The Thornett Reader

67 pieces chosen and edited for a reader of Alan Thornett's journalism, 1980–2026, in eleven parts. The pre-2001 texts were transcribed by hand from the printed page.

I. The plan was in place before the strike: the employers' offensive and the union leaderships, 1980–1983

• The Communist Party keeps Thatcher in officeSocialist Press no. 226, 3 December 1980
• Tories rocked by the miners' victorySocialist Press no. 236, 25 February 1981
• The real record of the Communist Party at CowleySocialist Organiser nos. 44 and 45, 27 June and 11 July 1981. Review of Arthur Exell, The Politics of the Production Line: an autobiography of an Oxford car worker, History Workshop
• BL's bid to vet workers' private livesSocialist Organiser no. 52, 10 September 1981
• Putting the screws: Tebbit and the bosses' offensiveSocialist Organiser no. 67, 7 January 1982
• BL: the background to the betrayalsSocialist Organiser nos. 72 and 73, 11 and 18 February 1982
• What kind of alternative for BL?Socialist Organiser no. 78, 25 March 1982
• The miners' vote was on the wage offerSocialist Organiser no. 107, 4 November 1982
• Behind the Cowley crackdownSocialist Organiser no. 109, 18 November 1982
• Britain's answer to Jimmy Hoffa: Alan Law and 'The Rule of Law'Socialist Organiser no. 111, 2 December 1982
• Japan 1: How management control Japan's unionsSocialist Organiser no. 121, 24 February 1983
• Japan 2: The defeat that shaped Japan's labour relationsSocialist Organiser no. 122, 3 March 1983
• Japan 3: Japanese workers face the 'unification' threatSocialist Organiser no. 123, 10 March 1983
• Japan 4: A visit to Toyota CitySocialist Organiser no. 124, 17 March 1983
• Japan 5: Nissan, where union goon squads lay into dissidentsSocialist Organiser no. 125, 24 March 1983
• NUPE turns sharp rightSocialist Organiser no. 132, 19 May 1983
• Thousands strike against Greek anti-union lawsSocialist Organiser no. 136, 16 June 1983

II. The offensive had a plan: Cowley, Ford and the shop stewards, 1984–2023

• Getting the 1984 Austin Rover strike off the groundSocialist Viewpoint no. 2, November 1984
• BL bid to smash the unionSocialist Viewpoint no. 3, February 1985, printed with Bob Cullen's statement
• Scenting an anti-left witch-hunt: the press discovers TGWU ballot riggingSocialist Viewpoint no. 5, April 1985
• Japan: how Nakasone follows ThatcherSocialist Viewpoint no. 8, November 1985
• Ford: behind the sell-outSocialist Outlook no. 6, March/April 1988
• Derek Robinson, 1927-2017Socialist Resistance, 17 November 2017
• The Britishvolt gigafactory collapseAnticapitalist Resistance, 4 February 2023

III. The isolation was breakable: the miners, 1984–1986

• TUC 1984: a missed opportunity for the minersSocialist Viewpoint no. 1, Autumn 1984
• The miners must break the isolationSocialist Viewpoint no. 2, November 1984
• Force the TUC to call action: the rank and file must make the leaders fightSocialist Viewpoint no. 3, February 1985; dated 21 January 1985
• Betrayed: the miners defeated but not brokenSocialist Viewpoint no. 4, March 1985
• Organise to defend the sacked and imprisoned minersSocialist Viewpoint no. 6, June/July 1985
• TUC backs the miners' call: Scargill gets it rightSocialist Viewpoint no. 7, September 1985
• Unholy alliance against Scargill: the politics of the miners' strikeSocialist Viewpoint no. 9, December 1985
• Fighting on for the victimised minersSocialist Viewpoint no. 10, February 1986

IV. The law was the instrument: new realism and the anti-union laws, 1986–1997

• From Wilson to Kinnock: union rights sacrificed to profitsSocialist Viewpoint no. 14, 1986
• Wapping betrayalSocialist Viewpoint no. 15, February 1987
• The seafarers' strike: a lost opportunity to challenge the anti-union lawsInternational Viewpoint 142, 30 May 1988
• Will the TUC break with Hammond?Socialist Outlook no. 8, July/September 1988
• Arming for battle against new realismSocialist Outlook no. 19, November 1989
• Undermining the right to strikeInternational Viewpoint 210, July 1991
• Socialist strategy for unions under capitalismfrom The Trade Unions in the 1990s: A Strategy for Socialists, with Andy Kilmister

V. Blairism was a result, not a mood: Labour and the crisis of representation, 1992–2009

• The debacle of new realismInternational Viewpoint 227, 27 April 1992
• Labour's rightward slideInternational Viewpoint 316, November 1999
• How the left should respond to the crisisInternational Viewpoint 410, March 2009

VI. Unity is a means: regroupment, 2000–2013

• New mood of unity on the British far leftInternational Viewpoint 320, April 2000
• The Socialist Workers Party splits RespectInternational Viewpoint 394, November 2007
• Respect Renewal and agencies for social changeSocialist Resistance, 17 March 2008
• New opportunities for left realignmentInternational Viewpoint 460, May 2013

VII. The nation state did not go away: Britain, Europe and the world market, 1998–2015

• It's a crisis alright, but is it global?Socialist Outlook no. 18, 1998
• No to a bosses' Europe: the politics of the EU and the eurozone crisisInternational Viewpoint 447, 18 April 2012
• What position should the left take on the EU referendum?International Viewpoint 485, June 2015

VIII. Fear was the instrument: Scotland, 2006–2014

• Milestone conference for the Scottish SocialistsInternational Viewpoint 383, November 2006
• Shock and awe against a Yes voteInternational Viewpoint 476, September 2014
• Project fear denies Scottish independenceInternational Viewpoint 476, September 2014

IX. Wars have authors too: internationalism and war, 1999–2012

• The British left divided on the Kosova struggleSocialist Outlook no. 24, 1999
• Slobodan Milosevic: architect of the Yugoslav break-upInternational Viewpoint 380, March 2006
• The Falklands oil rush and Thatcher's warInternational Viewpoint 448, May 2012

X. Nobody had the whole answer: comrades, 1987–2025

• Nahuel Moreno: speech at the memorial meeting, 2 February 1987Socialist Viewpoint no. 15, February 1987
• Gerry Healy: the Ceausescu of the British Trotskyist movementSocialist Outlook no. 21, February 1990
• Nick Origlass: the most expelled man in Australian politicsSocialist Outlook no. 20, 1998
• Tony Cliff: an appreciationInternational Viewpoint 321, May 2000
• Dave Packer: a tributeInternational Viewpoint 450, 26 July 2012
• Bob Cullen, 1949-2025Anticapitalist Resistance, 7 May 2025

XI. Nobody defended it: Labour, energy and the blockers, 2022–2026

• Starmer's "Green Growth Superpower"Anticapitalist Resistance, 4 October 2022
• Beyond the car: Oxford's much maligned '15-minute city'Anticapitalist Resistance, 17 April 2023
• As the planet burns, Keir Starmer dumps his eco-pledgesAnticapitalist Resistance, 30 July 2023
• Starmer's miserable betrayalAnticapitalist Resistance, 17 February 2024
• A third runway at Heathrow: an act of environmental vandalismAnticapitalist Resistance, 5 February 2025
• Don't forget the planetAnticapitalist Resistance, 7 September 2026