads & classified
Focus
Jam or Jerusalem? •
The Japanese elections
• Depo Provera
Features
Iran — Revolution
in Reverse
The overthrow of the Shah was one of the great popular revolutions
of this century. But the Islamic regime that replaced it has been highly
ambiguous. Now it has turned on the Left. Here we interview A Sadeg,
a representative of the Tudeh Party.
Stan Parker The British
on Holiday
Foreign holidays are on the increase, but hoiday-making in Britain
still predominates.
Paul Hirst Hanging —
the End of the Rope The pro-hanging lobby has been defeated, but
this issue is unlikely to go away.
Donald Sassoon Christian
Democracy's crumbling edifice
The recent Italian elections resulted in a stunning defeat for Christian
Democracy and new possibilities for the Italian communists.
Opinion pollsters or opinion
formers?
A roundtable discussion with James Curran, Peter Kellner and Bob Worcester.
The general election saw a positive epidemic of opinion polls. They also
remain controversial. We explore some of the issues.
Channel Five
Armchair Travelling —
Stephen Hayward
Popular and Political Theatre
— an interview with Dario Fo
The Artists' International
Association — Lynda Morris
Discussion
John Saville, The Liberal
Revolutionary
The mixed blessing of 1945
Reviews
Julian Cooper — The
Economics of Feasible Socialism
Dennis Ogden — Andropov
Letters
Notes
cover
contents
ads & classified
Focus
A drop in the ocean?
• Squeezing the poor
• Chile's shaky junta
Features
Bob Rowthorn • Think
positive — rethink Labour
Labour suffered a historic defeat in the general election. Worse could
follow. Now is the time for some serious rethinking.
Ray Forrest • Home
sweet home
The Thatcher years have seen major changes in housing. Council housing
is on the retreat and owner-occupation is increasingly important.
For whom the block votes?
A roundtable discussion
The Tories want to loosen, possibly break, the ties between Labour and
the unions. At the election, a minority of trade unionists voted Labour.
In this roundtable, six trade
unionists discuss the problems and how to tackle them.
James Donald • Class
of 83
The Left must regain the initiative on education. But to do so, it needs
to reassess its arguments.
Ian Davison • Will
protest survive? CND after the election
As cruise gets closer, CND becomes more important. But the election didn't
help.
Channel Five
Interview with Salman Rushdie
Paul Robeson: Militant
Humanism — Richard Dyer
Latin American Cinema
— Michael Chanan
Reviews 43
Eileen Phillips — Arguments
for Socialism series
Brian Bolton — Why
are the British bad at manufacturing? — Japan
in the passing lane.
Letters
Notes
FOCUS
Crime Prevention •
Polish economic reform
• Equal pay
FEATURES
Labour's Lost Millions
Eric Hobsbawm
Labour was trounced in June. It could be marginalised over the next decade
— or sooner. So what do we do about it?
Feminism is Dead? Long Live
Feminism
Tricia Davis
The Tories have a far more subtle position on women than is generallynrecognised.
They have been forced to acknowledge the strength of feminism. So why
is the Left retreating from it?
Interview with David Yip,
the Chinese
Detective
David Yip, the star of The Chinese Detective, looks at the series and
the
problems confronting the ethnic minorities on the screen and in society.
The Popular Front Revisited
Dave Priscott
The Left has underestimated the strength and threat of Thatcherism. The
experience of the 30s serves as both a warning and a guide.
Privatising Pleasure —
the Communications Revolution
Peter Golding and Graham Murdock
A revolution is being wrought in the communications industries, yet the
Left is hardly aware of its existence, let alone what to do about it.
CHANNEL FIVE
Interview with Keith Waterhouse
Political Theatre —
David Edgar
Televised Football —
David Berry and Steve Pinder
Spotlight: No Go Music
— Chris Bohn
REVIEWS
Richard Saville — The Cambridge Economic
History of India:
Civilisation and Capitalism
Michael Rustin —
What is to be Done about the Family?
LETTERS
UPDATE
The rain that kills • Racism in France • Nigeria comes of age
FEATURES
Central America: the Eagle Hovers • Jenny Pearce
The US strategy isn't working. So Reagan, bit by bit, is escalating the situation. Where will it end?
The Uneasy Alliance •
Andrew Gamble
The Alliance came out of the election as victor and loser. Now it faces difficult options — and new tensions.
Caught in the Wheels •
Cynthia Cockburn
Engineering and technology is a man's world. The era of 'equal opportunities' has made virtually no difference. There's got to be some explanation.
Interview with George Melly
A tour of the 60s, Thatcherism, jazz and surrealism with one of jazz's best-known personalities.
The Long and Winding Road •
A roundtable discussion
The Communist Party, like the rest of
the Left, is not without its problems. Four leading Communists discuss how they see things.
CHANNEL FIVE
Interview with Peter Preston, Guardian editor
Radio Franchises — Thomas O'Malley
Hip Little Englanders — Marek Kahn
Spotlight: The Fringe — Paul Allen
REVIEWS
Karl Dallas — Victor: an unfinished song
Alan Macdougall — Inside the Inner City
VIEWPOINT
Michael Meacher and Robin Cook respond to Eric Hobsbawm's 'Labour's Lost Millions'.
LETTERS
UPDATE
covers & adverts
FOCUS
Mirror's image •
Trouble at the poly
• Hongkong: crisis?
what crisis?
FEATURES
America Presents Arms
John Cox
The US invades Grenada. It's all too familiar. But things are changing.
The third world is now at the centre of the cold war.
The Caribbean's Stolen Jewel
Andy Green
Grenada's revolution was young, but it had done a lot.
France's Resurgent Right
Keith Dixon and Daniel Perraud
The French Right is on the offensive — and making unholy alliances.
Labour's capital gains:
The GLC experience
Michael Ward
The Labour GLC has pioneered a new kind of municipal socialism.
Iran's Revolution turns
sour
Fred Halliday
The Iranian revolution has gone badly wrong. The Left has been suppressed
and the Tudeh Party forced underground.
CHANNEL FIVE
Street credibility
— Rosalind Brunt
Happy Birthday, WEA
— Trevor Blackwell
Women Draw 1984
Spotlight: Christmas Wines
— Edmund Penning-Rowsell
REVIEWS
We asked a variety of people which book they most enjoyed reading in 1983.
VIEWPOINT
Eric Heffer continues the discussion on Eric Hobsbawm's 'Labour's Lost
Millions'.
LETTERS
UPDATE