An archive of Libertarian Struggle/Anarchist Worker, a publication produced by the Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists and then the Anarchist Workers' Association in the 1970s. Originally scanned and digitised by the Sparrow's Nest.
Libertarian Struggle/Anarchist Worker
Around the time of the final issue of Anarchist Worker, the majority of the Anarchist Workers Association became the Libertarian Communist Group and produced a number of issues of another paper, Libertarian Communist, which can be found here. A minority current which had been expelled from the organisation, holding more "ultra-left" views on subjects such as anti-imperialism and the trade unions, became the Anarchist Communist Association, and produced the paper Bread & Roses, which can be found here. A brief history of all these groups can be found in the article Anarchist Communism in Britain, 1870-1991.
Libertarian Struggle #01 (Feb 1973)
Issue #1 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on new tory laws, victimisation in the print industry, strikes by Asians in the East Midlands, a civil servants' strike, Europe, an occupation at Fakenham, the Angry Brigade and more.
Libertarian Struggle #02 (March 1973)
Issue #2 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on abortion, fascists in Walthamstow, print unions, hospital workers' struggles, rents, repression against Italian anarchist Sergio Ardau, attempts to shut down an anarchist student paper in Bradford and more.
Libertarian Struggle #03 (April 1973)
Issue #3 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on travellers being evicted, self-organisation among Everton fans, deindustrialisation in Hartlepool, the prisoners' group PROP, benefit cuts, the National Front, watered-down beer, disputes by catering staff at Gatwick Airport, struggles over student grants and more.
Libertarian Struggle #04 (May 1973)
Issue #4 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on autonomous organising by Asian workers, fascist attacks, the rank-and-file grouping within the teachers' union NUT, the new NUS president, claimants organising against benefit cuts, wasted whisky, organising by stage hands, housing and more.
Libertarian Struggle #05 (June 1973)
Issue #5 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on legal defence, picketing legislation, war in Vietnam and Indochina, North Sea oil, sex education, a strike by Asian workers at a lace factory in Nottingham, Henry Kissinger's proposal for a new Atlantic Charter, fascist activity and more.
Libertarian Struggle #06 (July-August 1973)
Issue #6 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on racism and sexism, a dispute at Chrysler, a crackdown by the APEX union against left groups, a strike at the gas board, the question of free speech, gay liberation, rank and file groups and more.
Attachments
Comments
Factoid: Snake cartooon in this and other issues of LS was done by John Quail ( who wrote THe Slow Burning Fuse). Never a member of ORA/AWA. Too much of a sponti for that
Had been wondering if it might be worth doing a gallery of the graphics from these as well, we'll see how bored I get during the lockdown. Interesting seeing Larry Law's name show up in the contacts list as well.
Libertarian Struggle #07 (September 1973)
Issue #7 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on nationalisation and workers' control, flying pickets at Chrysler, the occupation of French watch company LIP, tory tax policy, the "cod war" over fishing in Iceland, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #08 (October 1973)
Issue #8 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the capitalist crisis, workers' councils in the German and Spanish revolutions, the military coup in Chile and more.
Libertarian Struggle #09 (November 1973)
Issue #9 of Libertarian Worker, with articles about rent and housing, the Shrewsbury 24 case, the Heath government's "Phase 3" policy, the Labour Party, an ongoing strike at Chrysler, London teachers' struggles and more.
Libertarian Struggle #10 (December 1973)
Issue #10 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on union leader Len Murray, the bakers' union, the "Blackburn 3" Irish Republican prisoners, Israel/Palestine, the rank and file civil servants' group Redder Tape, the MEC strike in Hull and more.
Libertarian Struggle #11 (January 1974)
Issue #11 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the Gay Liberation Front, the economic crisis, the NUT rank and file group, a legal battle over cheap paperbacks of Althusser, the miners' strike, Ireland, Chile, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #12 (February 1974)
Issue #12 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on a rank and file hospital workers' group, the development of the Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists, the collapse of housing struggles, the miners' strike, Irish women organising, Spain and more.
Libertarian Struggle #13 (March 1974)
Issue #13 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the general election, the question of a general strike, the British left, a pay claim by the rail union ASLEF, a strike at the Hollis timber factory in Hull, struggles against the three-day week, the miners' strike and more.
Attachments
Comments
Ha! Spotted an article by me on the miners." T, (NUPE)" is still very much an anarchist and still active, but M.P. is now a Labour councillor in West London, and J.B. became a Labour member and bigwig in the NUT. Can't remember who R.K. was, though.
Libertarian Struggle #14 (April 1974)
Issue #14 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the Labour Party, workers' power, strikes in Hull, the right to organise, Red Clydeside and more. (Note: the front cover says April 1973, but this would appear to be a typo.)
Libertarian Struggle #15 (May-June 1974)
Issue #15 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on food production, working at toy company Lesney's, the education system, the rank and file movement, women's liberation, a strike against "the lump" in construction, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #16 (November-December 1974)
Issue #16 of Libertarian Struggle, coming after a break of a few months, with an announcement of the Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists' impending name change to the Anarchist Workers' Association, and articles on the National Front, the recent election and the incoming Labour government, more reports on Trotskyist manipulations in the rank and file movement, international news from France, Italy and Chile, a critique of terrorism in the wake of the Guildford pub bombing and a similar attack in Madrid, and more.
Attachments
Comments
ORA Hospital Worker was me and Dave Higgins and Nick Hillier were two of my pseudonyms
And guessing Bas Pateman is the same person as Barry Pateman, of Kate Sharpley Library sort-of fame?
Libertarian Struggle #17 (May 1975)
Issue #17 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on developments within the Anarchist Workers Association, occupations against factory closures and redundancies, the history of May Day, the Working Women's Charter, attacks on the left within the NUT, wage gains won by lorry drivers, the EEC, the 1926 General Strike, the role of claimants in the class struggle and more.
Attachments
Comments
AWA Lorry Driver was Tim Webb (later Rachael Webb-1940-2010) Moved over to the Trots later - for a few years -and was a councillor in S. London -and transitioned. Took her own life .
Huh, I had vague memories of reading something that quoted a Trotskyist woman trucker, have just had a dig around and it would appear to be the same Rachael Webb quoted in Appendix 2 here: http://www.revoltagainstplenty.com/index.php/archive-local/63-fuel-convoy.html
Libertarian Struggle #18 (June 1975)
Issue #18 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on nationalisation, the Portugese revolution, abortion rights, claiming benefits while on strike, work at the Vauxhall Motors factory, struggles at Penguin Books, the referendum on EEC membership, Vietnam/Indochina, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #19 (July-August 1975)
Issue #19 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on Britain joining the EEC, life in the army, working for the gas board, repression against tenants picketing an estate agent, the Platform, international news from Germany, Iran, and Uruguay, and more.
Attachments
Comments
R, Williams is still around and is close to the ACG. P.E. N. was Peter E. Newell who later rejoined the SPGB (see obit notices on libcom)
Libertarian Struggle #20 (September 1975)
Issue #20 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the Labour Party, Scottish school disputes, wealth and inequality, computer dating, the Portugese revolution, the deselection of a right-wing Labour MP, repression in Germany and Australia, critiques of the International Socialists (who would later become the SWP), the British prison system, the record of the 1945-51 Labour government and more.
Attachments
Comments
Waste Disposal Engineer (NALGO) was Peter E. Newell ( see mailing on July-August '75 LS .
Libertarian Struggle #21 (October 1975)
Issue #21 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the TUC, student struggles, women's magazines, police attacks on pickets, fascism, the tories and their new leader Margaret Thatcher, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #22 (December 1975)
Issue #22 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on redundancies, inflation, the situation in Portugal, working-class resistance to the crisis and state repression, the NHS, a socialist teachers' conference, the development of "new towns" like Telford and more.
Libertarian Struggle #23 (January 1976)
Issue #23 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the acquittal of 14 anti-militarists, the campaign to save Spanish refugee Pedro Astudillo from extradition, TRUEMID, a right-wing union grouping backed by the head of the SAS, a police raid against the Trotskyist WRP, the sexist policies of the print union NGA, an interview with a revolutionary worker at a co-operative factory in Portugal, proposed criminal trespass legislation, the dangers posed by small employers organising, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #24 (February 1976)
Issue #24 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the proposed criminal trespass law, a leaked government emergency planning memo, Labour cuts, the developing counter-revolution in Portugal, bureaucratic rule in China, building a libertarian front, abortion rights, youth unemployment, anti-fascism, French soldiers organising and more.
Libertarian Struggle #25 (March 1976)
Issue #25 of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on a crackdown against "scroungers", the criminal trespass law, the SAS in Northern Ireland, the continuing resistance of the workers' councils in Portugal, a dispute at Blackwell's in Oxford, the Scottish National Party, the MPLA and the war in Angola, the crisis and how to fight it, Lambeth women fighting for equal pay, workers' struggles for the environment like the Australian Green Bans, the spread of soldiers' committees in the French Army, Carl Andre and modern art, and more.
Libertarian Struggle #26 (April 1976)
Issue #26 of Libertarian Struggle. This is the last issue produced under this name, and has articles on abortion rights, the campaign against the criminal trespass law, victimisation of a trade unionist in the printing industry, prostitution, a joint students and workers committee in Oxford, Spain's transition to liberal democracy and the re-emergence of the Spanish libertarian movement, a report from an anti-fascist demonstration in Coventry, gambling, the role of left Labour MPs, and more.
Libertarian Struggle Poster: No War But Class War
A poster with the message "No war but class war: Read Libertarian Struggle, the paper of the Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists". Undated.
Libertarian Struggle Special: May Day (1973?)
Special May Day issue of Libertarian Struggle, with articles on the economic crisis, inflation and the Industrial Relations Act, and histories of the May events in Barcelona 1937 and France 1968.
Attachments
Comments
Slightly confused about whether this would have been '73 or '74 - it talks about a tory government, which makes me think 73, but there's an IR act that was introduced by the Labour government in 74, and it also mentions the Liverpool rent strikes, which I thought of as being from the very end of 73 onwards - any advice?
Edit: the other clue I had to go on was the mention of hospital workers' strikes and demonstrations, but it sounds from this like there were disputes in both 73 and 74 so that's not much help.
If it was published for Mayday 1974 it could've been written during the overlap when there was still a Tory government but the rest of it written slightly later, the Wilson IR was brought into law in July 74 but that's still a lot of time for it to be debated and pushed for in the commons during May.
On the other hand it references the Pentonville 5 dockers as being arrested "last July" so that would put it at 1973 since that dispute was part of the dockers strikes in 72 http://libcom.org/history/1972-dockworkers-strike
I'm also confused. Could it be referring to the Tory 1971 Industrial relations act? Most of the opposition to that came from the shopfloors and the small leftist groups, the main Union leaderships were lethargic at best to that. I do believe the Amalgamated Engineers were fined for contempt over some protests over that one which the article mentions.
Yeah, I think it must mean the 1971 act then. Actually, looking into it, I think wikipedia misled me about the date of the Liverpool rent strike, this source says it started in October 1972, which means it's totally possible that it would've been mentioned in a '73 paper.
Libertarian Struggle Special: Subversity (1973)
Subversity, a special issue of Libertarian Struggle produced for new university students. Undated, but can be identified as from 1973 from the events mentioned. With articles on the critique of the university, students and revolution, "free speech" and the no-platforming of controversial right-wing speakers at universities, John Randall, who became NUS President in 1973, teacher training, the student movement and the left groups, and a campaign for free public access to the library at Hull University.
Anarchist Worker #27 (May 1976)
Issue #27 of Anarchist Worker (formerly Libertarian Struggle). The first issue produced under the new name, with articles on the imposition of a pay freeze, the origins of May Day, NHS cleaners' struggles, squatters in Islington, a proposed nuclear power station, the re-emergence of the anarchist movement and workers' struggles in Spain, an anarchist analysis of Northern Ireland, ruling class scandals, the National Front in Edinburgh, Jim Callaghan, increased Conservative activity in the NUS, an introduction to the Anarchist Workers' Association, a movement against "regeneration" in Birmingham bringing together residents and construction workers, and more.
Anarchist Worker #28 (June 1976)
Issue #28 of Anarchist Worker.
This issue has articles on the myth of the national interest, attacks on squatters in East London, anti-fascism, the Communist Party's role in closing down a set of independent socialist newspapers, the development of a Basque libertarian group, student occupations, solidarity against repression in West Germany, valium and the pharmaceutical industry, another anarchist perspective in Ireland held by the minority of the AWA replying to the one set out in issue #27, a report from a conference of the teachers' union NUT, workers' control as an alternative to cuts, a review of a pamphlet about Aberdeen and the oil industry, the reconstruction of the CNT, industrial dangers in the petrochemical industry, and more.
Attachments
Comments
Anarchist Worker #29 (July-August 1976)
Issue #29 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on self-organised Asian defence groups, the TUC agreeing to a pay freeze, the Murrays being sentenced to death in Ireland, an anti-racist demonstration called by the Indian Workers Association, the Soweto uprising, struggles in education, the elections in Portugal, analysis of racism and fascism, women's health groups, an occupied French printworks, international news, the Scottish National Party, Oxford Women's Aid and more.
Anarchist Worker #30 (September 1976)
Issue #30 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on the TUC and the left, police seizure of anarchist documents, abortion cuts, pollution, Islam, an attack on the East London gay centre, London Transport fares, state repression in Italy, West Germany, Argentina, Spain and Mexico, the defence campaign for the Murrays in Ireland, anarchist writer B. Traven, an attempt to shut down Private Eye and more.
Anarchist Worker #31 (October 1976)
Issue #31 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on work, a strike by women workers demanding equal pay at Trico, the TUC conference, Welsh rail cuts, changing rules on benefits and "cohabitation", the Hull prison revolt, the campaign to save the Murrays in Ireland, a review of Ursula LeGuin's The Dispossessed, a racist attack in Oxford, repression in Argentina, a new book on women's health, and a struggle against the victimisation of militant car workers and shop stewards at British Leyland.
Anarchist Worker #32 (November 1976) - Special Supplement on Hungary 1956
A special supplement on the 1956 Hungarian revolution, produced to accompany issue 32 of Anarchist Worker.
Anarchist Worker #32 (November 1976)
Issue #32 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on government spending cuts, the campaign in defence of the Murrays in Ireland, nationalisation, victory for the Trico equal pay strikers, libertarian socialists in public sector trade union NALGO fighting plans to affiliate to Labour, a direct action conference in response to the criminal trespass law, China after Mao's death, the engineering union AUEW and workers' control, a women's self-help and health conference, the demand for useful work at Lucas Aerospace and Chrysler, the National Abortion Campaign, building societies and more.
Anarchist Worker #33 (February-March 1977)
Issue #33 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on the National Association for Freedom and developing right-wing offensive, an occupation of the EGA hospital in London, harassment of Asians, the CIA, the nuclear industry, disputes in the catering industry, James Kirkup's controversial poem The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name, international news, abortion rights, squatters in Lambeth and more. The front cover gives the date as 1976 but this appears to be a typo.
Anarchist Worker #34 (April 1977)
Issue #34 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on struggles against the government's "social contract", right-wing union officials collaborating with the courts to stop strikes, the fight against racism and sexism, the SAS-linked "TRUEMID" right-wing group in the unions, self-management and occupations in Catalonia and Coventry, the revolt in South Africa, the campaign in defence of the Murrays in Ireland, a review of a pamphlet on Scottish nationalism, a strike at British Leyland, retaliation against prisoners after the Hull prison uprising, and more.
Attachments
Comments
Ah, A.R. One of those who left to join the International Marxist Group. Later she became a prominent astronomer.
Anarchist Worker #35 (July 1977)
Issue #35 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on the fight against public sector cuts, the role of the union bureaucracy, a split within the Anarchist Workers Association, socialist and libertarian student organisations, the revival of the CNT and the fight for workers' power in Spain, the West German Berufsverbot banning radicals from professional jobs, the public sector union NALGO, health workers organising, the Grunwick strike and more.
Anarchist Worker #36 (October 1977)
Issue #36 of Anarchist Worker, with articles on wage struggles to keep up with inflation, left unity proposals from Big Flame and the Inernational Marxist Group, the formation of a London squatters' union, the death of Elvis Presley, the Anarchist Workers Association becoming the Libertarian Communist Group, anti-racist struggles and major clashes with the National Front at Lewisham and Birmingham, the revival of the CNT in Spain and the English translation of Jose Peirats' history of Spanish anarchism, a review of Phil Mailer's pamphet on the Portguese revolution, the strike at Grunwick, the development of Thatcherism in the tory party, and more.
Comments
By the way, a minor
By the way, a minor anarcho-nerd trivia point: I notice that the contact address for Libertarian Struggle, at least the early issues, was on Cardigan Road, Leeds. I dunno if Leeds ABC is still a functioning organisation, but I do remember that as recently as the 2010s they gave their address as being on Cardigan Road as well. Would be curious to know if anyone can confirm whether there was also anarcho activity based out of that street in the 80s/90s/2000s, so that one road could claim an unbroken 40-year-plus tradition?
I had initally thought
I had initally thought there'd be no point tagging each issue individually, but am now starting to think it'd be worth going through and tagging the issues dealing with specifics topics (e.g. Portugal, Spain, Northern Ireland, the NF, the Murrays, Grunwicks). Would take a while to do, though.
Thanks for sorting this R
Thanks for sorting this R Totale. I’m sure tagging would help, but there is hardly any urgency!
Profile of an undercover
Profile of an undercover infiltrator in the AWA: https://powerbase.info/index.php/Jim/Jimmy_Pickford_(alias) Certificate might be out of date so you have to click through, plus I think libcom links usually break if there's brackets in them anyway.