Spokesman Books

Sergio Duarte held the post of United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs from 2007-2012. He has shared with us his document Reflections on the Iran Agreement , which we blog here. *** Reflections on the Iran Agreement Sergio Duarte  Ambassador, former United Nations High Representative for Disarment Affairs Despite the alarmist claims from some quarters that the agreement achieved between Iran and the P5+1 is fatally flawed, the majority of the international community and public opinion worldwide received it favorably and with renewed hope. The JCPOA was hailed as a positive step as it underscores the resolve of the parties concerned to allay suspicions about the nature of the Iranian nuclear program and enhances the existing instruments of international law regarding the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Strict adherence to its provisions by all Parties concerned will help prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and contribute to greater confid...

Nottingham’s Albert Hall hosts the hotly-anticipated Rally for Corbyn on Thursday, 20 th August at 7pm. Doors open 6pm.   Alongside Jeremy Corbyn MP, speakers will be Richard Murphy, Manuel Cortes, Annmarie Kilcline, Tony Kearns, Nadia Whittome and Umaar Kazmi, with chair Cheryl Butler. Due to the high level of interest in this event, an early arrival is advised. Online event pages for the rally can be found on Corbyn’s campaign website ( http://www.jeremyforlabour.com/rally_for_corbyn_nottingham ) and on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/events/1040901972596312/ ). Venue address: Albert Hall North Circus Street Nottingham NG1 5AA Spokesman Books invites readers to revisit J. A. Hobson’s Imperialism (2011 edition), for which Corbyn penned a foreword. The following thoughts are taken from his contribution: Reading Hobson’s works now, at the end of the first decade of the twenty first century, and acknowledging all that has happened in...

Kill the Bill - the trade union movement responds to Tory attacks Tom Unterrainer In his speech to the 2014 Conservative Party conference, Francis Maude launched a series of attacks on public sector trade unions. He claimed that “[m]ore and more public servants are losing patience with trade union leaders who take their members for granted”; labelled recent ballot turnouts as “derisory” and promised that a “Conservative Government will legislate to outlaw strikes where less than half the eligible members have voted”. Maude’s justification for this promise was that “[i]t just isn’t right that an unrepresentative trade union baron should be able to close schools and bring the Tube to a standstill when they can’t even persuade half of their own members to vote.” 1 In addition, Maude raised the prospect of shortening the duration of strike mandates and reducing the number of “full-time union officials on the public payroll”. In the normal course of events, for a senior Tory to ...