Keith Hodgson, long time activist in the Liverpool anarchist scene, died on Saturday 23rd February 2013, aged 50. Keith, like many of his generation, was radicalised by the re-vitalised Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and by the Thatcher onslaught against working class rights and freedoms in the 1980s. As a young anarchist and CND activist, Keith rapidly moved to the direct action wing of the anti-militarist movement and also worked voluntarily in the CND Merseyside offices. This combination of organisational work and street activism was typical of Keith over the years.

Report from one of our member's blog.


Today (Saturday 16th March) in Liverpool finally saw the knights in shining armour from the local Labour Party riding into town to rescue the city’s working class from the clutches of the evil Tories. Or at least that’s how the Labour left would like to portray the situation. The reality, as they surely know, is very different.

Following the Labour snub to the local campaigns in Liverpool, feelings were running high among tenants who have been involved in campaigns in the city for many months and following the mass bans of angry tenants from the Labour event page on Facebook it was clear the platform wasn’t going to tolerate any deviation from the Labour line.

On the 2nd of March, Solent SolFed with comrades from Bristol and Brighton locals along with CNT-AIT Caen, Forest of Dean Anarchists, Wessex Solidarity and others, picketed Poundland in Portsmouth as part of our rolling campaign against the mendacious workfare provider (they keep staying they’ve pulled out). This particular shop had two employees working for JSA however.

A solfed member visited Corrala Utopia, a block of flats in Seville squatted by evicted families who have lost their jobs due to the crisis.

London Metropolitan University made the news worldwide last year when, due partly to their connections to the London School of Business and Finance, they were investigated by the UKBA and were prevented from recruiting international students.  (for details see Education Worker 9, London Met UNISON’s website or Andrew McGettigan) Now that the dust has settled from this scandal, London Met is again in the news, this time because it has suspended three of its workers, in very suspicious circumstances.

Following the largest demonstration yet on Thursday 28th Feb, exactly three weeks from the start of the ongoing Bramber House occupation, a second, temporary, occupation was made at the University of Sussex. This statement was read from the steps of the occupied BSMS building.

We, 200 students and staff of this university, have occupied the Michael Chowen lecture theatre.

This action is a response to a lack of alternatives within the current situation. Management still refuse to engage with our demands even as they attempt to placate us by feigning negotiation. So we reiterate that we will not compromise, and state them again:

Demo today (Thurs 28th Feb): 'the big one' | 1pm Library Square | Bring workmates, friends, and yellow squares!

The long-running struggle against the outsourcing of 235 jobs at the University of Sussex has been gathering momentum. The plans were first announced in May 2012, prompting demonstrations and mass meetings by staff and student supporters.

A meeting of the Merseyside Blacklist Support Group took place last Saturday (February 23rd). The event was attended by numerous blacklisted construction workers and addressed by a panel of speakers including Steve Acheson, a blacklisted electrician from Manchester who has been picketing the Fiddler’s Ferry power station for the last 5 years to highlight the injustice inflicted on him.

Steve spoke about the collusion between trade union officials and construction companies that led to him and countless others being denied employment due to their trade union activities (often simply raising health and safety concerns on sites). Steve said he had only three terms of employment over a nine-year period and had been removed from all of them as a result of being blacklisted.