Issue 111
May – Jun 2019
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The theme of this issue of Scottish Left Review is an examination of the intentions, processes and outcomes of the Scottish Parliament upon the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of its re-founding. The referendum of 11 September 1997 voted to re-establish a Scottish Parliament with its own (minimal) tax raising powers. The first elections to […]
Michael Keating makes a balance sheet of the good, the bad and the not so beautiful. Devolution in 1999 was the culmination of over a hundred years of debate and some twenty years of campaigning after the false start of the 1970s. Initially conceived as a way of bringing power back from London, home rule […]
Elaine Smith argues the Scottish Parliament has made little progress in realising it essential tasks. Gordon Brown, in The Red Paper (1975), argued: ‘The irresistible march of recent events places Scotland today at a turning – not of our own choosing but where a choice must sooner or later be made’. He went on to […]
Alex Neil is both proud and disappointed on the amount of left progress made. When I was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament on 6 May 1999, I was elated. This was the first ever democratically elected Scottish Parliament. As a believer in social justice and independence, I was full of hope that […]
Colin Fox says promises have been unfulfilled, challenges ducked and the poorest Scots failed On this, the twentieth anniversary of the Scottish Parliament, I find myself reflecting on the lofty promises it made in 1999; politics would be done differently we were told, the world’s newest legislature would be a ‘People’s Parliament’ with a progressive […]
Dennis Canavan says only independence will allow Holyrood to become a heart in a heartless world. Throughout my entire political life, I campaigned for the setting up of a Scottish Parliament, even at a time when it was not a popular cause amongst many comrades on the left. The case for a Scottish Parliament was […]
Grahame Smith argues the Parliament has made a good start but has unfinished business. In his iconic speech at the formal opening of the Scottish Parliament on 1 July 1999, Donald Dewar described the Scottish Parliament as: ‘Not an end [but] a means to greater ends’. The devolution of power to Scotland and the reopening […]
Pat Kelly recalls the struggle for a Scottish Assembly and how it shaped the Parliament we have today. In his speech at the official opening of the Scottish Parliament on 1 July 1999, Donald Dewar encapsulated the feelings of the country when he declared: ‘For me, for any Scot, today is a proud moment; a […]
Pauline Bryan argues Brexit could be an opportunity to remake Britain in a federal mould Sometimes when you ask for directions, you’re told: ‘I wouldn’t start from here’. That may be the best response when considering the British constitution. Not having a codified constitution may have some advantages – it has allowed changes to be […]
Maggie Chapman believes new opportunities are now presenting themselves In the 1980s, communist stalwart, Joe Slovo, set out a two-stage transition for politics in South Africa. First, a national democratic revolution. Then a socialist revolution. This theory is of relevance to our politics in Scotland. We have witnessed over five years something that comes close […]
Peter Kelly says policies without powers behind them are coming up short in progress against poverty There are currently more than one million people locked in poverty in Scotland, a number that has been slowly rising over the last few years. If the predictions are correct, then we can expect this to increase further still. […]
Graeme Brown reviews progress on housing and homelessness since 1999 1999 seems both close and very distant now. It’s hard to recall the days when housing debate for Scotland, at a parliamentary level, used to be squeezed into an annual 90-minute slot and the very, very occasional piece of legislation. By the time the Scottish […]
Carole Ewart says it didn’t take an FoI request to work out all is not well in the new, open Scotland Rarely do politicians tell you what they really think of freedom of information (FoI) as it’s poor form to criticise a key way for the public to hold politicians to account. However, Tony Blair […]
Mick Cash argues opportunities have been missed but the struggle is not yet over Debates around the history of the Scottish Parliament often raise the question of powers, whether it has enough, and how it has used the powers it does have. With regard to the transport and offshore sector there has been a lot […]
Lilian Macer lays out what must happen to improve social care and the lot of social care workers Today in Scotland, we see a rising tide of demand for social care services, driven by demographic changes and advances in medical technologies as people are living longer, and linked to their needs becoming more complex. This […]
‘Late Night Girl’ tells of the bullying behaviour at work she suffered and how she is fighting back. My story with Pret-A-Manger is very complex and long. Only in hindsight, do I think I understand the extent of what I’ve been through and how systemic the problem of workplace bullying in profit driven companies can […]
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 […]