Carol Jess says to the left if that’s where you want to get to don’t start from here. Over the years, New Zealand (NZ) has often been taken as a good example in many progressive political and economic debates. This September, New Zealand will celebrate the 125th anniversary of (almost) universal suffrage, while our third […]
Neil Findlay says those looking for radical social change should join and support Labour. This year corporate lobbyist and former RBS banker, Andrew Wilson, delivered his long awaited Growth Commission Report (GCR) on the prospects for an independent Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon’s reaction since, and the reaction of the SNP’s rank and file, has been muted […]
Pauline Bryan excoriates the SNP’s attempt to gain mainstream support for independence. The Growth Commission Report (GCR) has many flaws but the most glaring is that woven into its fabric is a belief that global capitalism with its free markets and neo-liberal policies is the only possible economic structure for a future Scotland. It seems […]
John Foster unearths some disturbing characteristics of the SNP Growth Commission Report. The SNP’s Growth Commission Report (GCR) bears some similarities to the Westminster Government’s EU White Paper issued a few weeks later. Both accept neo-liberal, pro-market assumptions. Both seek, though in different ways, to maintain a relationship with the EU law that will perpetuate […]
David Byrne argues that Tartan Toryism is back on the cards. In 2015, Nicola Sturgeon established a Sustainable Growth Commission chaired by the former SNP MSP Andrew Wilson, generally identified with the right and pro-market wing of her party. The Commission’s membership included no trade unionist. Evidently the SNP’s Trade Union Group was not considered […]
Sean Ballie argues only a movement from within football lads and lasses can fight successfully. Recent mobilisations and demonstrations by groups such as the Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA) have shocked many but should have surprised few. It is widely accepted that these newer organisations are just the reincarnation of loosely held together far right […]
Henry Maitles outlines the dangers of anti-semitism being conflated with anti-Zionism. Anti-semitism, like all racism, is reactionary and can permeate all sections of society. Rooting it out is essential no matter where. Not only is it morally unacceptable, but it makes it harder to develop unity and radical alternatives if these ideas take hold. But […]
Vince Mills looks behind the headlines to see what is really going on. Perhaps the saddest aspect of the ‘debate’ on anti-semitism in Labour has been how it has been degraded by those whose central concern is to ditch Corbyn. Of course, not everyone arguing for the unamended International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition and […]
Mick Rice makes the case for the Scottish Parliament to improve the treatment of its own staff. The Scottish Parliament can show a degree of ‘independence’ from the diktats of the Tory Westminster government by adopting its own Fair Wages Resolution (FWR). A suggested wording is: This Scottish Parliament agrees that from (insert date) all […]
The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018), written and directed by Mark Cousins Reviewed by Jackie Bergson. Mark Cousins’ personally spoken, second-person narrative throughout The Eyes of Orson Welles casts a conversational spell which conjoins his audience and subject. A full-screen-sized black and white photograph of Welles in repose is intermittently shown, evidently to suggest that […]