{"id":265070,"date":"2026-07-31T21:51:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/?page_id=265070"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:51:31","slug":"august-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Not for sale?<\/h3>August 5, 2026<\/small>

Infantino\u2019s \u201cshabby, opaque, backroom deal\u201d apparently prepared in secret with private capital is ditched after UEFA and others statement <\/a> that \u201cdemonstrated to FIFA\u2019s President that football is not for sale\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hang on!! Football was sold long ago and is increasingly organised to suit pay-to-view media. This explains why fans of EPL and EFL teams now \u2018benefit\u2019 from league matches on any day from Friday to Tuesday at kick-off times to suit the TV schedules (and bugger the away fans!). This is also why the mis-named Champions League has so much group-stage dross (similarly for the Copa Libertadores) to plug so many mid-week gaps.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the sport I love is now just an interlude between ads for bookies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Keep out of the water<\/h3>July 30, 2026<\/small>

You might expect that a walking trail called the Severn Way would largely be alongside the river from which it takes its name. But in fact most of the section between Shrewsbury and Telford is not along the river at all.<\/p>\n

This is just one illustration of the extent to which there is a lack of public access to river banks in England. In almost three quarters of cases<\/a>, there is no right of way within a hundred metres of the river, with most reservoirs and lakes also being off-limits.<\/p>\n

Private ownership of land drastically restricts people\u2019s ability to enjoy the countryside (not just rivers) and seek some relief from the recent heatwaves.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Rough reality<\/h3>July 26, 2026<\/small>

Andy Burnham pledged<\/a> ‘to finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK\u2019. He previously aimed to prevent rough sleeping in Manchester by 2020, and in 2019 the Conservative Party manifesto<\/a> committed to ending \u2018the blight of rough sleeping\u2019. Instead, in 2025 the number of people estimated to sleep rough on a single night<\/a> in England was the highest recorded, at nearly 4,800.<\/p>\n

Rough sleeping is not just about housing. Rough sleepers are among the most marginalised and victimised in capitalist society. Support services, however ‘well-funded’, can only ever offer limited palliatives as they are working within a system that pushes people into homelessness – why previous attempts to end rough sleeping have failed, despite Burnham\u2019s ambition.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Football: beautiful or ugly?<\/h3>July 22, 2026<\/small>

Can we separate the skills of the beautiful game from the ugliness of the money machine that drives it and the rivalries and nationalism it thrives on? Should we regard the emotional investment of fans as people being brought together or a reminder of how alienated they are from their own lives and capabilities. Is it, as one commentator stated, people being sold ‘meaningless thrills to patch over the pain\u2019?<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, in the society of voluntary cooperative work and free access to goods and services that socialists look forward to, appreciation of the talents of others \u2013 including footballers \u2013 will still exist, but side by side with each person having the time and space to cultivate their own talents and capabilities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Ann Widdecombe<\/h3>July 15, 2026<\/small>

Red faces in the Socialist Workers Party after their tweet on X in response to the death of Widdecombe was ‘Hooray, she’s dead’, followed by immediate deletion as furore swept the media. Some even confused the SWP with us.<\/p>\n

So we should point out that, while we oppose capitalism and all its works, and urge the world’s people to establish a post-capitalist society of democratic common ownership, we have no truck with the SWP\u2019s infantile reaction to the death (probably murder) of a pro-capitalist politician, however detestable that person\u2019s opinions.<\/p>\n

Capitalism is a worldwide system of private property and market trading, which can only be replaced at a worldwide scale by a conscious and informed majority, not by targeting individuals.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\tNext<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"First time? WATCH THIS<\/strong><\/a> or START HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Socialism – it may not be what you think…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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AUGUST LIVE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Meeting on now? Zoom link here<\/a>
\nLoads of talks, debates, other audio stuff here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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WORLD SOCIALIST RADIO<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n