Trump’s escalation against Venezuela is about more than oil, it is about regaining control over the ‘natural’ zone of influence of the United States at a moment where its hegemony is slipping, argues VIJAY PRASHAD
THE disgraceful conditions at Manston in Kent provide a focus to 40 years of Tory racism. With Suella Braverman as home secretary and a terrorist-style attack on a Dover immigration centre by an individual with far-right links, the relationship between institutional racism and street racism becomes clearer.
When Enoch Powell made his “rivers of blood” speech in 1968, he was a senior Tory MP who found himself with no future in the party. This was the tail end of a period when the government was welcoming migrants to fill mostly badly paid gaps in the labour force.
After the oil-focused economic crisis of 1973, matters began to change. The racism inherent in much Tory politics began to be more openly displayed.
Once again Tower Hamlets is being targeted by anti-Islam campaigners, this time a revamped and radicalised version of Ukip — the far-right event is now banned by the police, but we’ll be assembling this Saturday to make sure they stay away, says JAYDEE SEAFORTH



