THE 1945 GENERAL ELECTION (ZOOM)

For those of us for whom the novels of John Le Carre and Len Deighton are a guilty pleasure, particularly the ones dealing with the seedy world of British espionage the recent news that Operation Wedlock, apparently a twenty year investigation into a member of MI6, Military Intelligence, Section 6, suspected of being a mole, i.e. someone passing on secrets to a foreign power, could easily have come from the pens of those two worthy writers.

In a case of life imitating art Le Carre’s 1974 Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy had played out this scenario.. Unlike in real life, where the long and expensive investigation of the individual under suspicion came to nothing the fictional one was successful in rooting out a mole.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/27/uk-spy-operation-wedlock-suspected-russian-double-agent-mi6

Some call it the world’s second oldest profession and the suspicion, and likelihood that one, or more, of those engaged in it, whether they be lowly agents or ‘control’ are playing a double game has probably existed since spying first became a thing.

The nineteen sixties saw three of the the Cambridge Five, Maclean, Burgess and Philby, British members of the security services defect to Russia to whom they had been passing on state secrets for many years because of ideological reasons.

The fourth and fifth persons in the Cambridge Five, Caincross and Anthony Blunt were not exposed until much later. Anthony Blunt was very much part of the establishment. He was Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures

The below extracted from the Socialist Standard January 1980

‘And out of all the confusion emerges a picture of British capitalism which does not meet the demands of modern, thrusting, super-competitive capitalism. The Blunt affair, like its predecessors in the Great Whitehall Spy Drama, was taken by many people as evidence that Britain is run by a bunch of effete, disreputable upper class twits who all went to the same school, and who are too stupid, or too corrupt, to recognise a spy even if he was delivered to their In Tray in manacles. Well, there is nothing to be gained by discussing the accuracy of that caricature; it is more useful to point out some of the lessons to be learned from the infamous scandal of Anthony Blunt.

We have already said that Blunt is a very learned man — although it is another matter whether his talents would ever have seen the light of day had he been born into a working class family, who rely on selling their labour power to live. There is little demand among employers for experts in the works of Nicolas Poussin. But then the other spies Blunt was associated with — Philby, Maclean, Burgess — were also very clever. Burgess, said Blunt, was “… one of the most remarkable, brilliant, and one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known”. (He might also have used words like ‘drunken’ and ‘abusive’ except that such minor faults can be overlooked in one of such rare gifts.) Philby too was once highly thought of, the rising star in the Secret Service, described by Hugh Trevor Roper (The Philby Affair) as ” favoured by society, liberally educated, regarded by all who knew him as intelligent, sensitive, transparently sincere”.

Stalinist Murders

Now the working class are depressingly willing to pay their respects to people who are described as ‘intellectuals’ even when, like this bunch, they are blind to some obvious facts of reality. Blunt has told us their version of reality in the Thirties:

… in October 1934 I found that…. almost all the intelligent and bright undergraduates who had come up to Cambridge had suddenly become Marxist [sic]… and there was this very powerful group, very remarkable group of Communist intellectuals in Cambridge.

(This provoked a doctor to write, irritably, to the Daily Telegraph from Moreton-in-the Marsh: “I was up at Cambridge in 1935 and many of my circle were bright. But had any of them expressed Marxist views he would have been debagged and thrown into the Cam”)

But what was happening in Russia at that time to impress all those incredibly brainy undergraduates? In 1934 the 17th Party Congress was held, with perhaps many of the participants being as brainy as those bright young men in Cambridge. Unfortunately, their leader Stalin was not favourably impressed with them, and soon afterwards he had over half of them shot, along with nearly three-quarters of the Central Committee they had elected. This was a comparatively minor incident in the horrifying story of imprisonment, torture and murder which characterised Stalin’s rule over Russia. One estimate of the total casualties during these years appeared in Robert Conquest’s book The Great Terror. Conquest used a variety of sources — participants’ accounts, official statistics and the 1959 Census — and he came to the conservative estimate of 20 million dead.

Forgetful Politicians

Much of the information about this was available at the time, but it did not impress those brilliant students at Cambridge. Some of them were even prepared to justify the August 1939 pact between Russia and Nazi Germany. “We argued”, said Blunt, “that it was simply a tactical necessity . . . ” In fact he carried his enthusiasm a bit too far, continuing to pass British secrets to Russia after the two states were in the war on the same side. This illustrates not only his blind devotion to the blood-soaked dictatorship but also the actual fragility of the unity between capitalist powers, even when they call themselves the Allies.’

https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2014/09/anthony-blunt-no-sort-of-traitor.html

 Fellow workers currently in receipt of a PIP or Universal Credit will no doubt be relieved that the government has been forced to withdraw its plan to directly attack their standard of living.

They might also be thinking that Starmer & Co. would be more honest if they used the term ‘economic imperative’ instead when referring to plans to change the social insecurity system.

Because capitalists everywhere are bound to resist increases in the amount of tax taken from profits to fund the system, in the same way that they are bound to resist attempts to increase wages.

By so doing they reveal their real imperative: the protection of profitability, come what may for the rest of us.

https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/

An eighty one year old Norwegian/ Cypriot living in the United Arab emirates has told us, the Brits, – socialists of course don’t believe in nationalism or artificial borders but since, until we replace capitalism with socialism this is the designated part of the world in which we live – that Britain is kaput, finito, finished. Using a fairy tale christian metaphor he has told us we’ve ‘gone to hell’ and he’s going to pick up his ball and pee off somewhere else.

Apparently he’s peed of with Norway too.

According to the Evening Standard the ‘UK’s ninth richest billionaire, Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, has said “Britain has gone to hell” and has moved his business out of London in the latest worrying sign of the huge exodus of wealth from the capital.The oil tanker magnate, whose wealth was estimated at around £13.7 billon in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, is the latest in a series of wealthy foreign-born London residents who are quitting the UK – or at least loosening their links – because of Labour’s scrapping of the non-dom tax regime and their disillusion with Britain’s poor economic prospects .Asked by Norwegian title E24 about his feelings for the UK, Fredriksen said: “It’s starting to remind me more and more of Norway. Britain has gone to hell, like Norway.” The comments came after it emerged he has closed the London headquarters of Seatankers Management, one of his private shipping businesses, which was based on Sloane Square.’

‘In the interview Fredriksen, widely known as JF in the shipping industry, added: “The entire Western world is on its way down.”

“People should get up and work even more, and go to the office instead of having a home office.”’

Friedriksen is not the first billionaire to berate wage slaves for not working hard enough to contribute more to a billionaire’s profits.

‘A number of other wealthy Norwegians have also reportedly left London this year, according to E24. Billionaire Helene Odfjell, 59, the biggest shareholder in Odfjell Drilling emigrated to the UK in 1989 but is now said to be based in Lugano, Switzerland. Another Norwegian shipping billionaire Peter T. Smedvig, 78, reportedly moved to Stavanger in Norway in March having lived in London since 1991.’

The explanation for this flight from the UK appears to lie with the abolition of a system which allowed non-domiciles to avoid having to pay money to the UK state. The more you have the more you want to keep.

‘The centuries old non-dom system that has allowed wealthy foreign-born British residents to shield their overseas assets and income from UK tax ended on April 6 this year. Its abolition has been blamed for an unprecedented exodus of millionaires from the UK. There has been particular anger that foreign assets placed in trusts have lost their exemption from inheritance tax. Advisers Henley & Partners forecast that the UK will lose 16,500 high-net-worth individuals this year, more any other country.’

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/billionaire-shipping-nondom-john-fredriksen-oil-tankers-b1234987.html

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS? (Zoom)

The insanity continues but hey twenty thousand jobs not to be sneezed at, right? Plus we bargained the US salesman down and made a saving bro. The cost of a F-35A is anywhere between sixty and eighty million dollars.

‘Using defence as an engine for growth to create jobs across in the UK.’ – using the working class to provide profits for one set of capitalist exploiters whilst creating machines to kill another other working class who are in thrall to a different set of capitalists.

‘The UK will purchase 12 new F-35A fighter jets and join NATO’s dual capable aircraft nuclear mission in a major boost for national security.

The Prime Minister will announce at the NATO summit tomorrow [Wednesday] that the UK intends to buy at least a dozen of the dual capable aircraft, which can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons.

The decision will support 20,000 jobs in the F35 programme in the UK, with 15% of the global supply chain for the jets based in Britain, supporting highly skilled jobs and opportunities for working people and delivering a defence dividend across the country.

The new fast jets will be based at RAF Marham, with the Government expected to procure 138 F35s over the lifetime of the programme. The procurement of 12 F-35A rather than 12 F-35B as part of the next procurement package will deliver a saving of up to 25% per aircraft for the taxpayer. 

The purchase represents the biggest strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture in a generation. It also reintroduces a nuclear role for the Royal Air Force for the first time since the UK retired its sovereign air-launched nuclear weapons following the end of the Cold War.

The UK will deploy the jets as part of NATO’s nuclear Dual Capable Aircraft mission, strengthening NATO’s nuclear deterrence posture.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted, which is why my government is investing in our national security, ensuring our Armed Forces have the equipment they need and communities up and down the country reap the benefits from our defence dividend. “Supporting 100 businesses across the country and more than 20,000 jobs, these F35 dual capable aircraft will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats that threaten the UK and our Allies.

“The UK’s commitment to NATO is unquestionable, as is the Alliance’s contribution to keeping the UK safe and secure, but we must all step up to protect the Euro-Atlantic area for generations to come.” 

From Samlesbury to Stevenage, UK based firms such as BAE Systems, Cobham, GE Aviation, Honeywell, Martin Baker, MBDA, QinetiQ, Rolls Royce, Leonardo UK , Ultra Electronics and EDM Limited all play a vital role in the supply of stealth fighter jets.

The Strategic Defence Review recognised that the UK is confronting a new era of threat, including rising nuclear risks. It recommended that the UK further strengthen our commitment to effective deterrence and our partnership with our NATO Allies, building on our unique role as the only European power to pledge our nuclear deterrent to defend our NATO allies.

The DCA mission is a critical part of NATO’s nuclear deterrence, helping to keep people across the alliance safe.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: “The UK has declared its nuclear deterrent to NATO for many decades, ​and I strongly welcome today’s announcement that the UK will now also join NATO’s nuclear mission and procure the F-35A. “This is yet another robust British contribution to NATO”.

The UK has always supported NATO’s nuclear mission, by providing conventional capabilities and resources such as aircraft and airspace to its annual exercises. 

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “The Strategic Defence Review confirmed we face new nuclear risks, with other states increasing, modernising and diversifying their nuclear arsenals. And it recommended a new UK role in our collective defence and deterrence through a NATO-first approach.“This commitment is an embodiment of NATO first, strengthening the alliance while at the same time using defence as an engine for growth to create jobs across in the UK.”

Our commitment to Britain’s nuclear deterrent is absolute, underpinned by our ‘triple-lock’: building four new nuclear submarines in Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria; maintaining our continuous at sea nuclear deterrent; and delivering all future upgrades needed.  

This announcement further underlines the UK’s unshakeable commitment to NATO, and the principle of collective defence under Article V. 

The UK remains committed to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons and upholds all our obligations under the NPT.

This announcement follows the SDR’s commitments to deliver up to 12 new conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines and £15bn this parliament to deliver the sovereign nuclear warhead programme.’

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-purchase-f-35as-and-join-nato-nuclear-mission-as-government-steps-up-national-security-and-delivers-defence-dividend

‘Israel, the US’s rogue proxy in the Middle East with its own agenda, initiated the current war by attacking Iran with the declared aim of physically preventing it acquiring the nuclear bomb.

According to Netanyahu, Iran’s possession of the nuclear bomb would present an existential threat to the state of Israel. The suggestion is that, if Iran had the bomb, it would use it to annihilate Israel. This is just propaganda as Iran wants the bomb for the same reason as the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India and Pakistan have it – as a deterrent against being attacked. If Iran did have the bomb it would be very foolish of it to use it against Israel as Israel itself is a nuclear state.

The real reason for the war – and why the United States and the West are behind Israel – is to maintain the balance of power in the Middle East. In relations between capitalist states ‘might is right’ and Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons would increase its ‘might’ and so shift the balance in its favour. It’s this that the Western states, who currently dominate the area because it is the source of much of the oil and gas they need to power their production, wish to prevent, ideally by diplomacy but Israel has forced their hand.

Who controls the oil, and the trade routes and pipelines to get it out, has been at stake in all the many wars in the Middle East since the end of the last World War. On the surface the issue appears to be the existence of the state of Israel, established in 1948 as a ‘Jewish homeland’ on land that been the home for generations of non-Jews. This, in itself, was bound to create resentment but it might have worked had not the United States decided to build up Israel’s military might as its proxy on the ground in the region to defend its economic interests there.

Which capitalist states – the West or Iran – control the economic resources of the region is of no concern to the workers living there. The civilians on both sides are being killed and wounded and buildings and useful infrastructure destroyed for an issue that is only of capitalist concern.

As Socialists we place on record our abhorrence at this latest manifestation of capitalist barbarism. The interest of workers in both Israel and Iran is to join with workers everywhere to bring an end to the war- prone capitalist system and replace it with a world socialist commonwealth where the Earth’s natural and industrial resources will be commonly owned by all humanity.’

https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/

On Sunday 22 June 1941 Germany launched operation Barbarossa (named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, ‘red beard’) and invaded Soviet Russia

Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the ‘Communist’ Party and Premier (from 1941) of Soviet Russia’ did not believe, despite many Intelligence warnings that Germany would invade. It’s said he may have placed too much faith (pun intended, the USSR was nominally atheist) in the Molotov-Ribbentrop ten year non- aggression pact signed in August 1939.which also delineated specific spheres of influence.

On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. On 17 September 1939 Soviet Russia invaded eastern Poland.

On Sunday 22 June 1941 Germany launched operation Barbarossa (named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, ‘red beard’) and invaded Soviet Russia.

Beware deception in war.

If it worked once there’s no reason it shouldn’t work again/ The play-book used back in 2003 to justify the invasion of Iraq was that Iraq had ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction.’ This was untrue but the efforts put into persuading the American and Western populations that WMD would be used against them is now replayed with the untruth that Iran is building nuclear weapons.

Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (Israel is not) In 2015 Iran signed the The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions.1 The agreement was finalised in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)—China, France, Russia, the U.K., U.S.—plus Germany) together with the European Union. Negotiations centred around sanctions relief and restrictions on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the Arak IR-40 reactor, Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Gachin Uranium Mine, Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, Isfahan Uranium Conversion Plant, Natanz Uranium Enrichment Plant, and the Parchin Military Research complex.. The United States withdrew from the pact in 2018, imposing sanctions under its maximum pressure campaign.1 The sanctions applied to all countries and companies doing business with Iran and cut it off from the international financial system, rendering the nuclear deal’s economic provisions null. The JCPOA formed part of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231.The Security Council (S.C.) enacted it on 20 July 2015 and adopted it on 18 October. It took effect on 16 January 2016 (Adoption Day). JCPOA was to remain in effect for eight years or until receipt by the S.C. of an IAEA report stating that IAEA had reached the Broader Conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran remained in peaceful activities, and terminated ten years from Adoption Day. On 12 October 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would not make the certification provided for under U.S. domestic law, but stopped short of terminating the deal.’

On June 13th Israel carried out a terrorist attack on Iran including the decapitation of high ranking military officers, scientists and the Iranian chief negotiator with America.

The sixth round of negotiations between Iran and America were due to take place on Sunday 15th June.

‘On June 22, the United States launched terrorist attacks on civilian nuclear facilities in Iran. President Donald Trump, who appears to be channelling French king Louis Fourteenth

L’État, c’est moi, t he state is me, immediately claiming the adoration of his ‘subjects’’ said that Irani’s key nuclear enrichment facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated” and urging Iran to pursue peace. The strikes were carried out using B-2 stealth bombers equipped with “bunker-buster” bombs, specifically the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which are designed to penetrate deeply buried targets like the Fordow facility, located nearly 300 feet beneath a mountain.’

When can we expect Trump to state, Après moi le déluge ?

‘Fordow: This uranium enrichment facility was the primary target of the U.S. strikes due to its fortified position and its role in Iran’s nuclear program. Six bunker-buster bombs were reportedly dropped on Fordow, aiming to destroy its capacity to enrich uranium to near-weapons-grade levels (up to 83.7%).

Natanz: Another major uranium enrichment site, Natanz had previously been struck by Israel earlier in the week. The U.S. reportedly used 30 Tomahawk missiles against this facility.

Isfahan: This site, which plays a role in Iran’s nuclear program, was also targeted in the U.S. strikes.’

King Trump recently dismissed the judgement of his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard’s assessment of all of the US’s Intelligence agencies that Iran was not producing nuclear weapons by responding, I don’t care what she thinks.

He also said, after the Israel attack, and Iran’s response, that he would wait for two weeks before making a decision as to whether the US would become involved by ordering the terrorist attack by the US a few days only after making this comment.

The terrorist attack of 13th June by the genocidal state of Israel was designed to get the US involved as Israel is not capable of defeating Iran by itself.

The excuse that it was all about preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons was always an excuse and designed to justify to the gullible the justification for the actions which have occurred.

Iran has stated for many years that it had no intention of ever developing nuclear weapons and that its nuclear program was solely for civilian and medical use.

Article 4 of the NPT states that, ‘Nothing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of this Treaty.’

The aim of both Israel and the US have always been about bringing about regime change in Iran which would lead to a compliant vassal of the US and the Western powers in the region allowing them to exploit its resources to their own benefit. Same old capitalism in action.

Iran shares a long land border with Russia and ex Soviet states. The ‘fall’ of Iran would help facilitate economic and military attacks upon Russia, It would prevent the Russian North-South Corridor from running through Iran.

‘The Russia North-South Corridor, also known as the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), is a multi-modal transportation network connecting India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe. It aims to enhance trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, and Bandar Anzali. The corridor primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation via ship, rail, and road.

The main advantages of the North-South Corridor over other routes include reducing distances by half or more and lowering the cost of container transportation compared to sea routes. The corridor is designed to reduce the transit time for goods travelling between Moscow and Mumbai by up to 40%, compared to the traditional Suez Canal route.

Russia and Iran are collaborating on this project, which is part of the broader INSTC, aimed at linking the Russian port of Astrakhan with the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar. This multi-modal corridor combines rail, road, and sea transport to facilitate the seamless movement of goods between Russia, Iran, and beyond.

The development of the North-South Corridor is crucial for both countries, as it provides an alternative to traditional trade routes that are more vulnerable to economic sanctions. The corridor includes seaports on the Persian Gulf and in the Caspian region, as well as road and rail routes.’

How is Iran likely to further respond following the American attempt to destroy civilian nuclear facilities? It could continue to rain missiles down on Israel only. It could target American military assets in the region of West Asia. It could target oil production facilities within the region or block the Straits of Hormuz and bring about a serious economic collapse across the whole world.

At this point in time it is not possible to say if any of these options will occur or perhaps something else not yet foreseen. It can be said that, barring nuclear bombs being dropped on Iran by the US it will not comply with Trump’s call for total surrender.

How long this particular conflict, and the other major conflicts in the world are continuing too, will carry on remains to be seen. It is one though which has the possibility of doing serious dangerous damage to the whole world. We can agree that a regime change is called for – a regime change that abolishes capitalism and replaces it with socialism. How much longer are we all going to allow capitalism to exploit us and to put our lives at risk in their mad pursuit of resources, profit, power and domination?

Dulce bellum inexpertis – War is sweet to those who have never experienced it.