Birmingham Socialist Party

Oppose Britain First in Birmingham!

This Saturday, the far-right hate group Britain First plan to protest in Birmingham to call for “Remigration and deportations”.

It is no coincidence that they have chosen to protest in one of the UK’s poorest and most ethnically diverse cities.

Britain First are looking to drive a wedge through the working class.

The rise of the far right hasn’t come from nowhere, but is a direct response of decades of austerity and a long list of capitalist governments that would rather parrot the racist lies of the likes of Paul Golding and Tommy Robinson than take on the bosses to improve lives for working class people.

In the words of Malcolm X, “You can’t have capitalism without racism”. That’s why we say the only way to stamp out racism for good is to build a mass working-class movement for the overthrow of capitalism.

Socialist Party members will be meeting at 10:30 am at New Street Station to head to the counter demonstration together for the 11am start. Get in touch if you’re planning to join us!

Come to our next branch meeting to learn more about fascism and how we can organise against it!

Fascism: What It Is and How To Fight It?
📅 Monday 22nd June
⏰ 7.30 pm
📍 The Wellington Pub
B2 5SN

The 1926 General Strike has been described as the most important event in the history of the British working class. Around 1.7 million workers across various industries downed tools in support of the miners who were fighting planned reductions in pay and increased working hours.

Despite the lack of preparation by the Trade Union Council (TUC) the strike stood strong with more joining every day. In just nine days, elements of “dual power” already arose with workers organising "Councils of Action" to coordinate strike logistics and supply of essential services.

From day one, terrified of the prospect of the working class taking power, the general council of the TUC tried to find a way to end the strike. The very success of the general strike led them to increase their efforts at sabotage.

Join us this Monday when we'll be discussing the key lessons from this period and their relevance for today.

📅 Monday 15th June
⏰ 7.30 pm
📍 The Wellington Pub (second floor)
37 Bennetts Hill
Birmingham
B2 5SN

Everyone welcome!

Yesterday, we joined UCU members and supporters at BCU to oppose the recent redundancy consultations affecting staff in Architecture and the Built Environment, Black Studies, and Biomedical Engineering.

Staff, students and supporters spoke about the importance of defending courses, jobs and educational opportunities from cuts. BCU's senior management has stated that these proposals are driven by financial pressures and a lack of demand.

However, concerns were raised that no Equality Impact Assessment was carried out before decisions affecting Black Studies were proposed, despite the potential impact on both staff and students. Speakers also highlighted the lack of response to the collective grievance relating to discrimination concerns surrounding the course's closure.

The message from today's protest was clear: BCU is more than its senior management and that the university belongs to its staff, students and the wider community it serves. No redundancy is necessary. The wealth exists to fund high quality free education for all!

After 14 years of slashing services and hiking council tax, Labour were annihilated at last month's council elections. It's still not certain which parties will take over from them. But they have a choice - carry on watching the city decline or get people in this city organised to stand up to central government, property developers and landlords.

We were out over the weekend in Kings Heath and Northfield collecting signatures for our petition to demand Birmingham's councillors say no to further cuts and council tax hikes. Get in touch to find out how you can help the campaign!

The British political establishment is collapsing. Labour and the Conservatives have dominated UK politics for almost 100 years, but May’s local elections have shown that the public has lost all confidence in them. Instead, the vote has split, with the biggest gains going to Nigel Farage’s Reform and the Green Party as workers look for new answers to rising bills and failing public services.

While the climate collapses, war and conflict are on the rise as we move into a new multi-polar world with the decline of US imperialist dominance. Not only are workers around the world witnessing the horrors of these conflicts on their TVs, but they’re feeling it in their pockets as prices for fuel, food, and other basic necessities begin to rise, adding to nearly 16 years of brutal austerity.

More than ever, workers and youth are looking for a way out of this constant cycle of global crisis. However, none of the capitalist parties can give them the answer. As radical Marxists, it’s our task to show how all these problems are rooted in the capitalist drive for profit and to raise the banner of socialism!

Join us this Monday when we will be discussing how to build the Socialist Party in a world in crisis:

📅 Monday 1st June
⏰ 7.00 pm
📍 The Wellington Pub (top floor)
37 Bennetts Hill
Birmingham
B2 5SN

All welcome!

The Labour government which is hitting LGBTQ+ people with a double whammy of austerity and transphobia. We were out at Pride yesterday calling for Starmer to go, and a real working class alternative to all the bosses' parties.

Plenty were angry about the willingness of the Starmer government to stand over every regressive court ruling, including banning trans women from sitting on Labour Womens committees in the West Midlands. These will only play in to the hands of reactionaries like Farage and Lowe.

On the bank holiday tomorrow, instead of our usual evening branch meeting, we'll be holding a relaxed meetup to discuss how we can further the fight amongst the LGBTQ+ community against Labour, Reform and the system they represent.

⏰ 2 pm
🗓 Monday 25th May
📍 EthyOn Cafe, Cannon Street, Birmingham City Centre

The Labour Party and Tory Party before them have both led attacks on services that LGBTQ+ people depend on. Now, the the failure of these parties to improve the lives of ordinary people has led to the rise of right-wing populist Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage.

Reform pose a clear threat to the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans people. Farage and Co claim to stand with working-class people, but never blame the billionaires and corporations profiting from the crisis. They are simply another party defending the interests of the rich.

Only a national anti-austerity party rooted in the working class can cut across Farage’s divide-and-rule tactics!

Join us this bank holiday Monday at the EthyOn cafe to discuss why the fight for LGBTQ+ rights is inseparable from the fight for socialism.

⏰ 2 pm
🗓 Monday 25th May
📍 EthyOn Cafe, Cannon Street, Birmingham City Centre

Everyone welcome!

This week’s branch meeting examines a key industry in Britain, oil and gas. For decades, the North Sea has generated staggering wealth, yet ordinary people have seen almost none of it. Why did countries like Norway build a trillion-dollar public wealth fund while Britain privatised a key resource?

The working class now face a cost-of-living crisis that will be made worse by rising oil costs due to Trump’s war in the Middle East. At the same time, we're bearing the brunt of tax rebates to those same corporations who have knowingly profiteered and manipulated global economics and policy in their own interests!

The lead off this week will explore how capitalism has mismanaged a finite resource, how the working class were cut out of the profits, and what a socialist approach to energy would look like, from national ownership to planned management and transition to renewables and how real world coordination has previously stopped global disasters. If you want to understand why your bills keep rising while BP and Shell post record profits, and what solutions socialism can bring to the table, join us:

📅 Monday 18th May
⏰ 7.30 pm
📍 The Wellington Pub (second floor)
37 Bennetts Hill
Birmingham
B2 5SN

All welcome!