Tony Adams recalls a forgotten chapter of the events around ‘Red Clydeside’ in 1919 The year, 1919, in Britain represents a high point in working class struggle and one un-matched since in its breath and scale. Over 34m working days were not worked due to strikes compared to an average of 4.5m for each of […]
Linda Clarke and Melahat Sahin-Dikmen show how two aspects of the Just Transition combine European Union (EU) 2020 plans to reduce CO2 emissions and increase the use of renewable energy target the construction sector, responsible for 40% of end use emissions in Europe. The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires that by December […]
Ian Paterson argues there are ways of producing proficient politics Us Scots are kidding ourselves, if we think we’re a good example of democracy. In years to come, future generations will look back at us, as an example of how not to run a society. So what is our crooked version of democracy? We take […]
Frieda Park looks at how right-wing forces are trying to turn back progress in Venezuela It is no coincidence that Elliot Abrams has been appointed as Trump’s envoy to Venezuela. Abrams was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s when officials in the Reagan administration sold arms to Iran, in contravention of sanctions. They […]
Neil Gray, Joey Simons and Bechaela Walker summarise the origins, achievements and ambitions of the Living Rent tenants’ union As Friedrich Engels made clear, housing crises are neither a temporary inconvenience nor a partial failure of the market but a systemic and perennial feature of capitalist relations. Since housing has become such a central pillar […]
Following from our Just Transition edition, Sean Whittaker assesses the right to access information campaigners need Scotland is facing an unprecedented environmental crisis, with threats such as climate change and pollution acting as focal points for concern. Public authorities in Scotland have a key role in protecting the environment, but questions have been raised about […]
Kenny MacAskill, Glasgow 1919: The Rise of Red Clydeside, Biteback, pp320, 9781785904547, £20 Reviewed by Sean Sheehan Much has been written and remembered about events in Glasgow’s George Square in 1919 when civilians battled police. Troops and tanks appeared on the streets of the city and remained there for a week. It has become the […]
I’m writing this from South Australia, where I’m performing for a month. Despite the country’s close cultural links to Britain, television news down under gives very little coverage to British politics. As a result, I am being drip-fed snippets of news via the internet and phone calls to home, and it seems like I am […]
Happy New Year to all our subscribers, readers and supporters. And, with the pleasantries now done, let’s get back to the matters at hand – of hard politics. Over the last few months, day-in-and-day-out in the pages of the Guardian, its parliamentary sketch writer, John Crace, has lambasted Theresa May as an automaton, a robot […]
Stephen Smellie lays out what is meant by Just Transition and what role unions have to play. The concept of the ‘Just Transition’ to a low carbon economy has become policy over the past few years with the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), Trades Union Congress (TUC) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) all having […]