Vision is essential in politics. It illuminates the possibility that things could be different, better and inspires people to not just believe in change, but to be driven to do something about it. That’s why it will play a big part in determining the outcome of next month’s referendum on the question of a separate […]
The SNP vision of a deregulated Scotland is reason enough to vote No
Aug 26th, 2014 by Richard Leonard.
Behind the lure of Scottish independence lies the threat of “divide and rule”
Apr 18th, 2014 by Richard Leonard.The Scottish Trades Union Congress met this week in Dundee, where the Chartists took strike action in August 1842 and marched from Magdalen Green to Forfar for the right of working people to vote. Meeting at such a highly charged time, with the referendum on the creation of a separate Scottish state just weeks away, we should […]
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Time to look at the small print of Scottish ‘independence’
Jan 6th, 2014 by Richard Leonard.Down the years it has been my good fortune to address political rallies and educational schools staged by the industrial wing of the labour movement. Last week rail union Aslef’s Scottish political forum was convened at the Scottish Parliament and we discussed the Scottish National Party government’s white paper on independence. At the crux of the […]
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GMB Scotland to campaign for a “No” vote in independence referendum
Nov 12th, 2013 by Richard Leonard.This week the GMB has announced that we will be campaigning for a “No” vote in the referendum. Let there be no doubt that there is a real hunger for radical social and economic change among GMB members. Support for “No” should not be seen as support for the status quo, far from it. We […]
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Equality comes with shift of power to the people
May 10th, 2013 by Richard Leonard.People are discontented, disaffected and hungry for change. The so-called consumer society robs us of our universal humanity and our environment of its natural balance. Living standards are squeezed to offset the falling rate of profit. Women’s work in particular continues to be systematically undervalued, with the poorest of the poor hit hardest of all. […]
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Alex Falconer – an appreciation
Aug 16th, 2012 by Richard Leonard.Born 1st April 1940, Died 12th August 2012. Alex Falconer who has died was an inspirational figure on the Left. Fragments of Alex Falconer’s life will be well known to anyone who came along to hear him speak, because his politics came from his own life experience and he wasn’t afraid to be autobiographical. So […]
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Where the real division lies
Feb 16th, 2012 by Richard Leonard.Politics is a choice between left and right – tackling inequality, injustice and poverty and a redistribution of power on the one hand or relying on trickle-down and the free market on the other. And the goals of the wider movement of which my own union GMB is proudly part have always been international. We are […]
