The referendum process for possible Scottish independence reveals some of the best and worst aspects of Britain’s political culture. The potential withdrawal of Scotland from the UK would bring to an end a constitutional settlement that has endured for more than 300 years, and yet the commitment towards constitutionality has meant not only that the […]
Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’
The sharks are circling Scottish Water
Jun 4th, 2014 by Dave Watson.Scottish Water is a public corporation that delivers a publicly owned water and sewerage service to the people of Scotland, unlike the privatised service in the rest of the UK. It’s a model that has served Scotland well, delivering clean fresh Scottish water to homes and businesses and removing sewage along some 60,000 miles of […]
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On socialism, nationalism and anti-English sentiment in Scotland (part 1)
May 6th, 2014 by Greg Philo.How would you feel about being rich? As Scottish Finance secretary, John Swinney, says, Scotland would be the sixth richest country in the world, while the rest of the UK would be a mere 16th if they are lucky. So that is one up on the Southerners, who we have apparently been subsidising. Even if this was […]
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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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Health and care integration: right in principle but a challenge to deliver
Apr 15th, 2014 by Dave Watson.Health and care integration is right in principle but it will take more than moving the managerial deck chairs around to deliver quality care. I took a day away from the Scottish TUC congress in Dundee to make a day trip to Brighton to speak in panel discussion on health and care integration at the […]
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A Scotland free from Tory rule for good is the offer Labour has to beat
Apr 12th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Watching Alex Salmond’s speech to the SNP Spring Conference, it is almost impossible to see Scottish independence as anything other than inevitable. If not this year, then at least sometime in the not too distant future. It doesn’t matter that I am an internationalist who doesn’t believe that independence can exist in any meaningful sense […]
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Water is a public service – not a commodity
Feb 17th, 2014 by Dave Watson.Water is a public good, not a commodity. Today there will be a hearing in the European Parliament on the European Citizens Initiative – Right to Water (watch it live online). Nearly two million people signed this initiative across Europe, asking the European Commission to propose legislation implementing the human right to water and sanitation as recognised by […]
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Scottish Labour must be bold on extending devolution
Feb 12th, 2014 by Dave Watson.Scottish voters are entitled to know what type of devolution they will get if they tick the No box this September. While the pro-devolution parties are all working separately on their proposals, it is Scottish Labour that is expected to take the lead with the publication of the Devolution Commission report. There has been much […]
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Why Scottish Labour needs a new vision for 2016
Jan 27th, 2014 by Dave Watson.Scottish Labour’s electoral recovery continues with last week’s Scottish Parliament by-election win in Cowdenbeath. However, in 2016 the party will need to develop a new narrative and polices to attract the voters it needs to form a government. In 2011, Scottish Labour suffered a major electoral defeat and the hands of the SNP who mobilised […]
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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 […]
