THE ARMED wing of the British capitalist state is being torn apart by ‘internal warfare’, according to a report in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph.
This major split has been thrust into the public limelight by the suicide of Major General Matthew Holmes who had been the head of the Royal Marines for two years until he was removed after a power struggle between the marines and the head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
The suicide of Holmes is being widely attributed in the military to be a consequence of his sacking.
Radakin has now been appointed by the Tories as Chief of Defence Staff to carry out a radical overhaul of the military set out in the government’s Integrated Review published earlier this year.
Radakin is an enthusiastic proponent of the radical changes which he claims will provide a ‘global force delivering for Global Britain’.
The victory of the navy admiral over the marine major general was not just a crushing individual blow but highlights the move by the British state to drop the previous role of the army in fighting its imperialist wars and turn the marines into playing a ‘part-time role’ to the navy.
This is a call for a return to the glory days of the British Empire, when the navy ruled the world and trade disputes were settled by sending a gunboat to terrorise the natives.
With the marines and army so comprehensively defeated in Afghanistan, the Tories are turning to the navy and an admiral who proved his credentials with his enthusiastic endorsement of Prime Minister Johnson’s desire to restore Britain’s position as ‘the foremost naval power in Europe’ with its two new aircraft carriers that will open up ‘new trade routes’.
This boast is undermined by the fact that the navy doesn’t even have the aircraft for these ships and relies on US planes.
The very dramatic and public split between the heads of the armed forces is unprecedented.
In the past, any disagreements were kept firmly out of the public gaze and to have them splashed across the pages of the Telegraph is a sure sign of the depth of the crisis that is consuming the military wing of the capitalist state.
The same crisis is ripping apart the other leg of the capitalist state, the police.
With the head of the Met, Cressida Dick, under fire and the force now revealed to contain gangs of thugs, criminals and sexual deviants, the entire apparatus of capitalist rule is torn apart by crisis.
The same divisions have emerged sharply in all the main political parties, with the Tory PM Johnson at war with his Chancellor Rishi Sunak over Sunak’s plans to slash government spending at a time when Johnson is terrified that any austerity cuts will destroy what remains of industry and revolutionise the working class.
These splits are mirrored in the Labour Party where its leader, Keir Starmer, completely rejects any nationalisation of the energy industry while shadow secretary of state for business, Ed Miliband, has broken with him and is calling for at least some partial nationalisation.
While Johnson and admiral Radakin harbour delusional dreams of imperial grandeur, the reality is that Britain no longer has an empire.
Splits and divisions within the state and amongst the political parties relied upon to run capitalism reflect the huge economic crisis that has turned the world upside down as far as the ruling class is concerned.
In their crisis, they are more and more forced to rely on the treachery of the trade union leaders to keep the working class under control.
With the ruling class and the capitalist state in Britain, and across Europe, at their weakest and riddled with splits, there has never been a better time for the powerful working class to put it out of its misery by taking the power.
The socialist revolution is the only way forward for workers in Britain and Europe and the immediate task is to build the WRP and sections of the Fourth International in every country to organise the victory of the World Socialist Revolution.THE ARMED wing of the British capitalist state is being torn apart by ‘internal warfare’, according to a report in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph.
This major split has been thrust into the public limelight by the suicide of Major General Matthew Holmes who had been the head of the Royal Marines for two years until he was removed after a power struggle between the marines and the head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
The suicide of Holmes is being widely attributed in the military to be a consequence of his sacking.
Radakin has now been appointed by the Tories as Chief of Defence Staff to carry out a radical overhaul of the military set out in the government’s Integrated Review published earlier this year.
Radakin is an enthusiastic proponent of the radical changes which he claims will provide a ‘global force delivering for Global Britain’.
The victory of the navy admiral over the marine major general was not just a crushing individual blow but highlights the move by the British state to drop the previous role of the army in fighting its imperialist wars and turn the marines into playing a ‘part-time role’ to the navy.
This is a call for a return to the glory days of the British Empire, when the navy ruled the world and trade disputes were settled by sending a gunboat to terrorise the natives.
With the marines and army so comprehensively defeated in Afghanistan, the Tories are turning to the navy and an admiral who proved his credentials with his enthusiastic endorsement of Prime Minister Johnson’s desire to restore Britain’s position as ‘the foremost naval power in Europe’ with its two new aircraft carriers that will open up ‘new trade routes’.
This boast is undermined by the fact that the navy doesn’t even have the aircraft for these ships and relies on US planes.
The very dramatic and public split between the heads of the armed forces is unprecedented.
In the past, any disagreements were kept firmly out of the public gaze and to have them splashed across the pages of the Telegraph is a sure sign of the depth of the crisis that is consuming the military wing of the capitalist state.
The same crisis is ripping apart the other leg of the capitalist state, the police.
With the head of the Met, Cressida Dick, under fire and the force now revealed to contain gangs of thugs, criminals and sexual deviants, the entire apparatus of capitalist rule is torn apart by crisis.
The same divisions have emerged sharply in all the main political parties, with the Tory PM Johnson at war with his Chancellor Rishi Sunak over Sunak’s plans to slash government spending at a time when Johnson is terrified that any austerity cuts will destroy what remains of industry and revolutionise the working class.
These splits are mirrored in the Labour Party where its leader, Keir Starmer, completely rejects any nationalisation of the energy industry while shadow secretary of state for business, Ed Miliband, has broken with him and is calling for at least some partial nationalisation.
While Johnson and admiral Radakin harbour delusional dreams of imperial grandeur, the reality is that Britain no longer has an empire.
Splits and divisions within the state and amongst the political parties relied upon to run capitalism reflect the huge economic crisis that has turned the world upside down as far as the ruling class is concerned.
In their crisis, they are more and more forced to rely on the treachery of the trade union leaders to keep the working class under control.
With the ruling class and the capitalist state in Britain, and across Europe, at their weakest and riddled with splits, there has never been a better time for the powerful working class to put it out of its misery by taking the power.
The socialist revolution is the only way forward for workers in Britain and Europe and the immediate task is to build the WRP and sections of the Fourth International in every country to organise the victory of the World Socialist Revolution.
