Issue 114
Nov – Dec 2019
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All articles in this issue bar the editorial and the Brexit election tracker were written before the decision of parliament to dissolve itself in preparation for a 12 December general election. Hoping and dreaming of a red Xmas Britain has had a tradition of khaki elections – like those in 1900, 1918, 1945 and 1983. […]
Matthew Goodwin reveals the major trends trajectories to look out for in the run up to 12 December Britain is now set for what will almost certainly be the most consequential general election in its entire post-war history. The fate of Brexit, a second referendum, Boris Johnson’s embryonic premiership and Jeremy Corbyn’s radical Labour project […]
It is with sadness that we note the death of John Kay, aged 94. He was one of the founders of the Scottish Left Review. With a wide range of contacts, he was instrumental in getting us subscribers, many of whom are still reading the magazine today. He served on the Editorial Committee for over […]
Richard Leonard believes the case for an economic and environmental transformation can be won. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. There is widespread discontent and it is growing, with school pupils striking and young people, some of whom have […]
Tommy Sheppard believes Scotland will answer the call but is hesitant about calling the result elsewhere. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. By the time you read this we may be in the middle of a general election campaign […]
Colin Fox surveys the landscape and get prepared to batten down the hatches. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. I voted to remain in 2016 as ‘The lesser of two evils’ but I’ve changed my mind. Reading Costas Lapavitsas’s […]
Maggie Chapman says a democratic transformation must underlie economic and social transformation. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. Our politics is in crisis. It is utterly broken. The farce that is Westminster cannot be taken seriously. That the British […]
Kenny MacAskill argues for a form of left cooperation and consensus as the new way forward. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. Hatred between Labour and SNP has been visceral for generations, long predating the independence referendum. Ostensibly the […]
Lynn Henderson says that out of crisis comes opportunity 200 years on from Peterloo. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. You don’t have to look far to see the Westminster political system is in crisis. Brexit has polarised our […]
Though a little late in the day, Gregor Gall suggests a way out of the ‘leave’/’remain’ stasis for the left. This article was written before the announcement of the general election for Thursday 12 December but anticipated that one would be called. For anyone on the left to have urged a vote for ‘leave’ in […]
Dylan Hamilton reflects on what was achieved in the September climate action On Friday 20 September, the week of climate action started with a global strike for climate. Around the world, people took to the streets to protest against the destruction of our climate with an incredible total of 7.5m. There was a strike on […]
Pete Cannell reports on the ScotE3 campaign to make climate action and social justice go hand-in-hand within the ‘just transition’ On 11 October 2015, I was one among several thousand linking arms across the Forth Road Bridge. This action organised by ‘Hands Over Our Forth’ (HOOF) was meant to be the latest stage in a […]
Academics Bill Knox and Alan McKinlay published their biography of Jimmy Reid called Jimmy Reid: A Clyde-built man (Liverpool University Press, 2019). It is the result of many year’s painstaking original work. On the occasion of its publication, Scottish Left Review interviewed both of the authors to ask them about why they choose to study […]
Jimmy Reid is often described as ‘the best MP that Scotland has never had’, but I believe that Jimmy was so much more. Sometimes it is easy to forget the scale of events which Jimmy led and took part in, especially when there was no social media. In June 1971, when the Tory Government announced […]
Catriona Reid and Elizabeth Reid Boulter share their experience of the inspirational annual lecture We are always excited about the annual Jimmy Reid memorial lecture. As we were not born during our Grandpa’s active life, it is always interesting to hear about him, particularly his famous rectorial address. Some years ago (2015), Nicola Sturgeon gave […]
Mary Senior highlights how the campaign for equal representation in unions can be moved forward My comrade and sister, Lynn Henderson of the PCS union, is leading a crucial initiative to advance women’s representation within unions – from the shopfloor to the leadership. Given the continued under-representation of half of citizens within the upper echelons […]
Megan Gordon says the 16 Days of Activism campaign is making progress but much remains to be done As we approach the period of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (25 November to 10 December), Scotland is in the middle of our first year of implementing a world-leading new domestic abuse law. At […]
The law must be revised to reflect how publicly funded services are now delivered argues Carole Ewart In October 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution proclaiming 28 September as the International Day for Universal Access to Information. This high-level platform will publicise the right to seek and receive information which enables people to […]
In August 2019, the SSP sent Bill Bonnar to visit the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Here is his report The picture of Caracas which appears in most of the media proved to be deeply misleading. This was of a city racked by political violence, crime and a government clinging to power through the brutal use of […]
Sarah Glynn explains the roots of the current crisis and suggests a way out of it A hundred years ago, the imperial powers reneged on their promises and left the Kurds at the mercy of states that have attacked Kurdish culture, and threatened Kurdish existence. Instead of controlling their own lives, the Kurds found their […]
Jonathan Deans examines the extent of the Scottish Government’s unused powers and explains their existence When an act of legislation passes parliament, whether at Westminster or Holyrood, it will contain a commencement provision which states when the act comes into force as law. Usually, instead of setting a date, the legislation will state something like […]
‘Late Night Girl’ reports on her continuing campaign for fairness and justice at Pret-A-Manger As I continue to recuperate and come to terms with everything that happened in my personal life and from work since my last article (‘On the frontline: crushed by corporate capitalist culture’, Scottish Left Review, May/June 2019), a lot has happened […]
Mhairi McAlpine argues that cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence offer the prospect of fully automated luxury communism A decade on from its low-key birth, most people have now heard of Bitcoin and other associated cryptocurrencies. An alternative in this new technology has come from the libertarian right, with the left alternatively ignoring or denouncing. It’s time […]
Aidan Beatty spoke to Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on her writing on racism in housing in the US Since the publication of her first book, From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, in 2016, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (KYL) has emerged as one of the most incisive commentators on the politics of race and class in the contemporary United States. Her […]
Sorry We Missed You (2019), Ken Loach (director) and Paul Laverty (screenwriter) Reviewed by Jackie Bergson Possibly excepting The Angels’ Share, Ken Loach’s audiences have come to expect earthy, human storylines that end unhappily. Sorry We Missed You proves to be no exception, although signs of potential optimism within this latest feature film appeared to […]
The content of this article may be utterly irrelevant by the time it appears in print. Writing this column in 2019 has proved has been a bit of a matter of guesswork. Nobody knows what will happen to the Brexit process in the period between my copy deadline and this magazine’s publication. We may get […]