Yesterday, canvasing the streets of Stevenston in North Ayrshire, a former Labour voter told me that the only way forward was for Scottish Labour and the SNP to merge. He meant it not as advice but as explanation of why he could not vote Labour. Some are hostile to Labour, others just confused. And even many of those […]
Posts under ‘Nationalism/Unionism’
The new sectarian politics of Scotland and the demise of working class unity
Apr 30th, 2015 by Jon Lansman.
The rise of Nicola Sturgeon
Apr 6th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Alex who? I always thought the Tories ‘Vote Labour, Get Salmond‘ schtick was as weak as it was pitiful. It’s all very well photo shopping an Ed Milli-band in the former first minister’s oversized coat pocket, but when far fewer people south of the border know Salmond and he’s no longer calling the shots? Well, after […]
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There is nothing radical about little Englandism
Mar 21st, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I’m not an avid follower of Paul Kingsnorth’s work, but I do remember his One No, Many Yeses. This was a contribution – some may say cash-in – to the burgeoning library on the internationalist, anti-capitalist, and fashionably networky movement of sundry NGOs, anarchists and occasional Trots of the early part of the last decade. […]
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Scotland: the patriot game’s a bogey
Mar 8th, 2015 by Guest.by the collective editorial team of Uncivil Society In the lead-up to the General Election, Scottish politics is constrained within the stifling discourse of who best represents the national interest. Whilst SNP billboards imagine a House of Commons complete with tartan benches, Jim Murphy has foisted a commitment to patriotism and the service of the nation […]
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There are better things to be doing than playing the patriot game
Jan 20th, 2015 by Stephen Low.“To these ends we work for the patriotic interest of the people of Scotland” runs part of a suggested new aims and values statement (Clause 4 – renumbered from Clause 2 for marketing purposes) that we are being asked to endorse at Scottish Conference in March. As a party and a movement we can do […]
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Two cheers for the Smith Commission
Nov 30th, 2014 by Dave Watson.The Smith Commission report is an important step forward on the devolution journey, even if many of us who support further devolution will be disappointed over its omissions. First of all let’s dispose of the political froth. It’s impossible to know if the ‘vow’ has been delivered as, other than a newspaper headline, it was […]
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This could be the last ditch for Labour in Scotland, and the answer isn’t Murphy
Nov 18th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.This morning’s poll in the the Daily Record sums up the problem Scottish Labour faces whoever wins the leadership positions: SNP 46%, Labour 24%, Tories 17%, Lib Dem 6%, Others 8%. So what’s the answer? Nicola Sturgeon in her first speech as SNP leader this weekend clearly sought to position the SNP to the left of Labour. Whilst […]
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Why Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru should work together to defeat UKIP
Nov 15th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.To the extent that the British media’s political coverage ever veers far from Westminster, all eyes are currently on Scotland. In the wake of the Neverendum on Scottish independence and its leadership election, the potential meltdown of Scottish Labour in the general election is massive not only in Scotland: it is the biggest factor in the outcome […]
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Leanne Wood interview: another Wales is possible
Oct 23rd, 2014 by Guest.The annual conference of Plaid Cymru starts tomorrow. Here their leader, Leanne Wood, talks about the Scottish referendum and devolution, questions EVEL (English votes for English Laws) and opposes the evils of austerity. She is interviewed by Socialist Resistance SR: You were a very high profile and active supporter of the Yes campaign in Scotland. […]
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A Welsh view of Scotland’s ‘No’ vote: the end, or the end of the beginning?
Oct 7th, 2014 by Nick Davies.‘Settled for a generation’ was the confident assertion of the metropolitan commentariat after Scotland’s referendum resulted in a bigger than expected margin of defeat for independence. An independent Scotland may be off the agenda in the immediate term but we should remember Zhou En-lai’s famous remark about the effects of the French revolution: “too early […]
