Pat Raffety shows how free bus travel can have immense economic and social advantages. Richard Leonard’s keynote speech at the Scottish Labour party conference in March 2019 included a commitment to a Labour government introducing free bus travel across Scotland. Is this a fanciful idea or a radical ambition? In 2017-2018, Scottish bus companies received […]
On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of its revolution, Imti Choonara, Ollie Hopkins and Kath Campbell chart the progress of healthcare in Cuba ‘If the accomplishments of Cuba could be reproduced across a broad range of poor and middle-income countries the health of the world’s population would be transformed’ said the Lancet Medical Journal […]
Graham Wallace explains the what Glasgow’s new memorial is all about. The Glasgow Shipping branch of the RMT union recently hosted a gathering of local, national and international supporters at the unveiling of a plaque and statue on the banks of the Clyde at Broomielaw, in memory of the seafarers who ran vessels to break […]
Patrick Phillips examine the motivation of those that play and pray for profit. Each year, thousands of books are published that demonstrate how profiteers make profits but never why. My forthcoming book, Ways of Expressing, aims to answer the questions: why are profiteers so insistent on the making of a profit, and what alternative economic-exchange […]
Bill Johnston concludes his appeal for the left to take older people’s issues seriously This third article concerning age, ageing and older people’s issues relates these interrelated factors to Scottish politics and suggests priorities for the left during 2019. The essential argument is that policy and action should oppose the present neo-liberalisation of ageing, and […]
Rosa Luxemburg (1986), director: Margarethe von Trotte Reviewed by Jackie Bergson This timely re-release of Margarethe von Trotte’s biographical feature film about Polish Marxist pacifist, philosopher and revolutionary socialist, Rosa Luxemburg, movingly represents the crushed opposition to autocracy and fascism. Largely an existential piece about Rosa, this important film emphasises that her political and social […]
Henry Bell, John Maclean – Hero of Red Clydeside, Pluto, pp256, 9780745338385, £14.99 Reviewed by Dave Sherry The explosion of working-class revolt during WWI produced one of Britain’s finest revolutionaries. John Maclean was one and he broke from the leaders of his own party to become the most consistent opponent of British imperialism, becoming the […]
In 1999, many people were sceptical about the effect the new Parliament would have on the everyday life of ordinary people in Scotland. Few would have predicted at the time that within fifteen years, we would vote in an independence referendum, with the distinct possibility of a second before 2021. I for one did not […]
The March/April issue of Scottish Left Review is our traditional STUC congress edition. In it, we ask a variety of unions to write about the issues facing them and what they are doing about them. This year, we have tried something a bit different. In the spirit of being a magazine seeking to act as […]
Scottish Left Review encourages our readers to respond to published articles. Here we print correspondence on an article in the last issue. Joseph McAleer (Scottish Left Review, January/February 2019) positions himself alongside right-wing figures such as US Senators, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, in his apparent support for punitive US sanctions against the people of […]