Issue 117
May – Jun 2020
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Editorial: ‘Strange times, indeed. But maybe not that strange’. As Shakespeare’s dark and dystopian verse seems to be commonly quoted in these strange times, I’m reminded of Macbeth’s statement in Act 1 Scene 3: ‘Nothing is but what is not’. So, we have a populist, right-wing and neo-liberal Tory government engaging in the biggest bout […]
A first-time reader, Mary MacCallum Sullivan, reflects on our general election analysis (SLR 115) I am ‘of the left’, but have never identified as a Labour supporter, or, indeed, as a socialist. I have no doubt that that position is, generally, shared by many. I enjoyed reading the issue – the first time! But it […]
Allyson Pollock and Louisa Harding-Edgar say there is also an opportunity to end the neo-liberalism that got us to this point There is no doubt that the Westminster government’s delay in implementing public health measures to prevent COVID-19 has cost thousands of lives and enormous hardship for the many millions of people plunged into unemployment […]
Andrew Watterson says unions must be part of the post-crisis economic and social reconstruction Pandemics cannot be avoided but COVID-19 has shown that Britain could and should have done a lot better to protect its workforce, protect the public and, hence, protect the economy too. April saw the Society of Occupational Medicine along with a […]
Helen Glancy reports on her work as a carer in the coronavirus crisis and highlights the persistent problems The role of home care is one which is complex, demanding, varied and under-valued. However, since the global Covid-19 pandemic, the world has suddenly realised how dependent society is on this low-paid workforce. At the same time, […]
Stewart Forrest says it should not have taken a crisis to recognise the crucial role of retail workers When the Coronavirus hit our shores, the shopping public panicked in the aisles of our supermarkets. Suddenly, the world understood the essential role retail workers have in keeping our communities fed, healthy and safe. Finally, Usdaw’s consistent […]
Mags Hall argues that the precedents being set can be used to open up a greener and fairer future There are no silver linings to the coronavirus pandemic. Nature is not ‘healing itself’. We are mourning the loss of our loved ones, our communities, our ways of living. But riding underneath all this, we still […]
Stephen Smellie recounts the pressures and learning curve to become a health and safety expert I am not a frontline care worker, nurse or doctor. I am not even a key worker. I am a full-time seconded union branch secretary in a local authority. I have been involved in negotiations, disputes, strikes and political struggles. […]
Ben Kritikos says a bad situation is getting worse as governments ignore the tenants’ plight The coronavirus pandemic has widened what were cracks in our social welfare into yawning chasms. The economic downturn resulting from social distancing and lockdown measures taken to tackle the spread of this virus has worsened an already-dire situation for precarious […]
Mick Cash says though there is ‘clear and present’ danger, we have a political opportunity on our hands It goes without saying that the Coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for the rail industry. Throughout this period, the RMT’s absolute priority is protecting our members’ health, safety and livelihoods and we have worked with […]
Jim Sillars says it’s going to be nasty and brutish but the independence movement can and must survive Alex Salmond was cleared of serious sexual charges by a jury of eight women and five men. They saw and heard all the evidence against him, and watched and heard the accusers under cross-examination. In addition, they […]
Kenny MacAskill picks through the detritus of the trial of the century and finds some unpalatable truths The Alex Salmond case was entirely unprecedented. For sure there have been major Scottish criminal trials from Oscar Slater through Lockerbie to numerous recent ones. But despite the notoriety of many and the horror of their crimes, none […]
Pauline Bryan looks at the implications of the outcomes of Labour’s leadership elections How has Labour’s membership shifted so quickly to the right and picked Keir Starmer to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader? Until recently an outside observer would have thought that the left had a solid hold on the party. Three hundred and fifty […]
As Sturgeon accepted there’ll be no 2020 indyref2, Joe Middleton assesses the complicated terrain Brexit has happened and Britain has left the European Union dragging Scotland along with it, despite our overwhelming vote to remain. We still do not know what this will actually mean economically but it does mean that circumstances have changed for […]
Grahame Smith reflects on some tumultuous times as he bows out from leading the STUC Writing a reflection on over thirty-four years working at an institution such as the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC), including fourteen as its the General Secretary, is a significant challenge. It is a task I embark on with a high […]
Bob Thomson recalls the life and work of ‘Bick’ following the launch of a website about his life and work ‘The true basis for any caring society must be public services provided from the public purse, staffed by men and women properly trained and decently paid.’ Rodney Bickerstaffe This website – https://rodneybickerstaffe.org.uk/ – celebrates the […]
Neil Findlay proposes a way forward for Scottish Labour on its constitutional crisis Labour cannot ignore or wish away constitutional realities a second longer. Issues of democracy, accountability, independence, devolution and regional and national identity are – whether we like it or not- the issues that dominate the Scottish and increasingly, the British, political landscape. […]
Shutting down and switching off Silicon Valley Wendy Liu’s ‘Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism (Repeater Books, 2020, £10.99) is an almost diary-like account of a young computer programmer’s slow disillusionment with the tech industry. This interview, conducted by Aidan Beatty, took place in early February 2020. It was edited down for […]
Can lefties like Wagner? Graeme Arnott previews his granddaughters’ forthcoming production of her great-grandfather’s opera ‘Lohengrin’. It’s August 1876 and Nuremberg’s hotels are full to bursting with Wagnerians attending the first Bayreuth festival. Unable to obtain a room, Marx ends up spending an uncomfortable night on a railway station bench. Aggrieved, he castigates Richard Wagner […]
Whitfield, D. Public Alternative to the Privatisation of Life, Spokesman, 2019, £25, 978085124 8837, pp580 Reviewed by Stuart Fairweather Public Alternative to The Privatisation of Life is the shortened title of Whitfield’s latest book. The notion of the privatisation of life is dramatic in language and scope. This is appropriate given the enormity of the […]
McCarraher, E. How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity, Harvard University Press, 2019, pp816, 9780674984615, £31.95 Reviewed by Sean Sheehan The Enchantments of Mammon is not so much a damming indictment of neo-liberalism – do we need another one when the truth is so ecologically obvious? – but of the religion-inspired cant that glossed it […]
This is, indeed, a strange time that we are living through. At the end of last year, when we all were making our predictions for 2020, no one would have forecast that a 99-year-old World War II veteran would become a national hero for walking around his own garden. Indeed, it’s strange to think that […]