I am a Labour Party member who voted Yes in the independence referendum, but I won’t be joining the SNP or any other party. I voted Yes for a complex array of reasons and it was a close call. Partly out of despair over Westminster politics, not just current Tory policies, I expect them to […]
Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’
Labour faces a titanic struggle to regain the confidence of the Scottish working class
Sep 19th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.In gracefully accepting the verdict of the Scottish people “at this stage“, Alex Salmond made clear his expectation that the three unionist parties honour their pledges to the Scottish people in rapid course. “Let us not dwell on distance we’ve fallen short; let us dwell on distance we’ve travelled.” The turnout at 86% demonstrates how engaged and […]
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An Open Letter to Yes-Voting Socialists
Sep 18th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Dear Comrade, There are many things on which we can agree about the referendum campaign. The mobilisation of masses of people in Scotland is a good thing. Whichever way the vote goes I hope the energy and positivity mobilised by Yes can feed into progressive politics and positive social change. It’s also kicked the complacency […]
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Why the Scottish uprising will not lead to independence
Sep 18th, 2014 by Ann Pettifor and Jeremy Smith.The Scottish campaign for independence is effectively an uprising against the British state and its collusion with the globalized, mobile finance sector and supranational corporations. It is a protest against an economic and political system increasingly centralised and aloof—a protest bound to spread to other equally neglected regions. It is a campaign to end allegiance […]
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Yea or Nay, Scots won’t get real independence
Sep 13th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.If the Yes vote wins next Thursday (which I personally doubt), the immediate result – apart from the SNP euphoria – will be tough and hard bargaining between the Bank of England, Whitehall and the EU as to how the new powers are to be carved out. The spirit of liberality about quasi-home rule sprinkled […]
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The far left: driven by self-interest not class interests on Scottish independence
Sep 12th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Were I still a Trotskyist, my position on the Scottish independence referendum would be determined by this set of questions: As America’s lapdog, key prop of international neoliberalism, meddler in foreign affairs, and cheerleader for market fundamentalism within the EU; would an independent Scotland severely diminish the UK’s influence? What are the social character of […]
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10 really good things about Gordon Brown
Sep 10th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.It’s true that for a number of years you couldn’t put a fag paper between the politics of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and though we all heaved a sigh of relief when he eventually took over, he did disappoint us as PM. But Gordon has many great strengths and, just at this moment, there […]
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Politics before and after the referendum
Sep 8th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Some sense impressions about the Scottish referendum and its consequences… If no wins on the 18th, it will be of the slimmest of margins and in spite of the politics of Better Together. The two debates between Salmond and Darling illustrated Better Together‘s problem perfectly. The first round went to Darling. He does technical detail […]
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“The Scottish referendum isn’t primarily about Scotland: it’s about London”
Sep 8th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.This is a shrewd observation by Prof. Danny Dorling, especially in the later stages of the referendum as Salmond repeatedly pinpoints the sheer dominance and ultra-wealth of London as a prime reason why Scots should vote for independence. It sucks the lifeblood out of the rest of the country, and so far from the rebalancing […]
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Seven left-wing reasons for staying together
Sep 5th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Viewed from afar, Better Together has been a poor show. Not in terms of numbers involved out canvassing day after day. I’m on about the politics on offer. The vision thing. Yes have it. That an independent Scotland will share the monarchy, be a semi-colony of the Bank of England and fancies a corporation tax […]
