By Mariam Kamish Mariam Kamish, Caerphilly Trades Union Council secretary “Blackwood Miners’ Institute is staying open”, I told the meeting, “because people fought for it. Why not Aber Library? If we fight, we can win.” Eagerness wiped frustration off the faces around the room. “Put down your details”, I said, writing my own and passing on the sheet. “You can’t ...

By Mariam Kamish (RCT Socialist Party) Like most councils in Britain, RCT Council faces a funding gap, after years of austerity under Tory and Labour governments. And councillors are proposing devastating cuts. The Labour council is trying to divide us. The consultation process asks you to explain how a cut or closure would affect you – and where you think ...

By Mariam Kamish, Secretary Caerphilly Trades Council (in a personal capacity) Caerphilly Council’s cabinet is proposing to close two South Wales Valleys cultural icons and end an essential service to the community. Not out of financial necessity – but on the advice of a consultancy firm. The plans – out for public consultation until 10 September – include the closure ...

By Mariam Kamish ‘No exclusions for students who can’t pay’; ‘Extend payment to the end of courses’; ‘Allow students to pay at the old naira rate of N584’. Those were demands on our placards, as our delegation of students and supporters made its way through the campus of the University of South Wales (USW) on 3 May. We were carrying ...

Tower Colliery National Union of Mineworkers’ Lodge Secretary 1969-1994 • Tower Workers’ Cooperative Chair 1994-2023 By Mariam Kamish, Tower NUM Lodge Committee (personal capacity) and Socialist Party Wales Tyrone O’Sullivan became a household name in 1994, as the South Wales miner and trade unionist who led his members to a stunning victory when they stood up to Tory plans to ...

By Mariam Kamish Neil Stonelake, a prominent member of the Socialist Party in Rhondda Cynon Taff, passed away on Friday 12 August after a long illness. Neil grew up one of those extremely clever working class kids that the grammar school system was designed to poach away to the middle class. Only Neil wasn’t having that. He was too sceptical, ...

By Mariam Kamish “Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we’re now moving rapidly away from coal altogether”. These are the words of the prime minister talking about the capitalist-fuelled climate crisis. Hearing Boris Johnson’s jeers about Thatcher’s pit closures, we should recall what he was up ...