Gordon Morgan lays out a 22-point plan to bring about a decisive change Across the world, CO2 emissions are falling due to the pandemic with lockdowns, restrictions on aircraft, car use and limitations on world trade. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates emissions will fall by 8% in 2020 and energy use fall by 6%. […]
Lubnaa Joomun reveals some seemingly positive changes but wonders whether they will be permanent Only four years ago, immigration was one of the most topical crises in the British press – one that had Britain at breaking point. Since then the world has met a crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic. With the world turned upside […]
Comment: Four Separate Issues Arising from COVID-19 Response Councils in Scotland have been at the forefront in dealing with COVID-19 humanitarian community response, reinforcing public health messaging and ensuring continued safety and well-being of our most vulnerable. Prior to the pandemic, they were already struggling financially with overall revenue funding having fallen by 7% in […]
Larry Flanagan lifts the lid on how the EIS is defending teacher, lecturers and education As a Scottish education union, the EIS operates in a relatively unique situation given that education is a wholly devolved area for the Scottish Parliament, with New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (New JNCHES) being the only UK-wide […]
The politics of Scotland and Britain are about to enter dark days for democracy. A white, ageing and disproportionately male group of citizens, numbering just 160,000 and nearly all from the middle class, are about to effectively determine who is the next prime minister. The concept of democracy has its origins in the Greek language, […]
Tommy Sheppard argues only an independent Scotland can be the crucible for citizens’ control Democracy means the right to change your mind. Collectively, people can decide to do something, and if it doesn’t work, or they don’t like it, they can do something else. That much shouldn’t be in doubt for the left – or […]
Neil Davidson says knowing fascists from hard right populists is essential in fighting them both The left always risks making two errors when faced with a threat from forces on the hard-right. One, most disastrously realised in Germany during the 1930s, is complacency, ignoring or at least downplaying the genuine threat of fascism. The other, […]
George Kerevan traces the roots of populism to discern its progressive potential How do we build a realistic alternative to BoJo, Farage, Trump et al.? Let’s start by demystifying the term ‘populism’. It was first coined in the early 1890s in reference to the US Populist Party, formed to defend poor farmers against big business […]
Kenny MacAskill says behind the apparent advance lie deep-rooted problems of policy and participation The EU elections were a good result for the SNP but not a great one. For sure winning’s what matters in every electoral contest and it achieved that comfortably which offers profile and momentum. However, this was a poll where it […]
Chris Hegarty says Voices for Scotland can re-invigorate the vitality of civic Scotland in its independence campaign Much is being written about the crisis of democracy, the rise in populism and increasing political polarisation. As a new, civic, grassroots pro-independence campaign that seeks to effect change via democratic engagement, Voices for Scotland has a vested […]