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Lucy Marron
5 posts
Big Oil profits soar as planet burns: we need socialist climate action!
In 2022, we were witness to weather extremes across the globe, yet fossil fuel companies raked in their highest profits on record. Shell alone posted a record £32bn. Despite promises at COP26, alongside Biden's "Inflation Reduction Act" & the EU's "Green Industrial Strategy", the levels of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere are predicted to increase over the next 10 years. Lucy Marron explores an alternative socialist plan to combat the climate killing capitalist system.
Stormont drives through health cuts under cover of pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the reality of years of chronic underfunding of the NHS. The reality of cutbacks has been evident in the scramble to obtain appropriate PPE, the lack of available ventilators, as well as staff shortages. The pandemic has led to a substantial increase in those on waiting lists, reflective of a longer-term crisis within the NHS. This raises the question of NHS management and illustrates the impact of privatisation.
Casey’s Presidential vote highlights anti-Traveller prejudice
Right-wing populist Peter Casey's rise from 1% in opinion polls to receiving 23% of the Irish Presidential vote shocked many. Failing in the polls, he decided the best course of action was to whip up anti-traveller sentiment. When asked about housing, Casey made a direct attack on a Traveller family in Tipperary and a broader attack on the entire Traveller community, stating they shouldn’t be recognised as an ethnic minority. His racist remarks continued as he rehashed myths of Travellers not paying tax, which oozes with irony considering Casey is a millionaire who has lived outside of Ireland for decades and is yet to impart his income or the amount of tax he’s paid.
Rape trial highlights sexism in legal system and society
The protests in the wake of the trial – which forced the sacking of Jackson and Olding by Ulster Rugby and have prompted a review into the conduct of such trials in the future – are the beginnings of a movement against misogyny, against victim blaming and against rape culture. We can link this to the wider movement against sexism worldwide, in particular across South America with the ‘Ni Una Menos’ movement and in Spain, with tens of thousands protesting across the country after the recent clearing of the ‘manada’ (wolf pack) of the gang rape of a young woman. It is imperative we continue to build this movement to win the fight in ending sexism, misogyny and oppression worldwide.
Why I Joined the Socialist Party
From a young age, I was brought up with the sense of an ‘other’. Protestants were different, and that’s why we avoided their areas, why we went to different schools and why there was conflict. I accepted this as ‘just the way it is’. However, as I grew up, I made friends from the Protestant community and what I found was a collective viewpoint that the division between Catholics and Protestants is totally futile.