Members of Class War Cambridgeshire have travelled to Greece for the anniversary of the murder of teenager Alexi Grigoropoulos.
Follow their live “Twitter” (We always thought that was the noise angry posh people make when they’re angry!) straight from the barricades of Athens! Online at the address below:
Find out more online at Occupied London’s blog www.occupiedlondon.org/blog
You’d be excused for believing that us here at Cambridgeshire Anarchists love to moan, and for the most part you’re probably right. However we do see, and strive to create, solutions to problems that effect us and attacks on our way of life – whether this is your local pub closing down or your employer giving you pay rises below inflation.
We like to rattle on about something that can be referred to as a ‘culture of resistance’- which is a wordy way of saying that working people (including the workers of the future, unemployed etc) should organise among themselves, as equals, to actively confront their problems head on (direct action)- to survive, resist and fight our own corner in a world organised to take away power from you and I.
People working collectively have a far better chance of succeeding in the struggle against the controllers of society. Through struggling together we can truly appreciate how each of our interests are interwoven into society- ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’, and we’ll develop confidence from seeing what can happen from pitching in and having a greater control over our lives. Plus, it’s always a bit of a laugh getting one up and opposing the rule of your bosses! This ‘culture of resistance’ would provide a safeguard for working people when times come hard and be the fighting spirit of the working population pushing for more and more concessions from the property owning class and their lackeys in government and local government, with the future aim of eventually taking the things necessary to providing a decent life for all and running then democratically- workers control.
However it is important to note that this culture cannot be imposed, it can only be created by people voluntarily associating to protect and further their wants and needs. We have a world to win, so we might as well start fighting now.
This is an individual’s perspective and does not necessarily represent the opinion of the whole group.
As you will probably know the postal workers have been taking industrial action to save their jobs, pensions and the postal service itself. Cambridge anarchists have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to support our fellow workers in their struggle.
To help support the Cambridge posties picket lines down by the sorting office, anarchists and other supporters went down with a bike-powered sound-system on the 22nd and the 30th (October) which had been used at the Camp for Climate Action in London. Not to mention food, drinks and moral support! There was a festive atmosphere around the fire as we listened to some great dance tunes and heckled the scabs as they went by. We even had a rocket-stove to boil water for tea and cook some food.
We have also been involved in raising money for the CWU strike fund, in Romsey and other parts of Cambridge and alongside the posties and supporters from the Cambridge and District Trades Union Council at the Abbey Stadium when Cambridge United beat Kidderminster 2-0! We have to say that the attitude of many working-class people to the posties strike is either hostility or, much more commonly, simply indifference. In our street collecting it was particularly noticeable that pensioners seemed the most supportive of the posties, not just because many rely on the postal service but also because they have the class consciousness many younger people lack. In fact the almost total apathy on the part of young people was very obvious and worrying.
There was one funny incident with a waddling, angry member of the petty bourgeoisie who shrilly accused us of “not being licensed” to collect money and tried to take our pictures to hand over to the police, accusing us of being criminals. But on the whole, loads of good folk took the time to stop, talk to us and give what money they could to support the strikers.
There will be a meeting of the Cambridge & Stevenage postal workers support group at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 3rd of November at the Maypole pub in Park Street, Cambridge. Come along!
To find out more check out the Royal Mail Chat website as well as “A Letter from a Postman” published on libcom.org
The second issue of anarchist free-sheet The Leveller has been published.
Contents include a critical look at Cambridgeshire’s boys in blue, a report of the founding of the Cambridge Unemployed Workers Union, immigration police’s car troubles and a look at the RMT’s call for a new working-class alternative to the Labour Party.
An Unemployed Workers Union (UWU) has been started in Cambridge to fight for improved welfare conditions.
Cambridge UWU is dedicated to fighting for better welfare benefits, respect in the Job Centre and the scrapping of the government’s National Welfare Reform Bill and “Workfare” schemes. The National Welfare Reform Bill will attack single parents and the disabled who receive incapacity benefits. Workfare, the controversial program to make the unemployed work for theirbenefits (without being covered by National Minimum Wage!), is in the pipe-line to be tested in Cambridgeshire.
The unemployed activists also welcomed the presence of Steve Sweeney, Secretary of the Eastern Region Shop Stewards Network whichfights for rank ‘n’ file power in the trade unions. Steve kindly offered his and the SSN’s help. Itwas felt all round that it was important to build solidarity between all working-class people — employed and unemployed.
You can get involved in the Unemployed Workers Union by e-mailing them at 
cambs_unemployed@worker.com
Unemployed people in Cambridge need a fighting union to resist attacks by the government like the Welfare Reform Bill and the humiliating New Deal schemes.
Strike action is due to be resumed by the train drivers, affiliated to the ASLEF union, as talks with the management of National Express East Anglia (NXEA) failed to reach a desirable outcome. The union attributes the the continuation of the dispute to management failing to ‘address failing industrial relations, inequality of conditions between staff, inconsistent discipline awards and an unrealistic pay offer of a single percent with ‘unacceptable conditions’- well when 95.5% vote for industrial action something obviously isn’t right in the workplace. Unsurprisingly, local politicians have already shown their true colours by coming out in support of management. Cambridge Conservatives candiate for the next general election Richard Normington denounced ASLEF as a “A UNION WITH A CLASS WAR AGENDA”- we at Cambridge Anarchists can only hope so!
We must understand that strike action isn’t taking lightly and it’s intention is not to upset service users but to try and gain leverage in an otherwise very one-sided dispute. Our strength, as workers, in disputes with management is to disrupt the running of the workplace and this can mean withholding our labour.
ASLEF has organised a hardship fund for the strikes, which are set to continue on September 21st and shall disrupt travel between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street.
Down with all Bosses!
Report from an action by a group including Cambridge Anarchists:
Slightly pissed off by the Daily Mails dismissal of this years Climate Camp as packed out with ‘middle class idiots’ (though unfortunately there was a lot of people which met this description), an affinity group of anarchists decided to try and put the people behind the newspaper in the picture a bit, and show that not all of attendees met their original assumption. The mob descend upon the Daily Mail HQ in the leafy London borough of Kensington masked up, flying the red and black anarchist flag high whilst chanting verses of ‘Daily Mail fucking scum, I’d rather read the fucking Sun!’ and a fine array of other anti-capitalist battle songs. Reaching the turnstile doors people filtered through into the main lobby as scuffles kicked off with security inside and outside of the building as nervous suits tried to flee the scene. Soon the doors were locked and it was made well aware that the message was received loud and clear. Acknowledging this, the crew joined up again to make their escape whilst pursued by cop cars.
Members of Cambridge Anarchists travelled down to Blackheath, London, for the Camp for Climate Action. The opinions expressed are those of the authors alone and do not represent the perspective of the whole group.
Some of us were old hands, some of us had never been to Climate Camp before. But we were definately all up for a week of direct action against coppers, bankers and other class enemies! We arrived at the site in rental vans and immediately jumped to work putting up the defensive fence around the peremeter of the camp, putting up the “Tripods”, and mucking in where-ever. In a short time people flooded in and we sat back (well, some of us sat back!) to watch as tents popped up over Blackheath common like mushrooms. We were pleased when our comrades from the Whitechapel Anarchist Group turned up with their banner and sound-system. We had been expecting hordes of caveman Met police but were pleasantly surprised just to be having a beer and meeting other anarchists from around the country.
As we sat around having a bit of a laugh we suddenly noticed that student-hippy looking types were escorting these cops into a tent by the WAG sound-system. Our feelings were the same — WHAT THE FUCK??! We surrounded the tent and told the scum inside exactly what we thought of their kind. Afterwards the media and liberals referred to “drunken, aggressive anarchists” but our reaction was more than political it was a personal reaction. Like many working-class people our relations to the police have never been good. How many of our mates, how many of us, have been banged up, harrassed, beaten up and fucked around by the Old Bill? Had these organisers, these “Police Liaisons”, forgot Ian Tomlinson so quickly? The cops beat a hasty retreat out of camp and the wankers who had let them in were left with some hard questioning. This incident was dealt with by members of Whitechapel Anarchist Group in the interview they gave on Dissident Island Radio, we just want to say we took part in this action, fucking hate all coppers and their apologists and will NEVER compromise in our attitude that there can be no peace between us and the police.
One thing that also got us angry was the media circus that decended on Climate Camp. On the first couple days as we worked putting up tents and pavilions we had to constantly tell reporters to Fuck Off as they tried to snap a picture of us swinging a sledgehammer or tightening a guy-rope! We have come to feel that there are strong organising elements of Climate Camp that are really obsessed with coverage by the mainstream media and “appearing respectable”. We felt the problem with the idea that playing to the mainstream media, and especially cultivating the liberal media (e.g. the Guardian), is that at most it just reaches out to middle-class liberals. If people think that Climate Camp is for respectable, Guardian reading types a lot will be put off. Being liberal peaceniks playing to the system in a time when working-class people are angry and disillusioned is shooting yourself in the foot. At various meetings like “Making our Workplaces Red, Black & Green” and “Green Authoritarianism” this could be seen, with people from the Left and the liberal wing of the Green movement taking statist positions denying agency to working-class people. Pandering to the status quo strengthens the status quo.
On Friday the 28th Cambridge Anarchists joined the march into the heart of Canary Wharf from Climate Camp. After giving police and private security a good run for their money, we stood outside Barclays bank shouting up to the bankers to top themselves! Then we took a tour of the yuppy wine bars and gastro-pubs, shouting the old slogan “Behold Your Future Executioners!” A typical coked-up bankster stumbled drunkenly in our path and we got him to prance in front of the cameras, confident that he’d wake up the next day with a massive hang-over and (hopefully) no more job. After marching through the sacred monuments of capitalism we left laughing, leaving a gaggle of striken looking toffs huddled in cafes. On the train back we started chatting with a guy sitting next to us (not from the protest, just taking the train!) who happened to be from St. Neots – In his opinion, as an unemployed construction worker, people were fucking angry and the time for polite protest was past and it was the time for smashing windows. A real sampling of genuine public opinion!
All and all, we have been enjoying the freedom of the autonomous camp but have serious problems with strong elements of the Climate Camp, liberal authoritarians. These people wish to use the state (the same state that battered them at Kingsnorth and at the G20!) to “save the world” from climate change. This is very dangerous for personal freedom. This enthusiasism for curbing working people’s access to resources and freedom of thought and action could lead to a stronger, more authoritarian capitalist system. The current system is in crisis and there is a strong tendency in the Green movement to simply offer a “Green New Deal” of increased state power. Nationalisation, taxation, austerity, surveillance and social control are offered as solutions to the ecological crisis rather than working-class self activity for a democratic, equal society. This may seem “sensible” but is just offering more power to a small minority above society — the same bastards who got us into this mess in the first place! As anarchists have been pointing out at the Climate Camp, the authoritarian solutions offered by influential figures in the Green movement (in Friends of the Earth, GreenPeace, Green Party, etc.) are not real solutions. Fear of impending ecological doom may lead us into a highly authoritarian society. Its not even as if relying on the state is realistic — its simply niave. In the ecological crisis the class war well and truly becomes a matter of “Us or Them” — the ruling class will NEVER voluntarily give up their privilege or power. The only options in front of us are revolution and working-class self-empowerment or a fascistic-fuedal system as the ruling class hordes the remaining resources and tries to escape the holocaust of climate chaos.
We cannot make up our minds if anarchists should stay within Climate Camp and argue for the politics of freedom, self-empowerment and social revolution or just leave. After all the people we need to be talking to are Sun readers, not Guardian readers, and ultimately Climate Camp may just be a giant lobbying spectacle. What we do know is we definitely want to focus on organising in our workplaces and communities. We need a anarchist movement that is relevant to the everyday lives of working-class people.
Despite our misgivings we hope to enjoy an action-packed last few days of Climate Camp!
Members of Cambridge Anarchists loitered with intent at the recent Saturday, August 15, protests against the new Tesco opening on Mill Road. Despite local opposition this corporate megalith arrogantly pushed ahead with their plans, despite having had their alcohol license application turned down. We angrily remember the beautiful Mill Road social centre that was evicted to make room for this new shop.
We’ll raise a pint of (Tesco value) lager to that!
More info about Tesco’s effect on local communities can be found at www.tescopoly.org
